[{"_1":2,"_100":-5,"_101":-5},"loaderData",{"_3":4,"_26":27},"root",{"_5":6,"_17":10,"_18":19,"_20":21,"_22":10,"_23":-5,"_24":-5,"_25":10},"user",{"_7":8,"_9":10,"_11":10,"_12":-5,"_13":-5,"_14":15,"_16":-5},"roles",[],"isAuthenticated",false,"isPremium","planName","subscriptionStatus","featureFlags",{},"insightsBudget","isDevelopmentHost","userPreferences",{},"recaptchaSiteKey","6LcvOJcUAAAAAHsB-gPGfGktcRlKpH7OTIU_dMTD","isImpersonating","impersonation","affiliateStatus","isFreedomPortal","routes/v2/article/layout",{"_28":29,"_30":31},"notFound",true,"relatedArticles",[32,76,88],{"_33":34,"_35":36,"_37":38,"_39":40,"_41":42,"_43":44,"_45":46,"_47":48,"_49":50,"_51":52,"_53":54,"_55":56,"_57":58,"_59":60,"_61":62,"_63":64,"_65":66,"_67":68,"_69":70,"_71":72,"_73":74,"_75":74},"mediaId",6173932,"mediaKeyId","5377209-1fb140da5535850139d0303842d82f9c","parentId",5377209,"title","Residents and committee call for clearer timeline, outreach and design examples in zoning rewrite","audioSeconds",218,"startMs",3996000,"endMs",4214000,"viewUrl","/Search/View?dp=1&key=5377209-1fb140da5535850139d0303842d82f9c&start=3996&end=4214","thumbnailUrl","https://assets.pipeline.soar.com/5377209-1fb140da5535850139d0303842d82f9c/thumbnail_3996000.jpg","articleUrl","/articles/6173932/Ohio/Residents-and-committee-call-for-clearer-timeline-outreach-and-design-examples-in-zoning-rewrite","mediaUrl","https://secure.pipeline.soar.com/6173932-15bc202e8117fb4d7af7ca1b1465a2ba/orig.mp4?Expires=1774882558&Signature=Gt9u1gR4LACWl~kRhdCdpYHzv-8i-7Fb1hDzbbS79AIr1yE2ZhmQhn-Nwy4Gt6sAni8K4Q7160ULX9Jj9B-TT8Exl74idIHV7wCR7F08VXqLnSvC8OEYg~YB-F02EfzO5VQ2bjPHYDUZeyeU131mbCv5otL8l~DP728yX4QOra7PxpGAL~9Per~8bnTioNWoWMpGOeTdC7aQPdGtbeeeqHxWyyjbp2aljaneAUyh4SPSCYX6d5gHn6kQgzUSBUMk0Nie~o5ioAZooQb7xj6FIR5ZZTscja2ihteXc9Y4pDW8ml27uMPgp7llJ7KCTcHKjK7DrP9TiY~cOCG-EYNjdw__&Key-Pair-Id=KUT5TJCACFTXG","author","City Council of University Heights OH","date","2025-07-12T16:25:15.553Z","article","Multiple residents told the Development Committee on July 8 they felt the zoning rewrite’s public outreach lagged the work and urged more timely, clearer engagement before final rules are proposed.

A resident said the draft has been before council for 13 months and “should have been done in 60 to 90 days,” adding that residents are now playing catch up. Committee members acknowledged the delay but said they prefer a deliberate, well‑documented process that includes multiple public sessions once draft 2 is ready. The committee’s chair said communication will be expanded through mailers, the city magazine, email and social channels and recommended coordination with the city communications staff.

Residents proposed concrete engagement and design ideas: hold focused community sessions by neighborhood, show built examples from comparable municipalities (for instance two‑story garden apartments and townhouses rather than four‑story blocks), create pocket parks to provide neighborhood focal points, and use traffic analysis to justify lane widths and on‑street parking on Warrensville Center Road. Multiple speakers urged committee members to be specific about intended ground‑floor uses in the code so permitted use lists cannot be interpreted to allow high‑intensity retail or automotive uses that would disrupt adjacent neighborhoods.

