City Council OKs housing proposal rezoning request

Mentor City Council took the Planning Commission’s recommendation — not the administration’s — when it voted this week on a rezoning request for a housing proposal.

Council on March 20 unanimously approved “Plan B” for the Mentor Heights subdivision on about 19 acres on Chillicothe Road, northeast of the King Memorial Road intersection.

The plan was revised from the Commission’s initial recommendation so as to add a second

access point on Chillicothe to the subdivision, which requires rezoning the former nursery land from R-4 Single-Family Residential to RVG Residential Village Green to allow 47 homes.

A previous proposal, backed by the Commission 6-1 in December, required some form of interconnect with the Remington Drive cul de sac to the east for emergency access, at the advice of the fire department.

Residents of Winchester Woods and Demshar Drive opposed the connection, saying it would lead to cut-through traffic in their quiet community.

In response, developer George Davis of Pro Built Homes revised his plan to eliminate the connection at Remington, though the design of the cul de sac indicates it was meant to be temporary when Winchester Woods was approved in 1986. The Commission on March 1 supported the plan without the connection.

Davis called the outcome a good example of cooperation among the parties involved.

“I’m really excited about the new plan,” he said. “I feel like it’s still good for me, but more importantly, I feel like I’ve accommodated the will of our neighbors — and I know Fred Zuch, longtime business owner and resident of Mentor, is very pleased with this plan.”

It is Zuch’s nursery property being developed.

Winchester Woods Homeowners Association representatives indicated that they are unified in their opposition to the connection and in support of the current safety service, as evidenced via two petitions.

The revised plan was approved by Council after a stipulation was added to require the addition of an multipurpose path.

Council members also wanted assurance that sight distance wouldn’t be an issue with the two access drives and a bend in the road on Chillicothe.

“I just don’t want to make the same mistake twice,” Councilman at large Scott J. Marn said, referring to a traffic signal installed for Whaler’s Cove subdivision, after sight-distance issues were created by the Heisley Road widening. “It was expensive to fix.”

Officials will need to determine how the Remington cul de sac will be maintained going forward, City Manager Ken Filipiak noted.

The Mentor Heights development will feature ranch, first-floor master and colonial homes in the $350,000 to $475,000 range. Davis has said that the project is probably a year away from starting.