Cincinnati City Council unanimously voted Thursday to repeal an April 23 zoning change at 2719 Erie Ave. The vote switched the property’s zoning from “planned development district” back to “commercial neighborhood pedestrian” in the neighborhood’s business district.
The planned development zoning designation would have allowed the 112,000 square-foot project at the historic Hyde Park Square business district to move forward. Plans called for a six- to seven-story structure with 120 to 140 apartment units, a hotel, a restaurant and a banquet center.
Residents took issue with the proposal, saying the massive development would damage the business district’s historic charm.
The developers — The Loring Group, NorthPointe Group and PLK — are now back to the drawing board. They previously requested the zoning appeal to work with the community on a revised plan, according to a letter from the development team in Thursday’s agenda packet.
During budget and finance committee this week, Vice Mayor Jan-Michele Lemon Kearney called the community’s efforts “an amazing show of grassroots community organization.” Other council members praised the grassroots efforts by Hyde Park Neighborhood Council and the Save Hyde Park Square opposition group, which was formed after development planning began.
Mayor Aftab Pureval said it was a setback to fill a 40,000-unit housing shortage in the city. He acknowledged council has work to do to ensure everyone’s voices are heard, but “those challenges create delays, and those delays make it more expensive and unattainable to build housing.”
Council Member Scotty Johnson said he was “a little baffled” by the mayor’s comments, adding that council needs to slow down and listen to residents’ concerns over major developments. New housing needs to be truly affordable, he explained.
“The truth is we do need more housing, but (rent) is $6,000, $7,000 a month,” Johnson said. “Who is that really assisting?”
Zoning repeal a ‘victory’ for Hyde Park
In a statement issued online, Save Hyde Park Square called the zoning repeal “a victory for supporters throughout the city who fought for the right for citizens to have a say when drastic changes to existing zoning are proposed in their neighborhoods.”
So far, developers have made 17 concessions in response to community complaints, including eliminating a hotel from the plan, reducing the building’s height, and maintaining style consistency with the historic business district. They also agreed to adjust the design to break the rear facade into two distinct structures over concerns of building bulk.
The group successfully petitioned a citywide November ballot referendum to stop the development. The zoning repeal approved Thursday canceled that referendum.
