Loveland City Council accepts Planning & Zoning denial of Riverside Drive special planning district, 7-0

Loveland City Council voted 7-0 to accept the Planning & Zoning Commission’s recommendation not to initiate a special planning district (SPD) for 128 North Riverside Drive, following a public hearing and a large showing of neighborhood opposition.

The commission had held a public hearing and on Jan. 7 voted 3-1 not to recommend initiation of the SPD; that formal action was transmitted to council and was presented for consideration. Council discussed whether to schedule a new public hearing or accept the commission’s decision; after discussion, council moved to accept the Planning & Zoning recommendation and, by roll call, recorded a unanimous vote.

The commission and numerous residents said the proposal conflicted with the intended purpose and scope for the waterfront area and would substantially increase density. At the January hearing, residents and environmental groups argued the proposal risked harm to the river and nearby neighborhoods. Resident Diedra Hazelbaker told council that speakers, including members of the Little Miami Conservancy and other groups, “spoke passionately and unanimously in defense of our river and community,” and said the proposal “would compromise our environmental protections and increase risk like flooding.”

Resident Susan Sprigg said she lives a block from the site and that residents who attended the hearing raised concerns about flooding, the health of the river and the character of the neighborhood. “I am not anti-development,” she said, but urged council to protect the river and neighborhood character. Other residents at the hearing made similar points that the riverfront has been treated as special and should not be rezoned to allow the proposed number of homes.

Planning and Zoning members and several councilors cited two decisive points in deliberations: that the portion of property bordering the river lies in a protected scenic-waterway designation, and that the applicant’s plan would substantially increase the number of residential units beyond what the existing zoning would allow on the site’s other parcels. Those factors—river protection and the scale of proposed density—were cited repeatedly by commissioners and council members as the basis for the refusal to recommend initiation.

Council did not schedule further hearings on the SPD after accepting the commission’s action. The roll-call vote recorded “yes” from all seven members present. That action closes the SPD initiation process under Section 1151 of the city’s zoning code unless the applicant pursues other, separate applications under the city’s zoning process.