Lorain County's lakeside cities exploring special improvement districts

AVON LAKE — A plan that has addressed coastal erosion in multiple Ohio counties with frontage on Lake Erie through the creation of special improvement districts could be coming to Lorain County. Avon Lake City Council heard a presentation on the proposal Monday, but the other three lakefront cities in the county — Sheffield Lake, Lorain and Vermilion — also have had discussions about participating. County officials may also be able to get involved. Amanda Gordon, a lawyer with the McDonald Hopkins firm, said a newer legal provision allows for special improvement districts for shoreline erosion projects along Lake Erie. Gordon said the creation of a SID is completed through a 100 percent petition of the property owners within the district, followed by the petition being filed with the communities and each involved community approving the district by resolution. Property owners in other SIDs have expressed concerns about signing the petition, Gordon said, particularly about their obligation if they sign it. "The answer would be that they wouldn't be financially obligated to anything solely by signing the petition to join the SID, because there is a second petition that would follow when they get the cost of their project, etcetera, determined," she said. "It's called the improvement petition and that's when we would move forward with their project and the special assessments for it." The district would be designated as a nonprofit corporation and be governed by a board of trustees. The property owners who are not on the board would still be considered members of the SID. Each community involved would advance a portion of the legal and filing fees to get it started, which ranges between $2,500 and $3,500. The projects are expected to be funded by a special assessment revenue bond. One benefit of the districts is the ability to obtain a low interest rate through the special revenue bonds. Councilwoman Jennifer Fenderbosch, 2nd Ward, said a homeowner who has an erosion issue would let the city know they are interested by filling out the preliminary pre-application form. Then, the property owners would be provided with a list of approved contractors "that can do the work at a low interest, whether it's 2 percent or less than 2 percent, payable over a period of time, whether it's 15 years or whatever it's going to be," Fenderbosch said. "Over the years, we have had a number of residents contact us and ask if there were any funds available to help them with erosion on their property," said Avon Lake Public Works Director Joe Reitz. "This is that opportunity that I've been sitting here waiting for 32 years to come across." He said the city's West Shore Park or the west end of Miller Road Park could have projects completed through the SID. Mayor Greg Zilka said there are potential "pluses and minuses" to the plan and asked if someone would have difficulty selling their property if they listed it on the market while obligated to complete a shoreline project. Gordon said her experience with assessments overall has been that "the value and the benefit of the improvements that are being assessed far outweigh the fact that there is an assessment on the property." Contact Dylan Reynolds at (440) 329-7123 or dreynolds@chroniclet.com. Follow him on Twitter @drey1357.