Cincinnati City Council voted unanimously Thursday to repeal a previously approved zone change for a controversial development proposed for Hyde Park Square.
Council voted 7-2 in April to grant the project the status of Planned Development. That designation allowed buildings of up to 85.5 feet (above the current zoning maximum of 50 feet), and allowed the inclusion of a hotel.
Opponents responded by organizing a referendum, collecting more than 13,000 valid signatures to put the issue on the ballot. If not for Council's action this week to repeal the zone change, voters would have had the option to repeal it on the ballot in November.
This isn't the end of the saga, however. The development team plans to submit a new application for a scaled-down project, designed in part with input from opponents.
Tensions were still high during City Council discussion. Mayor Aftab Pureval says he’s concerned this process has had a chilling effect on development across the city.
"How do we work together to make it easier to build the housing that is critical — critical — for not future residents, but for residents right now in Cincinnati who can't afford to pay their rent or their property taxes in every neighborhood in our community?" Pureval said.
So what's next for this development on Hyde Park Square?
Is negotiation still possible?
Council members have urged the development team and opponents to come together to negotiate.
Council member Seth Walsh (who supported the zone change) and Scotty Johnson (who opposed the zone change) mediated a meeting between the groups last week.
Statements and interviews after the meeting indicated the two parties didn't reach full agreement on what a new design should look like.
The organization Save Hyde Park Square says the meeting ended in an impasse: "Despite progress in other areas, the height of the proposed development remains a central obstacle."
The development team sent a letter to Mayor Aftab Pureval last Friday indicating their plan to begin a new application process with the updated design plan: "A referendum ... would only divide the community further, delay progress, and drain resources that should be directed toward building a stronger future."
Initial plans for a new design include no hotel, a maximum height of 75 feet (reduced from 85.5 feet), fewer parking spaces, and reduced commercial space on the ground floor.
"The revised plan offers a balanced path forward: addressing concerns while still delivering housing and renewed vitality to the Square," the letter says.
Now that City Council has repealed the Planned Development designation, it's not clear whether the two sides will attempt to continue discussions.
John Zinsser of Save Hyde Park Square told WVXU Thursday that to his knowledge, there has been no direct communication between the developers and opponents: "There's been indirect communication in the form of the press release that the developers put out, which makes an absurd assertion that they want to start the discussion at 75 feet."
Attorney Matt Fellerhoff represents the Hyde Park Neighborhood Council. He also spoke to WVXU Thursday: "The conversations with the developer broke down earlier last week. We do not know what the developer is going to propose. We welcome the opportunity to continue to try to find a solution that is consistent with both party's visions for Hyde Park Square."
A spokesperson for the development team declined to provide further comment after the City Council vote.
The letter sent to Mayor Pureval last week says:
"In our most recent discussions, with some council members present, we had alignment on 24 of 25 asks from community leaders, including 17 concessions and a significant height reduction from our approved concept plan. Yet even after these changes, a small group in Hyde Park publicly stated that they would rather lose an election rather than negotiation. That is not a compromise; it is a refusal. An all-out refusal to compromise does not add value and should not guide the future of our City. If all you ever do is say no, you are not offering solutions, and the City deserves more than endless opposition."
Options for a new development application
There are a number of possible paths forward for this project. A spokesperson for the development team told WVXU this week the team has made no decision about which path to pursue.
A new application will take several weeks to move through approval processes. It is very unlikely a new plan will be up for approval before the November city election, in which the mayor and all nine Council members are on the ballot.
Here are some possibilities:
New application for a Planned Development
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 meets those requirements.
A new application for a Planned Development would go through the Planning Commission for a recommendation, then City Council for a vote.
Request individual variances as needed
The development team could submit individual requests for each aspect of the design that does not conform with current zoning code.
For example, the new design plans for maximum building height of 75 feet, which is 25 feet above the current zoned maximum. The developers could request a height variance.
Variances are considered via administrative hearing, where the zoning hearing examiner decides whether to grant the request.
The project could require multiple variance requests, depending on design details.
Notwithstanding ordinance
City Council could pass a "notwithstanding" ordinance to approve a design that doesn't follow current zoning.
A "notwithstanding" could apply to any city law; it sets aside the operation of existing law, and has been used to allow property owners to use their property in a manner that does not conform to zoning code. That includes density, parking minimums, height, setbacks, etc.
The "notwithstanding" process is a part of the Cincinnati Municipal Code.
No City Council members have said they are considering a notwithstanding ordinance for this project, but Council has taken this action for other development projects in the past.
In one recent case, the city faced a lawsuit after approving a notwithstanding ordinance that allowed a density variance for a housing project in Over-the-Rhine.
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