Loveland, Ohio – With a unanimous vote, City Council voted on Tuesday, January 28 to accept the recommendation of the Planning and Zoning Commission to not proceed with a proposed Special Planning District (SPD) which would have allowed 12 new homes in the West Loveland Historic District on the bank of the State and National Scenic Little Miami River.
Members of the public spoke and encouraged Council to not go forward with the SPD request. You can watch their comments at the 55:56 mark of the video.
You can watch Council debate and take votes at the 1:59:12 minute mark of the video.
Loveland, Ohio – Near the end of this week’s public hearing, Planning and Zoning Commissioner Rob Weisgerber made a motion to not recommend a 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 meeting was held 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.
The full-capacity, standing room only, flowing into the hallway crowd.
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.
Watch the public as they comment on the proposed Special Planning District before a vote was taken.
BACKGROUND
Public hearing set for 12 single family homes being proposed along State and National Scenic Little Miami River
Loveland, Ohio – A public hearing date has been set for Tuesday, January 7 at 6 PM by the Loveland Planing and Zoning Commission to hear comments about a proposal to rezone 128 Riverside Drive to accommodate building 12 single-family homes.
The 12 single-family homes are being proposed for Riverside Drive on the State and National Scenic Little Miami River in the West Loveland Historic District. An application has been submitted by Traditions Building and Development Group. The proposed Special Planning District 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.
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 keepin 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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Loveland, Ohio – The agenda for the 6 PM Tuesday, December 3 meeting of the Loveland Planing and Zoning Commission has now been published. The meeting that was cancelled and rescheduled is to consider the proposal to construct 12 single family homes for Riverside Drive in the West Loveland Historic District.
Planning & Zoning Commission Regular Meeting 12/3/2024 6 PM
Loveland City Hall
Loveland, Ohio – City Council member Andrew Bateman has emailed Loveland Magazine to say, “I would share that we won’t reschedule the P&Z meeting, but instead just roll over from November to the regularly scheduled December meeting.”
The meeting that was cancelled and rescheduled was to consider the proposal to construct 12 single family homes for Riverside Drive in the West Loveland Historic District.
City Hall has yet to publish the agenda for the meeting, however Bateman suggests the agenda from the cancelled meeting will now be on the December 3 meeting.
Loveland, Ohio – This photo album contains Loveland Magazine file photos of past flooding at the location where12 single family homes are proposed on Riverside Drive in the West Loveland Historic District. The development shares 540 feet of frontage along the Little Miami River. The site will be elevated by bringing in earth to bring it above flooding elevation.
Photo taken on Nov 7, 2024
The Loveland Planing and Zoning Commission had scheduled a meeting to discuss the plan, however the meeting was postponed at the last minute and is expected to be re-scheduled.
The Loveland Planing and Zoning Commission meeting that was scheduled for tonight, “…is being rescheduled. The rescheduled date will be posted.”
This story has been up-dated to reflect that the Planing and Zoning meeting begins tonight at 6 PM and not 6:30 PM.
Loveland, Ohio – 12 single family homes are being proposed for Riverside Drive in the West Loveland Historic District. An application has been submitted by Traditions Building and Development Group. The proposed Special Planning District is 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.
You can read the plan as summited in the .PDF below.
The development shares 540 feet of frontage along the Little Miami River with a shared driveway to garages in the rear. The site will be elevated by bringing in earth to bring it above flooding elevation.
The Loveland Planing and Zoning Commission will meet tonight, November 7th at City Hall at 6 PM to consider the proposal.
The 12 proposed homes are across Riverside Drive from the Loveland Museum Center and the Tufts Schildmeyer Family Funeral Home.
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Loveland, Ohio – The photo above of the gridlock was taken on Wall Street near Kiwanis Park in the West Loveland Historic District on Friday afternoon. The traffic was equally backed up on West Loveland Avenue on the hill past the Loveland Dairy Whip, as far as the eye could see.
Sidewalk repair on the Col. Thomas Paxton Bridge on West Loveland Avenue continues and is expected to be finished no later than August 30 according to the latest information provided by City Hall.
On Sunday
West Loveland Avenue heading East is reduced to one lane as it approaches Historic Downtown and Karl Brown Way. Two dedicated turn lanes have been eliminated and three lanes East were reduced to one at the intersection.
The traffic flow is further strained by the Loveland Bike Trail crossing where any pedestrian or bicycle can stop the flow of traffic. Add to that, is the traffic stops as vehicles attempt a left turn onto Railroad Avenue.
Loveland, Ohio – Apex Sportswear & Promotional Specialties is in the heart of the West Loveland Historic District with its own free parking. In business there since 1992 as a full-service promotional specialty company. They provide assistance with theme creativity, layout and design, and the finest imprinted and embroidered items. They have access to over 600,000 promotional products, and are dedicated to finding the ideal product for your promotional need.
![[VIDEO] Planning Commission discusses reversal of course on SPD for 12 homes on Riverside Drive](https://lovelandmagazine.com/wp-content/uploads/2025/01/pZ-vote-scaled.jpg)
Public hearing set for 12 single family homes being proposed along State and National Scenic Little Miami River
The traffic flow is further strained by the Loveland Bike Trail crossing where any pedestrian or bicycle can stop the flow of traffic. Add to that, is the traffic stops as vehicles attempt a left turn onto Railroad Avenue.
