The Morning Journal (Lorain, OH)
Sheffield Lake declines rezoning
Sheffield Lake City Council declined to override a mayoral veto for a proposed luxury town house villa development on Lake Road.
In a 4-3 vote Jan. 12, Council did not reach the five-vote threshold to override a veto by Sheffield Lake Mayor Dennis Bring who declined to support the proposal he said would go against the city charter and concerns about the “lack of an endgame.”
The legislation on the table would have rezoned seven parcels at 5055 E. Lake Road at Cliff Drive for a project known as Buckeye Cove, which is owned by Paul Morrow, with single units priced at over $300,000 a piece.
The override was supported by Council members Leanna
Stark, Bill Wtulich Jr., Steve Kovach and Rocky Radeff.
Dissenting on the proposal were Mark Erdei, Mark Cizl and
Rosa Gee.
Gee said following the vote it was not an easy decision, but she had concerns about stormwater issues and believed the project would have made the problem worse due to a creek that runs through the area.
In a statement posted to her official Facebook page, Gee said while she would love to see development in the area, Sheffield Lake was prone to flooding and did not believe the project was practical.
“I thought I would see some sort of changes for stormwater considerations, but there were none,” she said. “I truly want to see our city move forward, and I did eagerly look forward to a project on Mr. Morrow’s property.
“I had to seriously consider all of the property owners to the south that already have flooding issues. The project could potentially make the problem worse.”
Robert Corna Jr., a filmmaker and college professor, addressed Council on behalf of his father, Bob Corna, the architect on the project.
Robert Corna said while his father could be intense, he is a visionary and asked for Council’s support.
“He is a visionary,” the younger Corna said. “He’s done so many things for the city of Cleveland.
“We’re in a situation in our country where we’re divided, politics, whatever. People are not working. People need food on the table. People need to make money.
“One of those people is my dad. He needs this project to make money to survive. Stopping him is preventing him from making money.”
The elder Corna consistently has defended his record against concerns about lawsuits filed against him, stating that being sued “comes with the territory.”
In December, Robert Corna said his father never left a project unfinished.
On Dec. 15, Council passed the legislation 6-0, but Bring declined to sign the measure and outlined his reasons in a three-page letter.
Bring wrote that re-zoning the parcels is inconsistent with the city’s master plan and would amount to “inappropriate spot zoning” from a more restrictive to less restrictive classification. Spot zoning, the mayor wrote, is re-zoning a single or small group of parcels for a particular use that is inconsistent with the surrounding area.
“The City of Sheffield Lake’s master plan strongly discourages spot zoning, which has been a longstanding problem throughout the city,” Bring wrote.
In addition, the construction would negatively impact an adjoining property owner that would be surrounded by the development, and the ordinance provided no concrete completion date and doesn’t include enforcement mechanisms should it remain unfinished for a lengthy period, he wrote.
“Perhaps the strongest argument against the ordinance is the lack of an endgame,” Bring continued. “While the ordinance requires that the project be commenced within 12 months of final site plan approval, it makes no mention of a completion date.
“I am extremely concerned about the ability to effectively enforce the terms of the ordinance should the project drag on for years in a constant state of construction. Alternatively, the possibility exists that the applicant may consolidate the five lots, begin demolition of some structures and construction of others, only to abandon the project without seeing it to completion.
“In such a situation, one must ask, what would the city be left with?”