City seeking property for controversial roundabout plan

The Kapszukiewicz TOLEDO — administration is seeking city council approval to begin condemnation proceedings for two small parcels of land

one of which includes a — vacant storefront in the

— way of a proposed modern roundabout in South Toledo.

The owners of properties at 3188 S. Byrne Road and at 4346 S. Detroit Ave. retained a lawyer even before the city’s appraisal was complete, and that lawyer has not responded to city attempts to open negotiations, Jamie Miller, a senior real estate specialist with the city Department of Public Utilities, told council during an agenda review meeting Tuesday.

The resolution presented by the utilities department states 0.0529 acre is needed from the 3188 S. Byrne parcel, which occupies the corner of Byrne and Devonshire roads, while 0.0836 acre needs to be purchased from the 4346 S. Detroit parcel where a former Hungry Howie’s pizza shop stands. The latter includes 0.0141 acre already occupied by the street, according to the city, and a temporary construction easement of 0.0585 acre also is needed there.

Lucas County land records show the 3188 S. Byrne property belongs to Heaton Park Trailer Sales LLC, while the 4346 S. Detroit property is owned by Woltep Inc. But Miller said the two landowners are “a different legal entity” with the same principal and both represented by the same attorney.

Starting eminent domain proceedings often compels reluctant landowners to the negotiation table in these situations, public utilities Director Ed Moore told council.

A Blade call to the Woltep office was answered by a facsimile machine after extended ringing, while a message left at a neighboring law office belonging to James J. Petlow on Tuesday afternoon garnered no response.

Miller said Heaton has an approved plan with the city to develop a pharmacy at 3188 S. Byrne, and that project’s layout is compatible with the roundabout plan. On Tuesday morning, that property’s parking lot was being resurfaced, while the former Hungry Howie’s was vacant with a for-lease sign on the building.

Like another proposed for a different residential neighborhood in Toledo, the Byrne/Detroit/Devonshire roundabout has been controversial.

It drew a mixture of reactions during a public meeting early last year, with some neighbors supporting it but others saying a traffic light, as now exists, is needed to provide breaks in traffic for driveway egress.

Councilman Larry Sykes said Tuesday he had “500 or more signatures on his desk opposed to this” and he had promised critics a community meeting would be held.

But council President Matt Cherry, in whose district the intersection is located, said he had recently gone doorto-door near the intersection and found most people he talked to favor the roundabout.

“It’s always the people that are against the project who show up” at meetings, Cherry said before noting that roundabouts’ benefits for reducing pollution and enhancing traffic safety are critical to $3 million in state and federal grants that would pay for most of the street reconstruction.

The city forsook such a grant, however, when council decided two years ago to scrap plans for a roundabout at Bancroft Street and Parkside Boulevard after hearing similar opposition.