Council rejects temporary notwithstanding ordinance for 964-space lot at 515 Water Street

Cincinnati City Council declined to adopt a temporary notwithstanding ordinance that would have allowed the Hamilton County Board of County Commissioners to install an approximately 964‑space surface parking lot on an 18‑acre parcel at 515 Water Street, a site the county purchased after the Hilltop Concrete plant relocated in 2025.

The administration’s staff recommended conditional approval limited to a temporary use expiring March 1, 2026, to allow time for an update to the Banks master plan. City Planning Commission had recommended approval on June 6 by a vote of 5–0 with two members recused, but council members split over whether a temporary parking lot would pre‑empt a longer‑term riverfront vision.

Planning staffer Andrew Hall summarized the proposal and the recommendation: "We recommend conditional approval of a temporary parking lot as long as it expires on 03/01/2026," he said, noting the planning department does not support permanent notwithstanding ordinances. The applicant proposed a surface lot on the former Hilltop Concrete site, roughly 18 acres and adjacent to the Ohio River; the site is in the floodplain and spans multiple zoning districts, including MG and RFM designations.

Hamilton County and project consultants described event parking and tailgating needs. Paul Bellman of THP, who said he has worked on Banks projects for roughly 25 years, answered a council question on existing parking supply: "In the garage and surface lots, we're looking at approximately 5,000," he said in one exchange, and another speaker later referenced a broader figure of about 8,000 parking spaces in the Banks area when surface lots were counted.

Supporters of the temporary permit framed the request as a practical step to clean up the site — asbestos abatement and demolition work the county has undertaken — and to provide event parking and tailgating for Bengals games, concerts and riverfront festivals while the Banks master plan is updated. Phil Beck, the county’s Banks project executive, and others said the county had to meet commitments made in acquiring the property and move forward with interim uses.

Opponents said the parcel is among the city’s most valuable riverfront properties and argued that converting it to surface parking — even temporarily — runs counter to long‑term ambitions to expand green space and mixed‑use development along the river. Council member Mark Walsh said the lot would serve a small number of days per year and called building a new surface lot "shortsighted;" he also questioned the construction timeline and whether the lot could realistically be in place by the proposed summer opening.

Council members also pressed for clarity on schedule and costs. County representatives said much of the expense to date was for demolition and asbestos abatement and that many of those costs would be necessary regardless of the site’s final use. The administration noted that approvals would still be required from the Departments of Buildings and Inspections and Transportation & Engineering and from the Law Department’s Real Estate Division even if the notwithstanding ordinance were approved.

On the council floor, members split 4–5 and the motion failed. Members voting yes were Owens, Vice Mayor Kearney, Vice Chair Parks and Johnson. Members voting no were Jeffries, Walsh, Krammerding, Albee and Nolan. Council discussion referenced an ongoing Banks master plan update expected to be completed by December 2025 and differing views about whether the public interest was better served by a temporary parking accommodation or by preserving the riverfront for future park and mixed‑use development.

Next steps: because the ordinance failed, the county said further demolition and site work intended to convert the property to a temporary parking lot would be paused pending direction from the county commissioners and further coordination with city planning. City planning staff and county representatives said they will continue the Banks master plan process and look to align any future proposals for the parcel with that plan update.