Development committee presses ZoneCo for clearer rules on Cedar Road, Warrensville Center and residential standards

University Heights’ Development Committee met July 8 to review ZoneCo’s responses to the draft zoning-code matrix and to give the consultant clearer direction before the next draft, focusing on Cedar Road, the Warrensville Center Road corridor, residential setbacks and stormwater requirements.

Committee members discussed whether Cedar Road should be rezoned toward multifamily or remain commercial, noting technical constraints there compared with Warrensville Center Road. ZoneCo’s response in the matrix said Cedar Road’s lots average about 135 feet deep compared with roughly 175 feet on Warrensville Center Road, and that Cedar’s built environment is more auto-oriented and places sidewalks at the street edge, making it less comfortable for pedestrians and harder to buffer adjacent single-family homes. The matrix reported roughly 110 one- and two-family dwellings on Warrensville Center Road’s residential segment versus about 70 on Cedar Road.

The committee said those differences must inform any allowance for multifamily development on Cedar. Some members signaled they are “okay with multifamily” being permitted in parts of Cedar Road if design changes—such as moving sidewalks away from the street edge—improve the pedestrian environment. Others said Cedar should not be ignored and asked ZoneCo for concrete toolbox options to…