March 18, 2019 Public

Rocky River City Council Public Hearing March 18, 2019 Page 1 of 3

CITY OF ROCKY RIVER

March 18, 2019

PUBLIC HEARING – Ordinance No. 88-18

An Ordinance to Change the Zoning Classification of Certain Real Property Known as Auditor’s Permanent Parcel No. 304-29-046 and the Consolidated Parcel No. 302-29-047, from their Present Classification of PF Public Facility to R-2 Two Family Residential District, as Further Described in Exhibit “A”

Council Members Present: Mr. Hunt, Mr. Shepherd, Mr. O’Donnell, Mr. Furry,

Mr. Sindelar, Mr. Klym, Mr. Moran

Administration: Mayor Bobst, Mrs. Costello

Law Director: Mr. Bemer

The Public Hearing for Ordinance No. 88-18 was opened at 7:00 p.m. by Mr. Moran, President of Council. President Moran welcomed everyone to the Public Hearing. The Public Hearing is being held to discuss any questions and/or comments regarding Ordinance No. 88-18. This ordinance has been read twice by City Council and will be read for a third time at next week’s Legislative Meeting. If anyone has any questions/comments, please come forward at this time.

PUBLIC COMMENT: Mr. Matthew Parnell, 551 Linda Street, Rocky River & Mr. James Haas, West Work Architectural Studio Mr. Parnell is representing the developer concerning 3300 Wooster Road which would mean rezoning the property. The existing property is roughly 24,347 square feet and is currently zoned as a Public Facility. This zoning makes it tough to work with existing property and eliminates any new development of Public Facility use because of setbacks. The existing conditions are 82% covered by building and parking lot. If this development goes forward, there would be 47-48% coverage. The height of the mid roofs will be 25 feet. The setbacks would meet all the requirements except for the western portion. The required setback for the zoning he is requesting is 25 feet in the rear yard and currently there would be 15 feet 7 to 22 feet. The side yards would exceed what is needed. The side yard setbacks are 5 feet and the development will provide 8 feet 3 and from Center Ridge there should be 35 feet and the development will be at 40-42 feet. The larger church is 34 feet 6 in height. The smaller church is 26 feet in height. The setbacks are 3 feet 6 inches off the property line on the north side and the west side it is 5 feet 6. The buildings are within 10 feet of any other property lines. Mr. Parnell is proposing to build 3-2 units for sale houses with 3 bedrooms, 2.5 baths and a two car attached garage. Mr. Parnell displayed drawings of what this development will look like.

 Mr. Shepherd asked that when Mr. Parnell talks about the separation from the neighboring houses, is it including the parking lot because the house to the south has a lot of separation from the existing church. Mr. Parnell responded correct but the actual building itself on the north side is 3 feet 6 off the property line and the west side is 5 foot 6. Mr. Shepherd asked that when Mr. Parnell talks about coverage, is he talking about the parking lot and the structures. The structural coverage would be larger on the new project. The existing buildings are 6,020 square feet and the houses are 8,472 square feet.

 Mr. Klym confirmed that each of these six houses would be on single, separate parcels. Mr. Parnell

Rocky River City Council Public Hearing March 18, 2019 Page 2 of 3

responded yes and one lot with a common area.

 Mr. Moran commented that there is a lot of building for this small area. Has it ever been looked at to have 2-2 unit homes? Mr. Parnell said it is financially infeasible because of the price of the church, the cost of remediation and demolition; the houses will not get what the developer would need to make it feasible.

Mr. Ed Mattis, 20063 Mercedes Ave. is supportive of this project. Currently this is not a great looking piece of property. If no one buys it, it will get worse. Mr. Parnell will build nice new homes and raise the property values and more tax money. Mr. Parnell is taking something negative and turning it into a positive.

Ms. Jenn Hall, 3356 Goldengate Ave. This project will directly impact her and she is supportive of this project. Ms. Hall said that Mr. Moran commented that it would be a lot of people on top of each other. Several years ago, she was impacted with Giant Eagle being torn down and the Brighton Apartments being built in her backyard. That is a lot of people on top of a lot of people, not what Mr. Parnell is doing. Ms. Hall said she lives on a dead end street and feels that any beautification of this city is always north of Detroit. She feels her street is the forgotten part of Rocky River. She loves living here and wants to stay on Goldengate Ave. She is concerned of the other possibilities that could buy the church property. Why would Council not support what Mr. Parnell wants to do. He is trying to beautify this end of town. It would also increase taxes for Rocky River. It is an eye sore right now along with the vacant house on her street that has never been taken care of. She is tired of her end of the town having vacant lots and homes.

 Mr. Sindelar expressed concern at her feeling of being forgotten. Mr. Sindelar said that Council would address any issues that are in their control.

 The Mayor also asked Ms. Hall to take a look at the Master Plan regarding Center Ridge Road.

Ms. Cheryl McCoy, 3290 Wooster Road, and has lived there for 72 years. She feels that what Mr. Parnell is doing is a good thing and that he is trying to improve the property, which it needs. The church has been vacant since Labor Day, 2017. She is not in favor of the design because in her mind it is garages with a house attached because the garages face the street. She realizes that is how designers are working now. She is not looking forward to having the church torn down because it is right next to her garage. She is concerned about the huge oak tree and the noise. As a member of the Historical Society, she is sorry to see the little white church go because it is the oldest building in Rocky River and was built in 1840. There hasn’t been much interest anywhere about saving the church. She is ambivalent about the whole thing. She is sorry to see the church go but it means money for the city in taxes and an improvement to the property and to her property in the long run.

Mr. Serban Constantinescu, Retired Engineer, and is representing the Orthodox Church. He would like the church to sell because the church they purchased on Fitch Road in Olmsted Township needs this money. He is also thinking of the neighborhood. This building is in bad shape and needs major repairs. They maintained the church the best they could but because of limited resources they let things slide to the point they had to move out. The building also has asbestos in it. This is a good opportunity to eliminate this sore situation from Wooster Road. Mr. Constantinescu asks City Council to allow this to proceed and to allow the R-2 zoning to be approved. Mr. Parnell has their full support.

Ms. Linda Sprague, Howard Hanna, representing the church. She and Kim Kramer sold them their new church on Fitch Road in Olmsted Township on August 17, 2017. At that time, they asked them to sell their Wooster Road church. The new church gave them the room to expand to bake along with a play area for the children. Ms. Sprague said that they have had every kind of thing one could imagine people wanting to do Rocky River City Council Public Hearing March 18, 2019 Page 3 of 3

with this property but only one serious offer from Pet & Paws. Ms. Sprague did show this church to Pastor Joe from the old Brooklyn Christian Church but due to the old boiler and the condition of the building, he was not interested.

 Mr. Mattis inquired if there were any other offers. Ms. Sprague said that there was one offer but it would not work due to the zoning of the city. This was the most serious intent they had.

As there was no further comment, President Moran moved to close the Public Hearing, seconded by Mr. O’Donnell.

Vote: Hunt – aye Shepherd – aye O’Donnell – aye Mr. Furry – aye

Sindelar – aye Klym – aye Moran – aye

7 ayes 0 nays PASSED

The meeting was adjourned at 7:30 p.m.

______________________________ ______________________________

James W. Moran Susan G. Pease

President of Council Clerk of Council