Council approves final plan for 62‑lot Concordia subdivision over resident objections

The Independence City Council on Tuesday approved final site‑plan and plat applications and related lot splits for the Concordia property, adopting Ordinance 2025‑74 by a 5–2 vote.

The vote authorizes final approval of a plan by Petros Homes and Petros Development to create 62 single‑family residential lots on land the city purchased in 2023. The council’s action followed lengthy public comment from residents who urged the city to halt the project pending further environmental and stormwater study and a presentation from the developer and their consultants defending the final design.

Jessica Heiser, identified in the meeting as a city staff member, summarized the administrative history that led to the final request, saying council previously approved the city purchase (2022), selection of the developer and sale terms (2024), the U‑1A overlay zoning and a preliminary plan (February 2025), and that the Board of Zoning Appeals granted needed variances on May 28 and the planning commission recommended approval last week.

Greg Modick, a representative of Petros Homes and Petros Development, described the engineering work behind the revised plan and said the developer had expanded retention capacity and reduced runoff directed to Stone Road. "This is not designed in my wish and my whim and what I want as a developer. This is designed to the code requirements and what's needed to do the right thing for the downstream," Modick said, adding the development's larger retention pond and orifice sizing reduce peak discharge to well under code allowances.

Residents during public comment repeatedly raised environmental and process concerns. Viveca Jenks, a Stone Road resident, asked the council to "commission independent environmental testing before any further steps are taken" and to consider a public referendum. Katie Sailor, also of Stone Road, cited soil testing she said showed elevated lead and raised the possibility of sunshine‑law and procedural violations by boards handling the project. Pamela Dengler called Ordinance 2025‑74 "the culmination of 20 months of ... legal manipulations" and asked the council to place the matter on the ballot.

The developer and their consultants said they performed additional site work beyond what the initial phase‑1 study required. Modick said Petros hired RP Environmental Consultants and engaged local engineers (Don [city engineer] and others) to prepare a stormwater and hydrologic analysis. He said one soil sample showed a lead result around 270 parts per million, and that recent regulatory thresholds in Ohio had changed (he cited Ohio EPA’s residential screening at 100 ppm and a different U.S. EPA comparison at 200 ppm), but argued the elevated value was found at depth and that their consultant concluded the site did not meet ASTM criteria for a recognized environmental condition that would trigger an automatic phase‑2 investigation. Modick said the developer had nevertheless dug test pits, sampled soils and planned removal or capping and proper disposal where warranted.

On stormwater, the developer presented a watershed analysis that they said reduced the acreage contributing runoff to Stone Road from roughly 12.8 acres to about 1.5 acres and cut modeled 100‑year peak discharge at the property line from about 20.65 cubic feet per second to 4.38 cfs, or roughly 21% of the earlier modeled peak. Modick said the primary pond outlet was a roughly 6‑inch orifice and that the final design exceeded local code requirements for rate reduction.

Council members and staff repeatedly stressed that additional agency reviews and permits remain. Modick and staff said the project still requires technical approvals from the city engineer, Cuyahoga Soil & Water Conservation District, Northeast Ohio Regional Sewer District, Cleveland Water and Ohio EPA, and that final construction cannot begin until those approvals and required as‑built certifications are complete.

Council discussion included requests that the developer and city coordinate removal or proper disposal of buried waste and glass bottles found in test pits; confirmation that some contaminated material would be removed under consultant oversight; and a reminder that final construction requires recorded maintenance agreements and as‑built drawings before public dedication.

Following council discussion and questions, the motion to adopt Ordinance 2025‑74 carried 5–2. The roll call recorded votes as: Walt Chanowitz — yes; Day — yes; DeGeronimo — yes; Narduzzi — yes; Agliani — no; Viverka — no; Traquis — yes.

The council also removed two personnel compensation ordinances from the agenda for referral to a workshop and approved a series of other routine ordinances and contracts on the consent agenda (see separate roundup).