Cincinnati City Council voted 7 to 2 on Wednesday to approve a zoning change for a controversial development in Hyde Park Square.
The measure approves changing zoning for the site from Commercial Neighborhood Pedestrian — Neighborhood Business District (CN-P-B) to Planned Development (PD).
The change allows two key differences compared to the current zoning:
- Current zoning allows for multi-family, restaurant, retail, and office; changing to Planned Development allows the inclusion of a hotel.
- Current zoning limits building height to 50 feet; changing to Planned Development allows buildings to reach a maximum 85.5 feet.
Planned Development has been part of city zoning code since 2004. Eligible projects must meet requirements like minimum size and inclusion of multiple buildings.
The project has significant community opposition, including from the Hyde Park Neighborhood Council, which has hired the Strauss Troy group as legal representation.
What's in the project
The development team includes PLK Communities, The Loring Group, and NorthPointe Group.
The proposed development at 2719 Erie Ave would include renovating the À L’aise building (keeping retail space and multi-family housing) and constructing two new buildings: a six-story boutique hotel with 90 rooms, ground floor retail space, banquet area, and rooftop terrace; and a seven-story, mixed-use building with about 120 market-rate housing units with residential amenities like a fitness center and outdoor pool, plus retail space.
An underground, multi-level parking garage with about 350 spaces will connect the two new buildings; about 183 spaces will be reserved for public commercial use.
Developers say although an 85.5-foot building is above the current zoning limit of 50 feet, it would be similar to existing buildings on or near the square that were built before that limit was put in place. The design also includes a "step-back" system, where the maximum height at the street will be 50 feet, with additional stories set back from the street.
The developers had agreed to reduce the maximum height from 85.5 feet to 80 feet, based on community feedback that the plan was too tall. Developers said that reduction increased estimated construction costs, so they also eliminated about a hundred parking spaces from the plan.
The Planning Commission approved the original request, allowing up to 85.5 feet and returning to about 350 total parking spaces.
Community feedback
Council members heard more than three hours of public comment at Tuesday's meeting of the Equitable Growth and Housing Committee, with all but a few speakers opposing the measure.
Most opponents say they are not against development on the site, or even necessarily against this specific proposal; they asked Council to force the developer to change the plan based on community feedback.
Many residents object to the size of the project, especially the height — people crowded Council chambers with signs reading "Save Hyde Park Square" and "It's Just Too Big."
Others say they're concerned about pedestrian and traffic safety, parking availability, stormwater management, and disruption to businesses on the square.
The city's preliminary review of the plans determined the development would not negatively impact traffic, parking, or pedestrian safety; a letter from the Metropolitan Sewer District of Greater Cincinnati says the project will likely improve stormwater management in the area. A more comprehensive review of these and other topics will be required when a final design is ready.
"A towering 85-foot apartment building that is unaffordable for most is not the housing solution that the city needs," Valerie Woodham, vice president of the Hyde Park Neighborhood Council, said during Tuesday's committee meeting. "We do not believe the speculative trickle-down housing theory that additional high-end housing will somehow reduce rents or forestall escalating property taxes. In contrast, residents and businesses fear that the proposed development will only serve to further inflate already high rents."
All nine City Council seats will be on the ballot in November, something several opponents brought up during public comment: "You vote today, we vote in November."
Council member Victoria Parks has announced she will not seek re-election; Evan Nolan will be on the ballot for the first time since his appointment late last year.
What City Council decided
The Cincinnati Planning Commission voted 3-1 in March to recommend approval of the zoning change.
City Council's Equitable Growth and Housing Committee on Tuesday voted 7 to 2 to approve, then voted the same on final approval during the regular Council meeting the next day.
Voting in favor: Jeff Cramerding, Anna Albi, Meeka Owens, Mark Jeffreys, Victoria Parks, Seth Walsh, and Evan Nolan
Voting against: Jan-Michele Lemon Kearney, Scotty Johnson
Cramerding said Cincinnati needs to grow. "I think this development adds the housing we need and attracts the people we need, which is young people and empty nesters. I concede that this is definitely going to be much more expensive than I'd like, but that's the reality in the Hyde Park market. But I think we need housing like this across the city."
Parks addressed both the development team and residents opposing the project. "What I see more than anything is, you guys need marriage counseling. And I think that if you can find some common ground and just find a way to work together, that this will be a wonderful development. So I really hope that can happen."
Kearney and Johnson had strong words against the development team.
"The very purpose of a planned development is for the developer and the community to plan together, to collaborate. It's not for the developer to run roughshod over the community," Kearney said. "[And] we keep saying we want housing, we want housing, but the purpose of this Planned Development is to allow for a hotel. So I’m just a little baffled by that."
What happens next
The project faces future approvals related to design and construction, including approval for design and planned demolition through the Urban Design Overlay District procedures.
HPNC may pursue official legal action related to the zoning change. In a letter submitted to Council ahead of the vote, attorneys say the process followed so far is in violation of zoning code. They say because the property is within an Urban Design Overlay District, decisions on "massing, scale and form of any new construction" should be made by the Zoning Board of Appeals and not the Cincinnati Planning Commission.
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