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Some 5th Ward residents say they're disappointed
(by Sue Reid - November 17, 2011)
Some 5th Ward residents say they're disappointed
By SUE REID
Some residents of the 5th Ward in Solon said they were surprised by last week's vote in the general election, when Issue 95 was approved for Nestle USA, resulting in the rezoning of residential land to industrial to allow the business to expand.
Resident Jacquelyn Calavitta said the outcome was disappointing. "I'm personally disappointed that the voters in Solon weren't a lot smarter than this." She said Nestle did not have a "concrete plan" and the ballot language was "very broad."
"We expected to actually win in Ward 5," she said.
According to Solon's charter, there is ward veto power with zoning issues, meaning the issue had to pass both citywide and in the ward. According to unofficial results from the Cuyahoga County Board of Elections, of the 1,381 votes cast in the 5th Ward, 969 were in favor and 412 were in opposition. It had overwhelming citywide support, with 6,882 voting in favor and 1,227 opposing it, according to the board of elections.
Cannon Road resident Rita Vauter said she thought the ward veto power would make a difference. She blamed the state of the economy for why her neighbors did not vote the issue down.
"We thought all the neighbors would have had our back," Ms. Vauter said of those who opposed the rezoning.
"We're all very upset," Ms. Vauter said. "We feel like we've been sold out.
"This was strictly a rezoning issue in our hearts," Ms. Vauter said. "We just didn't want our neighborhood to be rezoned. I do feel the city and our council sold us out."
Cannon Road resident Gary Boron said he remains concerned about what the rezoning will mean for his property value.
"We are just so disappointed," Mr. Boron said.
Ms. Calavitta said traffic entering the proposed facility from Cannon Road "is just going to exacerbate everything.
"They (Nestle) refused to even consider the suggestion of diverting incoming and outgoing traffic through the existing Harper Road driveway, instead of routing it on Cannon," she said.
Nestle spokesperson Roz O'Hearn said last week that the existing parking lot services the very busy manufacturing facility, which is located at Harper Road.
"Going through this discussion with our senior manufacturing and operation officials, because of the amount of traffic we have ongoing on a 24-hour basis, it's their preference we don't add additional traffic on top of what we already have," Ms. O'Hearn said. "We also want to limit the amount of traffic that would have access from manufacturing to the research and development facility. We would plan to install special gates that would allow trucks to come through the Harper Road truck gate."
If there were deliveries to the new product technology center, "trucks would enter through the gate and come back through a secured gate to come back through the property," she said.
Fifth Ward Councilwoman Nancy E. Meany said she has said all along that it would be her preference that, if at all possible, the employees enter on Harper Road. "That would be the best scenario," she said.
"I've been saying that all along, and Nestle knows I want that," Ms. Meany said.
In the whole scenario, Ms. Calavitta said, the residents of Solon are the ones who lost.
"We let corporate interest dictate the future of our city," she said.
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