The committee committed to additional outreach once it receives a consultant second draft and emphasized that public hearings will be real opportunities to change the draft. No formal votes were taken; the committee will reconvene to continue the matrix review and to finalize guidance to ZoneCo.","mediaType","Video","parentTitle","Economic Development 070825 20250708 235014 Meeting Recording","oneSentenceSummary","Public commenters and committee members criticized the pace and communication of the zoning rewrite, urged in‑person community sessions and suggested design examples, pocket parks and street reconfiguration to improve walkability.","taxTitle","University Heights City Council, University Heights, Cuyahoga County, Ohio","taxId",71902,"location","Ohio","headline","","shortSummary",{"_33":77,"_35":36,"_37":38,"_39":78,"_41":79,"_43":80,"_45":81,"_47":82,"_49":83,"_51":84,"_53":85,"_55":56,"_57":58,"_59":86,"_61":62,"_63":64,"_65":87,"_67":68,"_69":70,"_71":72,"_73":74,"_75":74},6173937,"Committee: don’t forget Cedar Road — seek ZoneCo options for narrow lots and sidewalks",1431,87000,1518000,"/Search/View?dp=1&key=5377209-1fb140da5535850139d0303842d82f9c&start=87&end=1518","https://assets.pipeline.soar.com/5377209-1fb140da5535850139d0303842d82f9c/thumbnail_87000.jpg","/articles/6173937/Ohio/Committee-dont-forget-Cedar-Road-seek-ZoneCo-options-for-narrow-lots-and-sidewalks","https://secure.pipeline.soar.com/6173937-1fd48d7203782600a674c2576ea98105/orig.mp4?Expires=1774882558&Signature=JiWsdFBRiJyt6X5Mw13N2WcOVGPUZQUTbizdcNzbaCay343rD-4NR54-Wm47dhNGX1Yk~Qp5nccICqh3sCk98tQBGrb9gSqhwgk06H7bflkV1OQ-~3o~Fuy9o8VIO7aEv~X-T0RHTbGgwjXVbdids8GA53aPDpjTQqs9BsGDrRuhbVRt9izZAiOeqOKTZrIWRJF40RAonOeYXTPkSnb5wVTCmmNxUl6vsOQsO9PVQEk0Zj53-vk5YAcY-JpBWWCeX9Guzw7yCVncAaOJQwI8mzQd0I7ksLFEKC9Z4wgrSiDXNevNP9fCgtIcGuk85ThgKAjJbsx6MV-XsXMxAiz3BQ__&Key-Pair-Id=KUT5TJCACFTXG","Committee members used the July 8 meeting to press ZoneCo for tailored recommendations for Cedar Road rather than a straight copy of the Warrensville Center Road district. The consultant told the committee the Cedar Road corridor differs from Warrensville Center in parcel depth, housing stock and pedestrian environment.

The consultant’s notes, as summarized to the committee, compared lot depths: Warrensville Center Road lots average about 175 feet deep while Cedar Road lots average about 135 feet. The consultant also counted roughly 110 single‑ and two‑family dwellings on the residential portion of Warrensville Center Road between Washington and Silsbee, compared with about 70 such dwellings on the comparable 0.67‑mile stretch of Cedar Road. Committee members said those differences help explain why the two corridors may need different standards.

Committee members discussed several changes ZoneCo could include for Cedar Road: allow R‑2 multifamily in select blocks; permit townhouses and duplex conversions by right in some areas; use the neighborhood commercial district as a middle ground for lots that are deeper; relocate sidewalks inward where tree lawns once existed to improve the pedestrian buffer; and require buffers and screening between new development and adjacent backyards. “If the pedestrian experience is not improved, then Cedar Road may be more effective as the city's commercial corridor,” a committee member said.

Members and one planning commissioner noted that some portions of Cedar Road have wider sidewalks with no tree lawn because the right‑of‑way was altered in past street work. They asked ZoneCo to provide concrete alternatives — not just an explanation of constraints — so the committee can state which options it favors in draft 2.

