Elyria rezones Chestnut Ridge church property for commercial use

ELYRIA — Despite a prospective developer pulling out and vocal opposition from residents, Elyria City Council voted Tuesday to rezone a property on Chestnut Ridge Road for commercial use. Last year, the land surrounding the Chestnut Ridge Baptist Church at the northwest corner of state Route 57 and Chestnut Ridge Road was annexed from Eaton and Carlisle townships into the city of Elyria at the request of the church and Luv Retail, a development company that had planned to redevelop the land into retail development. Luv pulled out of that plan in July, but the church decided to continue with its request to rezone the property from a residential use district to a commercial district. Prior to the vote Tuesday, the city held a public hearing, as required by law, and all of the nearby residents who spoke at the meeting said they were opposed to the project, citing concerns over worsening existing traffic issues in the area. Council then voted to approve the measure by a vote of 8 to 2, with Councilmen Ed Doehne, D-3rd Ward, and Andrew Lipian, I-1st Ward, voting no. Doehne represents the ward that the land was added into, and he said that in speaking with local residents, almost none of them supported developing the land. "I want to make sure that one thing is clear from the beginning: I am not opposed to development on this property. I am opposed to approving development before we solve the traffic problems that five separate traffic studies have identified in the past 10 years," Doehne said prior to the vote. Doehne asked that Council create a dedicated traffic study committee to review any plans to fix the issues at the intersection prior to them being pursued or any development being initiated. No action was taken on that proposal at the meeting. Prior traffic studies have established that the current traffic infrastructure at the intersection has been stretched to failure by heavy development in the area, and suggested that major work needs to be done to alleviate congestion and safety issues. Shaun Brady, a developer based out of Westlake, spoke in favor of the project on behalf of the owners of the church. Brady said that he and his clients understood the concerns of the residents and promised that any development would happen only along with fixing the traffic issues. As a part of that promise, Brady said that any development of the land would contribute "a baseline" of $2 million toward helping pay to update the area's infrastructure. "Rezoning is the foundation that will allow the city of Elyria and our team to work together at improving that intersection," Brady said. "We understand that the three corners are already developed commercially. Traffic studies have shown that congestion at 57 and Chestnut Ridge Road is a problem with or without any development taking place on our property. Commercial land use at this corner makes sense. Our interests are aligned with all the residents in that we cannot develop this corner until we have a solution to those traffic challenges." Several members of council said that they were in favor of the project specifically because of the existing traffic issue, arguing that the development would serve as the financial engine of the improvements the area already needs. "I think it is City Council's obligation to repair that intersection and spend the millions – in excess of $5 millions – that it will cost," Councilman Phil Tollett, D-at-large, said. "(That is) very important, and it is important that it happens before the project is completed so that it is operating properly. The way to pay for it, though, that we have to take into consideration is through the new project. I 100 percent support that all these things happen before the new project would open, that is not what we are voting on tonight." Elyria Mayor Kevin Brubaker has repeatedly said he is in favor of the project for the same reason; the development could be used to help fund fixes that would otherwise be too expensive for the city to pursue out of its own coffers. Brubaker was absent from Tuesday's meeting as he recovers from surgery, but Assistant Safety Service Director Dawn Calvert reaffirmed the administration's commitment both to development and to the solving of the congestion issues. Despite promises from the ownership and administration, all the residents who spoke during the public hearing on Tuesday said that they were against the rezoning. Some residents said that they wanted to see the land be used for something other than a vacant church, but that they did not want to see any plans approved or dirt moved until they felt the traffic in their neighborhood was safe. "I live in the area, obviously, surrounding the proposed development and I want to be clear that I am not opposed to new business or responsible development," said Tiya Gilchrist, of Oakdale Circle. "But as has been stated by other people, my concern is the traffic. The roads and intersections we currently depend on are already congested and, in my experience, unsafe. We see accidents in these areas far too frequently… My concern is that we are adding significant commercial traffic before those existing problems have been adequately addressed. I also worry about the transition. Even if new roads or lanes are eventually planned, those improvements could take years." Other residents said that they were opposed to further commercial development outright, arguing that the area had already been overdeveloped and more business near their homes would harm their property values or quality of life. "I have been there (his home on Chestnut Ridge Road) for 44 years and I have watched as the traffic increased with every new business that opened up," resident Lou Perna said. "I can't see how anything that is developed over there is going to help the traffic issue. I sit there in my house and I hear the sirens, I swear, almost every other day going down to the corner, either ambulances or police. And now I see a lot of younger families moving in along Chestnut Ridge and they have little kids, and I think it is just a matter of time before one of them is going to get hit trying to cross Chestnut Ridge… I don't see how adding another lane or anything, if you are going to rezone and add more businesses into that, I don't see how that is going to help traffic at all." The land reverted to single-family residential housing when it was annexed because city codes require newly annexed parcels to revert to the city's most restrictive use zone. No specific project has been proposed for the land, and city officials have said that any development would need to go before council again for approval of a subdivision plan. Contact Owen MacMillan at 440-329-7123 or omacmillan@chroniclet.com.