Lorain council hears public concerns on South Side Gateway rezoning; sends proposal to second reading

Lorain City Council on Tuesday held a public hearing on ZCA 1-2024, a rezoning package tied to the city’s South Side Gateway Choice Neighborhood transformation plan, then moved the ordinance to a second reading to allow staff to draft amendments addressing property-acquisition conditions.

Nick Kriznier, director of Building, Housing and Planning for the City of Lorain, told council the two-year Choice Neighborhood planning grant (about $500,000) produced a transformation plan and that the city now intends to apply for a Choice implementation grant of up to $50,000,000 to help stimulate housing development and related services in the South Side Gateway area. “The $50,000,000 will be used to to help stimulate, the development of housing, in the neighborhood,” Kriznier said.

Kriznier identified several parcels proposed for rezoning to mixed-use or R-3 multifamily, including the former city garage at East 35th and Bridal, parcels near East 28th Street, the Repco/Repco field site, Campana property and the Oakwood Park Estates/Whittier School site. He said the Planning Commission recommended approval but conditioned rezoning on properties being transferred to the city or the housing authority so the city can demonstrate site control to HUD.

Representatives of PC Campana said they are not opposing rezoning but signaled business concerns about retaining ownership of key industrial properties. Paul Kelly, vice president and general manager of PC Campana, said the company “is not here to oppose the proposed rezoning” but explained it needs to preserve capacity to expand as supply-chain and input-cost pressures increase.

Members of the public raised questions and objections. One resident asked about nearby junkyards between 35th and 39th Streets and whether they would remain; Kriznier said the city’s broader vision aims to spur redevelopment over time and identified potential buffering infrastructure projects. Longtime resident Grama Lewis said she received late notice and worried plans would lower her property value: “So it’s going to reduce my property value,” she told the council. Another commenter, David Gonzalez, asked whether changes in voucher payments could concentrate lower-income households in South Lorain and whether there is supporting data on long-term property-value effects.

Several council members praised the planning work and community engagement but urged caution. Councilman Baez, a South Lorain resident, said he wants protections built into legislation and favors placing amendment language on record before final passage: “I don’t believe I wanna make a decision until an amendment is put in and some of these issues are are concentrated into that legislation,” he said.

Council members agreed to send ZCA 1-2024 to a second reading so the administration and legal staff can prepare amendments clarifying that rezoning changes take effect only when parcels are acquired by the city or the Lorain Metropolitan Housing Authority and to allow additional review. The motion to send the matter to a second reading carried unanimously.

Next steps: Council will consider amended language at a future meeting; any development in a mixed-use district will still require submission of a preliminary development plan and separate approvals that will include site plans and renderings.