Council OKs Bolton estate settlement

Agreement to conserve old-growth forest, open up for development

Following a lawsuit filed last September by owners of the Bolton property, Mentor City Council has unanimously approved a settlement agreement with property owners that would end the pending litigation over its zoning classification.

The original lawsuit, filed on behalf of Charles Bolton, who currently lives on the 186-acre piece of privately-owned land in Mentor bordered by Route 615, and brother William Bolton, mainly sought a declaration that the property’s C-1, Conservation zoning was unconstitutional.

The filing indicated that the land is the only privately-owned property in the city that is classified under C-1.

According to Mentor Law Director Joseph Szeman, who spoke at council’s Sept. 7 meeting, some other arguments made in the filing were that the current zoning does not make for a reasonable economic return, and it is not rationally zoned given changed circumstances in the area.

He explained that in light of the developments over the years with the Route 615 interchange and I-90, along with the development of nearby Newell Creek, the filing asserted that the preservation of the Bolton property’s C-1 zoning was no longer warranted.

The lawsuit was put together a few months after a referendum was narrowly defeated by Mentor voters that would have rezoned the

Bolton property from C-1 and R-4, Single Family Residential districts to PMUD, Planned Mixed-Use Development Overlay district.

The defeated rezoning was tied to a development proposal that would have consisted of both housing and commercial uses, repurposing of the mansion that sits in the middle of the property, creating a 45-acre “town center” that combined retail, office and residential spaces, and preserving nearly 70 acres of forest.

With the recently approved settlement agreement, much of that plan is back on the table.

The settlement agreed upon by the Boltons and City Council added on 20 more acres of old growth forest to be preserved, bringing the total up to 90 acres of open space. Of those acres, 56 will lie in Mentor, while the remaining 34 are across the border in Kirtland Hills.

“The Boltons have committed to transfer ownership, pursuant to a purchase

agreement contingent only on settling this case, to the Western Reserve Land Conservancy, which its whole reason for being is to conserve property of this nature,” the law director explained.

Public access to the forest is also included in the agreement, Szeman said.

“(Access) shall be provided so that members of the public at large will be able to enjoy this area,” he

said. “Not to create ball fields or things of that nature, but perhaps persons who are familiar with Chapin Forest will understand the analogy of how wonderful it can be to walk through an old growth forest that will be preserved for generations.”

In order for this land preservation to occur, Szeman explained to council, there has to be some tradeoff with the property owners,

which goes back to rezoning for mixed use development. The development plans are virtually identical to those that were tied to the referendum last year.

Moving forward in the litigation process would pose significant challenges to both the city and property owners, Szeman said, because a piece of land this large has varying attributes and surroundings that all play a part in what it can and cannot be developed into.

“It’s 186 acres, which under current zoning can be subdivided into 5-acre parcels,” he said, “so when we’re approaching this from a land use perspective and litigation perspective, you really can’t approach it as this one homogenous parcel divorced from its surroundings.”

He recommended that council approve the settlement agreement instead of continuing legal proceedings, because much of the language in the agreement allowed for public body control and caps on how much

acreage can be developed into commercial, residential or other types of projects.

“Not control just for the sake of control, not control just to say you have it, but control just to make sure that any modifications in the future are consistent with the city’s best interests,” Szeman said.

Having control over modifications to the property through a voluntary settlement agreement is significant, the law director added, and will help city administration be able to confront unforeseen variables as they look at a potential 20-year buildout of the site.

Deviations from the current proposed plans for the property will need to be approved by both the Mentor Planning Commission and city council going forward as part of the agreement.

Additionally, Szeman stated, there is no compensation or any other costs or expenses being paid by the city as part of this settlement.

NEWS-HERALD FILE The proposed redevelopment of the Bolton family estate would include a mix of housing and commercial uses; an effort to repurpose the mansion in the center; a 45-acre “town center” combining retail/office and residential; and preserving nearly 70acres of ancient woods.