City law department says nuisance litigation, liquor objections aim to remove problem places and reduce neighborhood crime

The Public Safety & Quality of Life Committee heard an overview from City Law Department Chief Counsel Mark Manning on how the city uses nuisance litigation and legislative liquor-license objections to address businesses that contribute to community harm.

"What we're trying to do is produce long-term sustainable benefit," Manning told the committee, adding that the work requires investigative time by police and litigation time by the law department. He said those place-based actions are intended to disrupt locations that function as hubs for criminal networks.

Manning described the John Street Market in the West End as an example. "In the two years that preceded our enforcement action, there were 12 violent crimes involving firearms, including three homicides within a one-block radius," he said, and the city terminated the market's liquor license and closed the business in May 2023. Manning said the city recorded no violent incidents within that one-block radius in 2023 or 2024 after enforcement.

He also reviewed the Sycamore Hotel case in Roselawn, saying undercover work showed management facilitating prostitution and other vice. "In the 10 years prior to the city engaging in litigation, there were 262 drug or prostitution arrests," Manning said, and he reported that violent crime on the block fell about 76% and community-level calls for service in Roselawn dropped about 43% in the two years following the closure.

Manning stressed limits under state law: nuisance litigation is typically triggered by vice activities (drugs, prostitution) or specified predicate offenses, not by violent crime alone. "Violent crime is not a basis for us to be able to file litigation about that particular location," he said, while noting violent incidents can feed into liquor-license objections where a link to an establishment can be shown.

On the difference between tools, Manning said annual liquor permits are issued by the State of Ohio; municipalities may object to renewals before the state board. "Here in the Southwest part of the state, our deadline for renewal is June 1, which means that council has to object by May 1," he told the committee, laying out the process: city objection, hearing at the Division of Liquor Control, potential appeal to the Ohio Liquor Control Commission and then to common pleas court.

Committee members pressed the administration on practical issues. The vice mayor asked how the city addresses apparent ownership transfers between related LLCs; Manning said the department uses discovery and subpoenas in litigation and conducts public-record due diligence to determine who actually operates a business. Manning added that police compliance checks are applied broadly so owners are not selectively targeted.

Council member Mark Jeffries asked whether nuisance filings have risen; Manning said filings are increasing and estimated the law department filed roughly 10—— nuisance-related matters in the past year, compared with only occasional high-profile cases a decade ago.

Manning told members the law department aims first to resolve problems through education and remediation where possible, and reserves litigation or objection for the worst actors who fail to change.

The committee did not vote on any objections during the session. Manning said the administration is evaluating potential objections this month and will meet with individual council members to discuss particular cases and the evidence the city can bring forward.