Lorain Council sends motorsports rezoning to committee

LORAIN — The rezoning for a motorsports complex on Lorain's east side will be up for discussion at a committee meeting next week. Lorain Council sent the issue to its Building and Lands Committee for Feb. 14 after lengthy comments from the public. The motorsports project requires a rezoning from I-1 industrial to B-2 business. Rob Swindell, president of the Black River Audubon Society, submitted a petition with more than 400 signatures against the proposed development set for the former Cromwell landfill. The petition wants to "Save Cromwell Park," and implores the city to value the environment and preserve the land and money spent on the Black River and habitat restoration. Signatures include Lorain, Elyria, Cleveland, South Lebanon and other Ohio residents, alongside those from Illinois, Florida, Michigan, Colorado, California, Texas and other states. Swindell is a deputy auditor for the city and a freelance columnist who writes about birds for The Chronicle-Telegram. McCrone Motorsports plans to turn the roughly 204-acre former dump into a public motorsports complex, including a half-mile road course for race carts, a 9/10ths of a mile competition track and a 3/8th mile dirt oval. The development is still dependent on U.S. Steel releasing an $850,000 mortgage on the property. The mortgage sunsets in 2024, Mayor Jack Bradley said, but doubts McCrone would wait that long. McCrone filed a letter of intent with the city in late December, with plans to purchase the property for $1 per acre. If the project moves forward, the company will eventually have the option to buy another 72 acres along River Bend Drive and Colorado Avenue in the Industrial Park for $10,000. Bradley said the city does care about the environment, noting as the project moves forward steps will be taken to preserve the heron nesting site along the Black River. The project will require clearing the land, including removing an invasive species of phragmites, which can pierce the cap put on the former landfill, he said. A letter to Council from city Storm Water Manager Kate Golden noted the Ohio Environmental Protection Agency discourages deep-rooted vegetation on landfill caps because it can be detrimental to the cap. "We are sensitive to the concerns being raised by the birding community and believe that preservation of high-quality forest, wetland and floodplain habitat is most critical," Golden wrote. "We will continue to work to preserve and protect our sensitive environmental and aquatic habitats while also balancing land development within our community." Still, residents expressed their concerns during public comments. Deb Horn, of Avon Lake, said she's worked in Lorain for 40 years and has watched businesses come and go, but the natural preserve provided by Cromwell Park is something to be saved as it is evidence of progress in the city. She said McCrone Motorsports should look to build its project elsewhere. Karen Callahan, of Lorain, agreed. She said the motorsports complex will bring pollution and noise, and instead suggested the city plant indigenous plants, flowers, and apple or pear trees to bring people to the riverside. John Wargo, of Lorain, was hesitant about the project and questioned if the Army Corps of Engineers and Environmental Protection Agency would be involved. He compared it to the St. Joseph Community Center — which remains piles of rubble after the developer and demolition company failed to pull the correct permits and left the site. "This is a St. Joe's with wood, not concrete," he said. Ellen Zelina, of Lorain, was the lone supporter of the project during Monday's comments. Zelina, who said she's lived on the east side since 1959, said the project would bring money to the city to help it grow — and that there are other birding sites in Lorain. Contact Carissa Woytach at (440) 329-7245 or cwoytach@chroniclet.com.