Elyria council resists preapproval of final plat for large development, schedules Aug. 4 presentation

Elyria City Council on July 22 stopped short of giving the developer and the Lorain County Port Authority the kind of preapproval they said would be needed to market bonds for the Elyria Block Development LLC project, citing unresolved questions about final plat acceptance and other design details. Council voted 7-3 to request a presentation and advance materials and to hold the presentation during the council meeting on Aug. 4.

The matter centers on a single outstanding issue described by city counsel as whether council would be contractually bound to accept the final plat and public improvements after planning commission approval. Outside counsel Russ Balthus told the council the parties had exchanged emails and letters in July and held a July 22 phone call with attorneys for the developer (DVR). "We are now down to, I believe, one bullet issue ... the remaining issue is the ... planning commission's approval of the preliminary plat," Balthus said, summarizing the negotiation timeline and the Port Authority's letter of July 11 and DVR's response of July 17.

Why it matters: the Port Authority and…