Charter amendment regarding Avon Lake power plant site to be sent to voters

AVON LAKE — A proposed charter amendment allowing residents to vote on future development of the city's former power plant site will be on the ballot in November. Attorney Gerald Phillips filed the petition, along with residents William Zimmerman and Beth Wallace, to City Council Clerk Valerie Rosmarin on Aug. 17. He said its goal is to amend the city's charter by adding a new section that would give residents the right to vote on any ordinance granting tax increment financing, or TIF, and any rezoning under Chapter 1219, the lakefront mixed-use overlay district. At Monday's regular meeting, Council voted unanimously to send the petition to the Lorain County Board of Elections, as it reached the required amount of signatures. As of Aug. 18, the petition had reached 1,184 signatures, well above the minimum of 484. Council President Geoffrey Smith said Council was obligated by law to approve the petition, since it reached its required signatures, but Rosmarin read a resolution that stated their opposition to the proposed charter amendment after the vote. "Council finds the proposed charter amendment will create substantial uncertainty for prospective developers and investors by requiring significant expenditures for design, engineering, planning and other development activities before the developer receives final certainty that a qualifying project may proceed," the resolution stated. Mayor Mark Spaetzel said during the meeting that while residents have the right to use the petition process to bring this issue to the ballot, the amendment would bring consequences to the site's future development. "It would fundamentally change how the city conducts economic development, would create significant uncertainty for the property owners and developers and could jeopardize the years of work that's gone into transforming our former coal-fired power plant site into a valuable community asset," Spaetzel said on Monday. The power plant closed in 2022 and was demolished in 2024. Property owner Avon Lake Environmental Redevelopment Group (ALERG) remediated the land, which the city plans to transform to a lakefront park with more improved access to Lake Erie. Some Council members urged residents to consider voting against the proposed charter amendment during November's election. "There are better ways to work together to accomplish what the public wants, and this poorly written petition will only cause larger and more unsolvable issues to the city of Avon Lake," Councilman David Kos said. "Please vote no." Contact Gabrielle Monk at gmonk@chroniclet.com.