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Solar Center rezoning stirs council debate
(by Mike Klimko - July 23, 2008)
Solar Center rezoning stirs council debate
By MIKE KLIMKO
Retail redevelopment in Solon unearthed an old score for City Council and sparked new division among its members Monday over rezoning near the Solar Center shopping center.
There seems to be a reluctance on the part of some city officials to apply the master plan for development to retail areas other than the planned Coral Co. project, Councilmen Edward H. Kraus and Robert N. Pelunis said.
Commercial zoning proposed by co-owner Cresco real estate broker Simon Caplan between Solar Center and the Carrington Court senior-citizen complex being built on Aurora Road (Route 43) would not benefit people who move into the new housing, Councilman Edward K. Suit said.
In response, Mr. Pelunis lit into council and the administration for the push in 2004 to provide senior-citizen housing with the sale of 27 acres of municipal land to Gross Builders. Council wanted seniors at the location, he said, noting that he was the only member to vote against the sale. The city sold the property at a discounted price, he said.
The city wanted seniors to be close to shopping, Mr. Pelunis said. It makes no sense, he said of objections last week from the planning commission and Mr. Suit to rezoning near Solar Center.
The city sold the property way under market value to the second highest bidder, he said. The city wanted senior citizens there, he said, and it also should help businesses there.
Last week's rejection by the planning commission of rezoning for lots immediately south of Solar Center on SOM Center Road (Route 91) and east of the plaza on Aurora Road did not follow the goal of retail redevelopment, Mr. Kraus said. The decision amounted to bad planning and bad economic development, he said of the 3-2 vote of the planning commission against rezoning.
The property near the south and east wings of the plaza is zoned for offices.
Rezoning of the parcel to the south of Solar Center could spur construction of a 103,000-square-foot Giant Eagle grocery store, Mr. Caplan said.
Such redevelopment is one of the expected effects of the construction of Central Park and a connector road by the Coral Co. at the SOM Centre shopping plaza on SOM Center Road, Mr. Kraus said. Redevelopment is intended to upgrade all retail areas, he said, including the Solon Square shopping center and Solar Center on Aurora Road, in addition to SOM Centre.
"I support their request," Mr. Kraus said of plans at Solar Center. "Their request is part of the overall master plan. And the redevelopment will elevate everything that has to do with Coral," he said.
"Solar is clearly a part of escalating the full development of the commercial area. As an elected official, I would say, if we redevelop one area, we should redevelop the others as well," Mr. Kraus said. "That's what the community wants. The other shopping centers need more help than Coral. We have aging buildings that were built 50 years ago. This is a chance to upgrade and bring the shopping centers into the 21st century."
Rezoning of the property south of Solar Center would be in line with a concept incorporated in the revised master plan for development, said Councilman William I. Russo, who served on the master plan committee. There was a plan to extend commercial development from the end of the plaza to Portz Parkway, he said.
Gross Builders has begun work on the Carrington Court seniors subdivision on 27 acres to the east of Solar Center.
"Looking at what's been proposed by Coral, I think this deserves to be considered," Mr. Russo said of the rezoning near Solar Center. "I have no problem with that," he said.
"One of the things we have to look at is we're putting planned-unit development on the ballot for Coral. And then there's a reluctance to help a plaza that's been in town for years," Mr. Russo said.
"I can't see how we can put one on the ballot unless we put the other on the ballot. If we put one on the ballot, we should put the others on the ballot to get the opinion of the voters."
The owners of Solar Center have completed improvements over the years, while the owners of SOM Centre had done nothing in the way of improvements before proposing Central Park, Mr. Russo said.
Redevelopment is a rare opportunity that communities may not see often in their lifetimes, Mr. Kraus said. Redevelopment of one site will help another site and will be connected, he said.
Among the main components of the plan for Central Park is the construction of a connector road to provide a direct link between the Route 422 freeway and Aurora Road.
"If we're putting in a connector road to connect these areas, all of them should be redeveloped," Mr. Kraus said. "There are good businesses in Solar. If we don't help them, they might not survive."
Redevelopment of Solar Center is part of a possible expansion of the Giant Eagle, encompassing its present location or construction of a free-standing prototype store on SOM Center Road, Mr. Caplan said.
Rather than rezone the parcel on Aurora Road, the permitted uses could be expanded to allow commercial use, Mr. Suit said. He voted against holding a public hearing on rezoning.
In a 6-1 vote, council set the public hearing for Aug. 18.
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