By Susan Vela
The Cincinnati Enquirer

NORWOOD - City Council members agreed Tuesday that they'd rather have increased control over what inevitably appears on prime real estate rather than let developers build movie theaters, shopping complexes or office towers without some say from the city.

In a unanimous 9-0 vote, council OK'd a "planned unit development" (PUD) designation for property bounded by Interstate 71 and Edwards and Edmondson roads, just north of the already-successful Rookwood Commons.

City administrators originally pushed for the designation, which has upset some of the 79 business and homeowners living in the targeted area.

They have criticized the administrators' timing, which coincides with two developers - Anderson Real Estate and Miller-Valentine Group - attempting to buy their land so that they can build Rookwood Exchange.

The proposed $125 million complex of offices, apartments, condos, shops and restaurants would be an extension of Rookwood Commons, an outdoor mall filled with high-end shops and popular restaurants.

"What's the hurry? What am I missing?" said Joe Horney, co-leader of Citizens Against Eminent Domain Abuse.

The opposition group consists of about 20 property owners who refuse to sell their properties to the Rookwood Exchange developers. The others already have agreed to sell.

Joe Doud owns The Edge Inn in the 3900 block of Edwards Road. Developers don't need his property for Rookwood Exchange. But he remains upset about the PUD designation.

He must go through the planning commission if he pursues any major changes.

"I don't think they need another layer of bureaucracy," he said.

The new PUD designation will not change zoning for the neighborhood. Instead, the designation requires developers to go through the city's planning commission on all matters pertaining to the development, including lighting, easements and parking spaces.

Council members have warned residents that development north of Rookwood Commons is inevitable. If Anderson and Miller-Valentine do not buy all the necessary properties, another developer will soon be knocking on residents' doors, they say.

"This is something that needs to be done immediately," Councilman Keith Moore said.

E-mail svela@enquirer.com