By Jennifer Edwards
The Cincinnati Enquirer

MOUNT ADAMS - A long-running debate over blocked views in this hilltop Cincinnati neighborhood has re-emerged as a property owner keeps trying to build two homes on Carney Street.

But this time, Mount Adams residents are calling for Cincinnati officials to permanently stop Craig "Tag" Liebel and his partner, Michael Wagner, from building the homes on adjacent parcels.

Carney Street and much of Mount Adams hold breathtaking views of downtown Cincinnati and the Ohio River. Some residents complain development, particularly on Carney Street, would block their views. They plan to send a letter of objection to the city but say they have grown weary of this fight.

"For us the issue is, when will it ever be stopped?" said Jerome Tokarsky, president of the Mount Adams Civic Association. "Why do we have to go through this again? Views are the lifeblood of the community, for the businesses as well as the residents. That's what makes Mount Adams Mount Adams."

Last year, Cincinnati City Council agreed to earmark $100,000 in this year's budget for a study of hilltop neighborhoods.

Councilman David Crowley, whose family owns Crowley's bar in Mount Adams, said this week he still is trying to get that money. The Mount Adams Civic Association recently set aside $2,000 for the study.

Crowley said he understands the residents' frustrations and doesn't want to see views blocked either, but the property owner has rights, too.

In April, Tom Hefley, an architect representing Liebel, asked the city for permission to build two, single-family homes.

Residents protested and Councilman David Pepper, who also lives in Mount Adams, pledged to help, saying it was time to "end the drama" over the neighborhood's problems with blocked views.

But Liebel withdrew his request so he could first work out an issue with the city over access to his property.

His land is blocked from the road by a strip of city-owned land. So, Hefley has asked the city for an easement across that strip so the property can be used.

That decision is expected this summer.

If that easement is granted, Hefley said, he will ask the city again for zoning variances to build two homes on adjacent parcels on Carney Street.

If the easement is not granted, he warned, the issue could eventually land in court.

"Legally they cannot deny that access," Hefley said of the city.

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

Liebel previously has said he is not a developer and has lived in Mount Adams for 38 years. He did not return a call for comment this week.

He plans to move into one of the homes he plans to build on Carney Street, saying he is frequently out of town and unable to keep up with the maintenance of his larger home on Celestial Street.

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E-mail jedwards@enquirer.com