By Jennifer Edwards
The Cincinnati Enquirer

MOUNT ADAMS - A controversial proposal to build two new houses in this hilltop neighborhood - which re-ignited a debate about blocked views - was yanked Thursday.

The property's owner, Craig Liebel, and his architect, Tom Hefley, withdrew their request for a height variance for two proposed, single-family homes on adjacent lots along Carney Street after a city hearing examiner gave them that option.

Otherwise, they faced a decision based on a proposal containing glaring omissions such as a soils report on the stability of the steeply sloped land, said Steven Kurtz, the hearing examiner.

The men also must first receive permission from Cincinnati for an easement across a strip of city owned land between Carney Street and Liebel's land-locked property.

"I feel anything I do out of this hearing is going to be premature," Kurtz said.

But the withdrawal isn't the end of the battle for Mount Adams residents trying to preserve their view of the skyline.

Hefley said he plans to file a request today for an easement with the city's real estate department.

Liebel, who insists he is not a developer and wants to live in one of the homes, contends he has a legal right to access his property. He declined to discuss what he would do if the city won't give him the easement.

Liebel, who has lived on Mount Adams for 38 years, envisions building on his Carney Street land because he is frequently out of town and unable to keep up with the maintenance of his larger home on Celestial Street.

But his easement request appears to be doomed, as at least two city councilmen who also live on Mount Adams, David Pepper and David Crowley, have predicted.

Last fall, the city wouldn't sell the strip to Liebel and his partner, Michael Wagner, after City Council's Finance Committee permanently tabled the $21,000 deal.

Liebel, however, did agree Thursday to talk with residents about possibly selling his property to them, though one neighbor insisted he hasn't responded to previous phone calls inquiring about a sale. Liebel denied getting any calls.

"I have been a good neighbor," he said. "Some of these people are operating on some misinformation."

After Thursday's hearing, a group of Mount Adams residents went to Crowley's office, where the councilman assured them he would continue to push for money from the city for a $100,000 corridor-view study of hilltop neighborhoods surrounding Cincinnati.

Meanwhile, the Mount Adams Civic Association plans to start its own study with $2,000 it received this year from the city.

E-mail jedwards@enquirer.com.