No zoning rules were adopted at the meeting. The committee agreed it is generally open to multifamily development on Cedar Road in R‑2 where site planning can address parking and buffering, but it asked the consultant to return with specific tool‑box items (setback options, required buffers, sidewalk relocation approaches and neighborhood commercial use lists) for the next draft.","Committee members told the zoning consultant to provide concrete options for Cedar Road where narrower lot depths, sidewalks at the street edge and an auto‑oriented environment complicate the application of the Warrensville Center Road mixed‑use template.",{"_33":89,"_35":36,"_37":38,"_39":90,"_41":91,"_43":92,"_45":93,"_47":94,"_49":95,"_51":96,"_53":97,"_55":56,"_57":58,"_59":98,"_61":62,"_63":64,"_65":99,"_67":68,"_69":70,"_71":72,"_73":74,"_75":74},6173942,"Committee presses ZoneCo for tighter Warrensville Center mixed‑use rules after project example",1162,2730000,3892000,"/Search/View?dp=1&key=5377209-1fb140da5535850139d0303842d82f9c&start=2730&end=3892","https://assets.pipeline.soar.com/5377209-1fb140da5535850139d0303842d82f9c/thumbnail_2730000.jpg","/articles/6173942/Ohio/Committee-presses-ZoneCo-for-tighter-Warrensville-Center-mixeduse-rules-after-project-example","https://secure.pipeline.soar.com/6173942-7e1e14b9fbfc8698c35ac26b9102f9ff/orig.mp4?Expires=1774882558&Signature=kCGvPxjr93FMYPO~yOZ2XAM~y4CtUdGaeDX6WYIkWa6uWIxDzMXwcZvTAou5pKA~7Qe64bHzyc7cuGukTnu4RjLIA9MCOfOsbm76iZIKZtvd0qwpUUADDwmcu6Me9F5CNUhrGPCsCM2gYZAztIyxWf47MelKc5ctt~BPkVnpv3J9k2oyVX7eL1l~k914B69PtLGM8iRxvTVZUIDYLMcyCffecZTSBiDENn8bBq5to-4nZDMdgbwL3U2tSIFez5L4dsET84U2RhOb9FzUUKUM7KgQu-mQLNG7x90HbZCZ2SJVeW-NebqbJvCTtwAqWSEJiOGTDu3CNtOowWwMVRR5sg__&Key-Pair-Id=KUT5TJCACFTXG","The Development Committee met July 8 to give direction to ZoneCo on the draft Warrensville Center Road zoning rules after members and residents raised concerns about building height, parking, stormwater and buffers.

Committee members and residents said a project shown to the Planning Commission — 36 apartments with roughly 1,800 square feet of retail — illustrated how the current draft could allow larger, more intrusive development than the committee intends. “I think they were using the mixed use component for the building height, which would allow for 4 stories. I think for me, that's a no go,” said a committee member. Several residents echoed that four stories would be too tall where housing sits directly behind the corridor.

The committee emphasized several technical changes it wants ZoneCo to clarify before a second draft: whether to allow flat roofs and roof decks (the committee agreed to remove a 5:12 roof‑pitch requirement and allow flat roofs); how to count and place parking so rear lots are not dominated by large parking fields; how to treat impervious coverage (the draft lists 75 percent maximum for residential portions, and ZoneCo’s mixed‑use standard uses higher percentages); and how required rear setbacks apply to principal structures versus accessory garages. Committee members noted the draft currently sets a 35‑foot rear setback from the rear property line to the principal structure, with accessory structures subject to separate setbacks.

On stormwater, staff and an attendee described site solutions used elsewhere — underground storage tanks and on‑site retention systems — and said those systems can allow more impervious surface while meeting runoff controls. “If you want density, the density offsets the cost you're putting in the underground storm system,” a planning official said. The group asked ZoneCo to propose alternative impervious limits or separate limits for projects that provide on‑site storage and water‑quality treatment.

The committee also discussed the proposed requirement that residential uses in the mixed buildings include nonresidential ground‑floor uses. Several members and residents asked ZoneCo to consider narrower lists of permitted ground‑floor uses (for example: neighborhood‑serving retail or offices rather than general retail) to reduce the chance that high‑traffic uses land in the corridor.

Public commenters urged several design changes: cap multifamily height at three stories, require stronger landscape buffers between new developments and existing backyards, prefer on‑street parking to large rear surface lots, use pervious paving where practical, and pursue roadway redesigns that calm traffic and improve crosswalks on Warrensville Center Road. One commenter noted a traffic study from about a decade ago and advised the city to confirm current volumes before fixing lane widths.

No new ordinance or code was adopted at the meeting. The committee directed staff to bundle the committee’s feedback and ask ZoneCo to produce a second draft incorporating those clarifications and alternatives; the committee said it will vet that draft before holding community hearings. The meeting ended with a motion to adjourn.","A city development subcommittee asked its zoning consultant for clearer rules on height, parking, buffers, stormwater and ground‑floor uses for the proposed Warrensville Center mixed‑use district after a recent proposal exceeded several draft standards.","actionData","errors"]

Article not found

Residents and committee call for clearer timeline, outreach and design examples in zoning rewrite

Committee: don’t forget Cedar Road — seek ZoneCo options for narrow lots and sidewalks

Committee presses ZoneCo for tighter Warrensville Center mixed‑use rules after project example