Loveland Magazine

LOVELAND MAGAZINE

News and Events from the Loveland, Ohio Area

Without fear or favor

Since 2004

Tag: Special Planing District

  • Planning and Zoning Commission reverses course on SPD for 12 homes on Riverside Drive

    Planning and Zoning Commission reverses course on SPD for 12 homes on Riverside Drive

    Loveland, Ohio – Last Tuesday night, our enchanting romance took a significant turn at the Love-Land city hall. Despite the frigid temperatures, 65 individuals gathered to affirm something that should be held in the highest regard and too precious to be tampered with. It was what should be sacrosanct; too important or valuable to be interfered with.

    A full-capacity, standing room only, flowing into the hallway crowd.

    Not all came with the same sentiment, however the size of the crowd on a night when nary a person wouldn’t have preferred to be somewhere else was telling. What became apparent was that we have something flowing between and through us. How do we protect our eldest, centuries-mature loved one?

    Our water has a memory, and it flows through Loveland because the spiritual H₂O means everything. Destroy its soul? Cannot.  Dirty it and it’s banks we can. Diminish the life within and on its shores, we can. Our State and National Scenic, Little Miami River sends us messages to heed and pass along to generations, but we don’t always listen. Tuesday, we did. Tell your children and grandchildren.

    A bridesmaid with bigamist-many suitors was honored with a renewal of noble, exalted, and sacred vows.

    Some took advantage of their 65 friendly neighbors to bloviate in inflated and empty ways with their superior knowledge and self-aggrandizing wisdom. They went on and on because what they tried to convince needed too many-worded-attempts. Perhaps they were the only ones listening and they needed so many phrases to convince even themselves. The audience listened with a third ear as if they could decipher how in the end the bloviators might end up voting. One heartless resident did the same but in the end had no vote, yet surely went to sleep Tuesday night with dreams of grander of saving the day.

    Thankfully, all others told of their love affair.

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    BACKGROUND:

    Public hearing set for 12 single family homes being proposed along State and National Scenic Little Miami River

     

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    Planning and Zoning Commission reverses course from their December 3 decision

    Near the end of this week’s public hearing to consider whether 12 homes should be built on Riverside Drive in the West Loveland Historic District on the bank of the National and State Scenic Little Miami River, Planning and Zoning Commissioner Rob Weisgerber made a motion to not recommend the zoning map change to City Council. Weisgerber, Andy Bateman and Chairman Mark Redmond agreed with Weisgerber and voted “Yes” David Parker voted “No”. Commission Member Brian O’Neill did not attend the meeting.

    The P&Z recommendation will now be delivered to City Council where there will be another public hearing. Upon completion of the public hearing, City Council may approve or disapprove the recommendation of Planning and Zoning Commission by a simple majority. Council may modify the recommendation of Planning and Zoning Commission by a 3/4 majority vote.

    Video of speeches by the public and the discussion and vote of the Commission coming soon…

  • Watch as Zoning Commission moves forward with plan to build 12 homes on State and National Scenic Little Miami River

    Watch as Zoning Commission moves forward with plan to build 12 homes on State and National Scenic Little Miami River

    Aaron Rourke, the Assistant Regional Scenic Rivers Program Manager of the Division of Natural Areas & Preserve said, “The goose that laid the golden egg here, is the State and National Scenic Little Miami River.”

    This story was up-dated at 6:15 AM on December 6 to reflect that the vote the Commission took during the meeting was to move forward with the SPD process by holding a formal Public Meeting on the plan at an as yet to be determined future date.

    Loveland, Ohio – Richard Fisher spoke first and apparently had the wrong impression after hearing the Chairman of the Planning and Zoning Commission, Mark Redmond’s opening remarks. Fisher said, “I know you are not approving anything” tonight.

    During the Open Forum Fisher added that he hopes down the line, wherever this goes, that people keep in mind that we just went through a “pretty big game changing election” in which people said that we want elected officials to listen to us.

    However at the end of nearly one hour and 15 minutes of discussion and hearing from the public, the commission determined that the Schildmeyer proposal met all the conditions required to re-zone their property into a Special Planing District which would remove all current and existing zoning regulations by creating a new zoning map with its own set of regulations.

    Redmond, Andy Bateman, and David Parker voted that the proposal met the requirements of establishing a Special Planing District. Rob Weisgerber voted that it did not. Member Brian O’Neill was absent from the meeting.

