Plans for self-storage units have residents upset in Vermilion

VERMILION — A controversial zoning request has many city residents planning to object to city leaders. A public hearing on the issue, which would allow a property owner to construct storage units along Liberty Avenue on the city's east side, will be 6 p.m. Monday. To attend the virtual meeting and speak about the issue, request the link by emailing gwenfisher@vermilion.net. It also can be viewed live at vermilion.net and facebook.com/cityofvermilion. Property owner Todd Sommer asked the city last year to change the zoning of slightly more than 6 acres of his 35-acre parcel from residential to business to install storage facilities. In October, Council voted unanimously against the project after hearing from neighboring property owners and other residents in the city who voiced their objections. Sommer resubmitted his request and the city's Planning Commission voted to send it before Council once again, prompting a new round of objections. Several neighboring property owners have said they bought their homes believing the tract of land would be used for homes, if anything, due to its residential zoning. A big part of the land already has been cleared, and residents have complained of losing their wooded views and privacy as well as concerns about it increasing water runoff and affecting wildlife. The initial request included using shipping containers near the lot's borders, a point of contention for most of those objecting. The rezoning request would change it to a B-3, or commercial highway, category, which many believe still would not allow for self-storage units. A group of residents has formed an ad hoc committee to gather signatures to put before voters a referendum in November to amend city laws to prohibit self-storage units, said Homer Taft, a real estate attorney who lives in the Vermilion-on-the-Lake neighborhood. He said the effort has received strong support from residents from Hazelwood and Woodside avenues, which abut the property, to Whispering Shores luxury condominiums, Edison Estates and Vermilion-on-the-Lake. "They think it's a rotten development, it is ugly, it's a bad idea and they don't want the rezoning," Taft said. "They'd devalue the area. They'd be built on our front door, our front porch to the city, the entrance to all our homes and it does not add value to our neighborhoods." Robert Green, a past president of the homeowners association in Edison Estates, said he once worked as a consultant in the self-storage industry and he has concerns about the security for the proposal, its aesthetic appeal and an overpopulation of similar businesses nearby. "From a standpoint of whether or not we need more self-storage, there are, within a 15-minute drive of Vermilion, 27 self-storage centers. There is one about 1,000 feet across the road. We certainly don't need another one," Green said. "We'll end up being the 'Bedford auto mall' but with self-storage.'' Council President Steve Herron said he hasn't seen the new proposal and couldn't speak to any changes from the one rejected in October, but he said it did eliminate the shipping containers. "I put it on the record (in October) that I had a problem with individual storage units. I didn't believe that was a proper look for the city," Herron said. Taft said some minor changes were made, including increasing the setback from Liberty Avenue. Sommer will present the new proposal Monday during the public hearing and then City Council is scheduled to vote on the matter immediately following the hearing. Attempts to reach him were not successful. If City Council did want to approve the change in zoning, it would require five votes from the seven-member board instead of the usual four to approve a measure. It would then have to go back before zoning and planning commissioners to approve as well. Sommer also told city officials that if the project is approved, he would like to donate the remainder of the land to the Lorain County Metro Parks. Parks Director James Ziemnik said Sommer had spoken to him about the possibility but nothing has been put in writing regarding the property. The parks system is one of the adjoining property owners, as the tract of land abuts the Cassell Reservation. The citizens group is asking residents to contact Council regarding the project by emailing comments to gwenfisher@vermilion.net, referencing ordinance 2021-3 before the hearing. Contact Rini Jeffers at rinijeffers@gmail.com.