Tuesday, May 11, 1999
Reading toughens its blight law
Properties could be taken and developed
BY WALT SCHAEFER
The Cincinnati Enquirer
READING — The creation of an urban renewal district for the Reading Road corridor here gives the city the power to take blighted properties by eminent domain as a last resort.
City officials Monday said the legislation, unanimously approved last week, will make Reading Road more appealing to developers who have met with difficulties because some property owners have been reluctant to sell.
The new law, approved unanimously by the seven-member council, would enable the city to buy properties at an appraised fair market value for the overall benefit of the city, Mayor Earl Schmidt said.
“This will greatly benefit the city and open up our ... Reading Road corridor (to) ... commercial, retail and light industrial development as it is zoned and recommended in the city's land use master plan,” the mayor said. “It will make us competitive for development with other communities in our area.”
Council also is considering having the corridor designated a community reinvestment district. That would provide tax abatement incentives to developers who complete projects along the two-mile stretch of road. A council decision on that issue is expected soon.
Survey showed need
Safety-Service Director Mike Rahall said the urban renewal district was considered after a survey of 623 Reading Road parcels. The survey rated the parcels on eight criteria such as overall structure appearance and integrity, lot size, diversity of use, compatibility with preferred land use, vacancy and parking availability.
Of the surveyed properties, 87 percent scored “poor” in at least one out of the eight areas. Sixty-nine percent scored “poor” in two or more areas; 44 percent in three; 25 percent in four; 9 percent in five; and 1 percent in six or more, the mayor said.
Two longtime Reading business owners welcomed the action.
Tom Owens, owner of Maugle Furniture and Appliances, a 53-year Reading Road business, said a way to reinvest in the business district has long been needed.
“The city needs a way to assess what they have, how a property is being cared for and how successful a business is doing and have a way to make changes. Reading Road has needed a face lift for a long time — new business and development.”
Call for upgrading
Keith McCluskey, owner of McCluskey Chevrolet, among Greater Cincinnati's largest automobile dealers, noted that “there is no virgin territory open to development so to speak. ... We need an upgrade in the area ... to bring in the kinds of business and developments needed to make Reading Road a welcome mat.”
Mr. Rahall said several groups have approached the city, expressing interest in developing sections along the city's major corridor. “The next step will be to bring them in and listen to their ideas and proposals.”
The urban renewal district includes all properties abutting Reading Road through the city as well as all properties south of Columbia Avenue and east of Reading Road to the railroad tracks that parallel it. It also includes a few properties on the west side of the corridor behind abutting Reading Road properties, city officials said.
The study and creation of the district was recommended by a community committee of 10 people that included elected officials, business leaders, school officials and property owners, the mayor said.
Council's action last week is not directly linked to an effort last June when Reading, Cincinnati and Sycamore Township teamed up to hire Pflum, Klausmeier & Gehrum Consultants of Fairfax to develop a master plan for revitalizing the Reading Road corridor from Swifton Commons in Bond Hill north through this city.
The Hamilton County Office of Economic Development has been acting as the coordinating agency of that project and it is still being completed, officials said.
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