    The vote was to move forward with the SPD process by holding a formal Public Meeting on the plan at a yet to be determined future date.

    No one from the public spoke in favor of the plan moving forward. Terry Schildmeyer, representing the family and Douglas Hinger with Traditions Building and Development Group testified in favor of their plan.

    Speaking about the importance of protecting the State and National Scenic Little Miami River, Aaron Rourke, the Assistant Regional Scenic Rivers Program Manager of the Division of Natural Areas & Preserve said, “The goose that laid the golden egg here, is the State and National Scenic Little Miami River.”

    The development shares 540 feet of frontage along the Little Miami River at 128 North Riverside Drive in the West Loveland Historic District. The site will be elevated by bringing in earth to bring it above flooding elevation.

    Loveland Magazine file photo of past flooding

    Rourke works for the Ohio Department of Natural Resources.

    Loveland Magazine file photo of past flooding

    The proposed Special Planning District would be located at 128 North Riverside Drive and includes twelve (12) single-family detached dwelling units (24’ x 56’ 3-Story Homes) with minimum lot size of 0.114 acres or 4,966 sq. ft. The owner is Schildmeyer Holdings. The 12 proposed homes would be across Riverside Drive from the Loveland Museum Center and the Tufts Schildmeyer Family Funeral Home.

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    In order to adopt an SPD, one or more of the following conditions exist, or will exist, within the proposed SPD:
       (a)   A concentration of retail and service oriented commercial establishments serving as a principal business activity center for the community.
       (b)   Land that is occupied by substantial natural characteristics worthy of preservation or which are historic aids to the identification of residential communities which help residents relate to their communities and to relate the social organization of communities to their physical environments.
       (c)   Lands which permit for ingenuity, imagination, and design efforts on the part of builders, architects, site planners, and developers that can produce residential developments which are in keeping with overall land use intensity and open space objectives of the Comprehensive Plan while departing from the strict application of use, setback, height, and minimum lot size requirements contained in the Zoning Code.

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    [pdf-embedder url=”https://lovelandmagazine.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/11/2024-11-07-Planning-Zoning-Commission-Full-Agenda-1876.pdf” title=”2024-11-07 Planning & Zoning Commission – Full Agenda-1876″]

     

  • There are a substantial number of Grail people throughout this country and the world who want Grailville to survive and thrive

    There are a substantial number of Grail people throughout this country and the world who want Grailville to survive and thrive

    An Open Letter To the dear people of Loveland, Loveland Council, and Zoning board 

    by Trina Paulus

    Loveland, What a beautiful name!

    I have been following the saga concerning Grailville from the inside of the movement and with great gratitude for David Miller and Loveland Magazine’s efforts to make sure that we know what we’re doing if we let this rare place go to so-called “development” and away from a better more sustainable vision people are calling for. (The Grailville Archive)

    Maybe it has taken getting to the edge of permanent loss to realize this treasure we are about to lose if we don’t turn things around.

    After restraining myself from bursts of gratitude with each installment in Loveland Magazine I feel compelled to let the Loveland community know that there are a substantial number of Grail people throughout this country and the world who want Grailville to survive and thrive and we join our voices with the people of Loveland who are organizing and speaking up. We believe the outpouring of Loveland support reveals new possibilities for a Grailville with new purpose within both the local and Global community. Maybe it has taken getting to the edge of permanent loss to realize this treasure we are about to lose if we don’t turn things around. Although some of us are now older we would be willing to help this happen believing in the generosity of the young who bear the future to bring their hopes and strength to support Grail and the Loveland community efforts.

    I think that there are those representing us who have not read the signs of these speedily changing times correctly. Their hearts and intentions may be good, but I deeply believe that there is a vast number of people, especially the young, who yearn for the kind of holistic life I was privileged to experience at age 18 and for the next 20 years as I built up the arts at Grailville until called to help grow a woman’s weaving and embroidery cooperative in Akhmim upper Egypt.

    What the new Grailville could be I’m not sure, but the values that built it were strong and still attractive to the young people I am in touch with. These are the ones who fill the Permaculture courses at Central Rocky Mountains Permaculture Institute, (CRMPI.org) where I am vice president, or here at home in Montclair, NJ, feeding people, planting community gardens, and pollinator corridors stretching from state to state. 

    It is hard at 90 years to volunteer knowing that whatever spiffy wisdom and energy I might bring I also bring the liability of age. However, the recent support of the Loveland people and the series published in Loveland Magazine:  https://lovelandmagazine.com/history-of-grailville/ makes me feel excited and young enough to offer to help in any way I can to revitalize this magnificent place as a new kind of community neighbor that needs many of us to make it a new reality.

