[ back ]
Chardon Square bypass may need eminent domain
(by Joseph Koziol Jr. - January 21, 2010)
Chardon Square bypass may need eminent domain
By JOSEPH KOZIOL JR.
Chardon City Council may be looking at what is being described as its last chance to reroute traffic away from Chardon Square.
But it may involve the use of eminent domain, or taking the land through the courts, and that is causing some members concern.
"I'm not so much opposed to the result as I am the process," Councilman Mitch Hewitt said. He called private-property rights one of the most "fundamental principles" or our country.
Rather than risk some members opposing the move, council agreed last week to more studies on the issue. It directed city Engineer Douglas Courtney and traffic engineer Kevin Westbrook to look at traffic projections now and in the future. In addition, they were asked to look at alternatives to taking land that still may provide a new route for traffic away from the square.
Council had a piece of legislation that was on third and final reading that would have directed the city to move forward with eminent domain. But council agreed to table the matter until its March 11 meeting to allow for the studies to be completed.
The target of eminent domain is a 70-by-700-foot piece of property off Water Street (Route 6), directly south of Meadowlands Drive.
John Sheehan, the city's planning and zoning administrator, said the property owner's attorney has identified the land as for sale, and the city has indicated its wishes to buy it. "The only thing we're doing at this point is haggling over the price," he said.
Mr. Sheehan provided council with an overview of the city's efforts over the decades to incorporate a thoroughfare plan, which has continually included a rerouting of traffic around Chardon Square. He said the main routes into the city now all funnel to the square.
The thoroughfare plan has been modified over the years but always kept the basic precept of finding a bypass around the city's core, he said.
Unlike other cities that may develop roadways at taxpayer expense, Mr. Sheehan said, the city long has held a policy of requiring roads and infrastructure, such as sewer lines, to be paid for by developers as property is built on.
The city, however, has made improvements to various roads, such as on Fifth and Park avenues, in anticipation of creating that eventual bypass route, Mr. Sheehan said.
Among the city's plans, he said, was a road that would tie Water Street to Wilson Mills Road and Park Avenue.
If the city can obtain the 70-by-700-foot parcel from Loretto Development, it would be able to make that connection. He said developer Rollin Cooke III is ready to move forward with plans for a commercial-residential property to the east of the Loretto property, which would provide the final link to the connection.
Mr. Westbrook said the strip of land sought from Loretto Development would be the "perfect spot for that connection. "It almost has to go there," he said.
He said it was identified for 30 to 40 years by the city for a bypass and it would provide a "relief valve" for traffic now passing through as well as future development.
Councilwoman Leslie Bednar said this is the city's opportunity to enact what has been talked about for decades. Waiting any longer may bring about development on the property being sought and that would extinguish any hope of getting the bypass done. "It's our time to seize an opportunity that may escape us if we don't seize it," she said.
Mr. Sheehan said the developer has let the land sit vacant for 13 years and the city's plans could be scuttled if a building is planned for the strip of land the city wants.
Councilman Robert Cromwell said even though the city has long maintained a policy of not using eminent domain, council now must decide if that serves the best interests of the city.
"I think, at this point, each one of us has to decide whether we're willing to swallow hard and perhapes go against personal objections to eminent domain policy, just based on its own merit, and look at what the greater good is," Mr. Cromwell said.
[ back ]
