Tuesday, April 06, 1999
Changes in zoning plan questioned
Newport council sounds concerns
BY TERRY FLYNN
The Cincinnati Enquirer
NEWPORT - Some city commissioners voiced displeasure Monday night with portions of a proposed land use plan that calls for changes in several areas of the city in the next 20 years.
Planning analyst Greg Tulley of Newport explained the latest phase of the land use plan, which would update the city's comprehensive plan and was recently approved by the Planning and Zoning Commission.
But Commissioner Beth Fennell found fault with several proposed land use changes, including extension of a proposed office area to include the former Riverside Ford dealership property on Fourth Street.
“I'm really concerned about the possible height of an office building at that location,” she said, pointing to current city regulations that would permit up to a 15-story structure. “We don't want to block the view of the downtown (commercial) business district with something of that size.”
She said she did not believe that office designation was the best use for the dealership property. “I would rather see it remain as mixed use,” Ms. Fennell said. “We don't know what's going to happen in that area, and I don't think the city should be bound to strictly office space.”
Mr. Tulley, who operates a company called Planning Solutions, said the city would maintain control of what went on
the site through the planning and zoning process, and that he thought designating the entire area near the Campbell County Courthouse as office would give the city the best chance to attract businesses needing office space.
“Office space is a very important part of the overall plan for the downtown district,” he said. “It's part of the necessary mix for a successful redevelopment.”
Ms. Fennell also objected to a proposal that would create new ramping off I-471 into the Third Street Redevelopment Area in portions of a residential area known as the “Island” because it is isolated from the rest of the city east of I-471.
“This proposal calls for a change on the island neighborhood to mixed use, rather than residential as it is now,” she said. “And the new ramps would affect what is now a very strong neighborhood. I couldn't support that.”
City Manager Phil Ciafardini emphasized that the proposed land use plan is looking 20 years into the future and said “no one who has looked at this proposal previously (at the comprehensive plan steering committee and Planning and Zoning Commission) can see residential on the island in 20 years.”
Commissioner Ken Rechtin said he also was concerned about the possibility of a mixed use plan for the island, which now contains the Wendling Printing Company and several blocks of primarily single-family houses north of Dave Cowens Drive.
“I don't want to someday see that area with a motel and a lot of asphalt and nothing else,” he said. “And I believe that could happen.”
Other areas of concern with the land use plan that were discussed Monday included the planned extension of the downtown retail area, and proposed changes in land use at the present sites of the Fourth Street and Mildred Dean elementary schools.
The proposed land use must still be transformed to a draft document that then is considered by the steering committee and the city staff before being presented to the city commission for final approval and incorporation into the comprehensive plan.
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