    I and others have a vision of those able to be renewed to continue the habit of hospitality Grailville was famous for.

    We would be facing some of the pioneering challenges the Grail faced in the 1940s. Some of the buildings will not make it, but I and others have a vision of those able to be renewed to continue the habit of hospitality Grailville was famous for. Imagine the greenest architects we know who love old buildings leading workshops each summer for all who want to learn how to renew and re-inhabit places rather than tear down and build new. We also still have many acres of organic certifiable land ready for a new burst of production to raise and share food.

    There are Grail elders and younger ones around the world who would love to help.

    There are Grail elders and younger ones around the world who would love to help along with the Loveland and wider local community who may be eager for this chance and new challenge to use our one glorious human life for building something precious.

    We can create a place that will be valuable beyond money for the good of all.

    I await the next development with prayer. May what is best for all happen.

    Forward in hope always,

    Trina Paulus, Grail Member – celebrating the 50th anniversary of “Hope For the Flowers” (www.hopefortheflowers.com)

    Read more about Trina Paulus from the pages of Loveland Magazine

    [Grailville Archive] The Very Unpleasant Thing: That God Can Ask Everything…

    [Video Archive] The holy nature of Grailville for a teenage girl

  • Drees submits application for 209 homes at Grailville

    Drees submits application for 209 homes at Grailville

    The House of Joy is an iconic structure at Grailville (Loveland Magazine file photo)

    by David Miller

    Loveland, Ohio – The proposed development of the Grailville site by the Drees Company includes 74 patio homes and 135 traditional-style homes totaling 209 lots. The final acreage of the Grailville site on O’Bannon Road was annexed into the City of Loveland on January 11. The land is situated between O’Bannonville Road and State Route 48 in Clermont County. Fourteen acres were already located within the city’s corporate limits. Both parcels, in total consist of approximately 111 acres.

    The Drees Company has submitted a concept plan to the Planning and Zoning Commission for changing the zoning to a Special Planning District.

    City staff has recommended that the Commission hold a public hearing on the proposal on March 1.

    The Commission will meet on February 1 with the Drees application on their agenda.

    Right-Click these images to open in a new window or tab to view larger.

  • Loveland Homerama site moves forward

    Loveland Homerama site moves forward

    Loveland, Ohio – On Tuesday, December 15, City Council held a public hearing on the proposed Homerama site for the corner of Butterworth Road and St. Rt. 48 in Warren County. The developer is requesting a change in Loveland’s Zoning Map to a “Special Planning District” (SPD) to accommodate building single-family homes for the 2022 Homerama.

    The concept plan has now made it through the first three sessions of government scrutiny and again goes back to City Council.

    The latest approval was when the Planning and Zoning Commission received the plan again and met on January 5. They voted to recommend to City Council that the zoning map amendment should be made, and that City Council should set a public hearing on the proposal. They followed the recommendation of City Staff that the Council should conduct a first reading of the ordinance on February 9 and schedule a public hearing and conduct a second reading of the ordinance on February 23

    The subdivision will be named Chimney Ridge and will be a Home Builders Association of Greater Cincinnati 2022 Homerama site. The developer is CB Butterworth, LLC 3333 Madison Pk Suite C Ft. Wright, KY. The homes would sell for $600,000 to 1,300,000.

    The proposed development includes 30 single-family dwelling units with a maximum density that shall not exceed 1.15 units per acre and a minimum lot size of 16,000 square feet.

    Jack Baldwin who lives on County Down Lane in the next-door subdivision of Brandywine told City Council on December 15 that he has talked with about a third of the homeowners in his subdivision and received no objections to the layout of the proposal, except concerns about traffic leaving the subdivision at the intersection of Butterworth Road and Brandywine Lane. Baldwin said he was representing the subdivisions of Brandywine and Butterworth Glen. He also said that residents had concerns about the traffic impact to the intersection of Butterworth Road and St. Rt. 48.

    Representing the developer, Greg Berling, noted that he completed a traffic study for Chimney Ridge, Brandywine, and Butterworth Glen to get a comparison. He said that Brandywine and Butterworth Glen have around 553 daily trips and Chimney Ridge is estimated to have 71 daily trips.

    Here is the proposal currently on the desk of council members:

    Chimney-Ridge-1Download