Clifton residents delivered a loud and unmistakeable message Monday night to the University of Cincinnati: Build your president's mansion somewhere else.

Architect's rendering of planned UC mansion | ZOOM |

        The Clifton Town Meeting board recommended that a historic piece of land along Clifton Avenue be protected from any development, including a proposed $2 million-plus mansion that UC wants to build.

        “It was exactly what we were looking for,” said Michael Ramundo, a Clifton resident who has organized a fight against the mansion's location. “We'll be glad to work with the university to find another location. There are plenty of mansions in Clifton that are suitable for a president.”

        No university representatives or city of Cincinnati officials attended the meeting of more than 150 resi dents. UC has said it won't finish plans for the design, location and financing of the mansion until March.

        But UC officials have arranged a series of land transactions and agreements in recent months to allow the development of the Rawson property into a mansion and dining facility. UC officials say a mansion/dining facility seating up to 80 guests is needed to spur UC's fund-raising efforts.

        The plans angered many Clifton residents, who say that UC President Joseph A. Steger's smaller home at Lafayette and Middleton avenues is sufficient.

        About two dozen speakers registered their displeasure with UC's proposal.

        The city of Cincinnati has little say over the project. While the project must meet the city's zoning requirements, UC can bypass the city's building-permit process. All building permits on state and university-owned property are issued by the Ohio Department of Commerce's Division of Industrial Compliance.

        The Cincinnati Preservation Association is withholding its crucial approval of a land swap that UC needs to build the mansion. The group objected to the university's preliminary mansion design showing two rectangular structures over a patio area as out of character with the neighborhood.

Motorists will be seeing orange again
ACLU proceeds with racial-profiling lawsuit
Police review panel feels stymied by city
Three downtown garages will cost $31.8M
Car break-ins city-wide problem
CG&E wants bigger pipeline
More answers to your energy questions
Neighbors battle UC mansion proposal
Reagan's influence felt in Tristate
Clintons may return Cincinnatian's gift
Man charged in baby's shooting
Special-ed programs need work, CPS told
Detective tells court of bloody evidence
Teacher won't face charges, police say
Three indicted in ecstasy case
Two tax increases on ballots today
Deerfield fire levy vote tonight
Land sale means big profit
Local Digest
Plant mobilizes Sayler Park
Ky. school officials resist Bush testing plan
Special counsel to get Villa Hills records
A bump in the road for Monmouth Street project
Boone Co. Schools, teachers near deal
Kentucky Digest
Lotto winners were overpaid, auditor says
Critics attack plan for tunnel murals