By Gregory Korte
The Cincinnati Enquirer

DOWNTOWN - Cincinnati City Council will vote today on the biggest change in the city zoning code in 41 years - despite objections from neighborhood leaders that council is ducking the most difficult issues.

The new code favors single-family housing in older neighborhoods and simplifies a mishmash of special zoning districts that make it difficult for developers and residents.

But the most controversial issues - sign regulations, a separate classification for parkland and multi-family housing districts - aren't resolved. Instead, City Council will ask the Planning Commission to study those issues and report back.

That wasn't enough for the Cincinnati Neighborhood Zoning Task Force, a coalition of neighborhood leaders lobbying for a more neighborhood-friendly zoning code.

"We think it's developer-friendly, to the detriment of the neighborhoods," said Gerry Kraus of North Avondale, after a hearing Tuesday.

The Neighborhood and Public Services Committee did make some changes to mollify neighborhoods Tuesday. A one-year grace period will allow the Planning Commission to waive the fee for zone change requests if properties were zoned incorrectly in the transition to the new code, and zoning around current "transition" zones will be frozen while city planners study the effect of the changes.

But Tom Besanceney, president of the Over-the-Rhine Chamber of Commerce, said those proposals would result in "policy by variance."

"I think that's bad public policy," he said.

Council members said they could no longer hold up passage of the code - six months past due - based on the few remaining issues.

One new issue emerged Tuesday. Parking requirements in neighborhood business districts could require small shops to tear down buildings for parking. Under the new code, districts like Hyde Park Square, Mount Lookout Square and O'Bryonville couldn't exist, architects said.

But city planners said the new requirements were a trade-off in areas where businesses and residences compete for parking.

E-mail gkorte@enquirer.com