Routsong Update: 05/01/2010

On Monday, May 3rd, Mr. Routsong will go before the city council to appeal the planning commission’s unanimous decision to deny his site development plan. Most of you are familiar with the site plan and know well the objections to it:  parking on Oakwood Avenue, alteration of the sidewalk, the drive-thru “feature,” traffic flow and safety issues, removal of Oak trees, and so on. 

This past week, Norb Klopsch and Jay Weiskircher met with a small group* of NOA members to discuss the Routsong appeal and explain what has transpired since the September planning commission meeting.  The bottom line is that city staff has attempted to work out a compromise with Mr. Routsong, but all attempts have been unsuccessful. (In fact, he even presented a new plan that apparently has more issues than the one presented in September. We were not shown the plan.)
 
On Monday, our city council will hear the appeal and vote whether or not to uphold the decision of the planning commission; the vote will be based on the September site development plan.  Of our five council members, only two will vote with the others recused for conflict of interest:
 
·    William Duncan, Mayor
·    Anne Hilton (new member)
·    Steve Byington, Vice Mayor:  recused
·    Stanley Castleman:  recused
·    Rob Stephens (new member):  recused

So, the decision about the entrance to our historic neighborhood and the city rests with our new mayor and our new council member.

·    A vote for the appeal = September site plan is approved;
·    A vote against the appeal = September site plan is not approved;
·    A split vote = a vote against the appeal.

Mr. Weiskircher indicated that the working file with all its history will be shared with the new members of the council, but, should you have further comments or concerns, you can reach Anne Hilton at 298-0382 and Mayor Duncan at 299-4569 (or by fax at 297-2940).

September has faded away, but our concerns have not.  Please show your support for your neighbors and our city and join us at 7:30pm on Monday May 3rd at the city building.  We'll see you there.  

ROUTSONG APPEAL NOT GOING TO CITY COUNCIL

City Staff met with the attorney representing Mr. Routsong and it was agreed by the parties that City Council will not hear the Appeal on Monday, December 14.

According to our ordinance, lack of action on an Appeal affirms the Planning Commission’s action. Therefore, the City staff assume that the applicant will exercise his right to file an Appeal with Common Pleas Court. An appeal must be filed within 30 days. In the meantime, both parties agreed to continue looking at ways to try and resolve the remaining issues to the mutual satisfaction of the parties.

If an option is identified that seems to meet the concerns of both parties, it will have to go back through the Planning Commission for review and action.

It all happens on Monday evening. "It" is the future of our little corner of Oakwood and Monday, 12/14/09, is when the City Council members hear and vote on the appeal by the Routsong team to reverse the decision made by the Planning Commission. At that meeting in September, the commission members unanimously rejected the development plan. And, as one member stated, the objections were based on what is (and is not) a neighborhood business with the "emphasis on neighborhood."

As far as we know, nothing in the plan has changed:

The sidewalk is still moved closer to Oakwood Avenue with a resulting 'misalignment' all the way down the avenue.
The drive-thru window is still on the Irving Avenue side of the building.
Parking is still in the front of the building with no option to back out or turn around should the spaces be full. (This issue was the main reason for the commission's denial of the development.)
The back (east) side of the building--the one most visible to pedestrians walking down Irving Avenue--is still the least attractive.
Here's what we do know. The Planning Commission has listened and heard our concerns; the attendance at all the meetings over these many months has made a difference. Our being in the audience has shown the council and commission that we do care about our neighbors and the future of our neighborhood.

Our request is simply this: Would you please spend one hour on Monday, 12/14, to be part of what is the most important vote on this proposed development? The meeting starts at 7:30pm in the city building.

Should anyone need a ride, please let me know and, as always, please spread the word to your neighbors and friends. Call Barbara at 296-0905 or Martha at 294-3731 for a ride.

Routsong Update

Mr. Routsong has announced he will appeal to the City Council. That meeting date has not been set yet, but we will post it as soon as it is set.

Neighbors,

The Planning Commission met last Wednesday (9/23/09) and the first item on the agenda was the continuation of the Routsong Retail Center development drawings. The Commission members voted to deny Mr. Routsong's development as presented.

The main issues were parking in front on Oakwood Avenue, N and E sides of the building architecture, sidewalk move, and the drive thru. Those are just what I recollect; when the minutes are available we will email you the link. The Commission members did a very thorough job of protecting our historic neighborhood.

Mr. Routsong may appeal the Planning Commission decision to the City Council. We will continue to watch and will keep you posted of any further action on this matter.

Thank you so much to those citizens who wrote letters to the Commission members and to those who came to the meeting. All of those actions did make a difference!

Planning Commission Needs YOUR Feedback

Please attend the meeting next Wednesday, September 23 and bring a friend or a neighbor. (4:30 p.m. at the City Bldg.) Really, more people at the meeting do make a difference!!! The Commissioners need to know we are concerned about what goes on in our neighborhood.

Also, please take a minute to send your thoughts about the proposal to northoakwoodassociation@gmail.com. These comments will be forwarded to city staff and the Planning Commission members. We must receive them by Thursday, Sept. 17th (evening) for them to get the comments before the meeting.

THANK YOU to those who have already submitted comments.

News to Use

Did you know………..

That Oakwood Police now have full police authority on Irving Avenue? They can give speeding tickets, they can mark cars that are there longer than 2 hours (posted) and give tickets to those car owners. You can call them (as we did this summer) if you see an accident. We called them when a dog got hit by a car this summer and were very pleased with their response. Dispatch: 298-2122

Did you know ………….

That you should call Oakwood Dispatch to report noise from University of Dayton campus? The Oakwood Dispatch will then contact the U.D. Police. This way our city staff have data to use when talking with U.D. officials about disruptions and noise issues. Dispatch: 298-2122

Did you know………..

Oakwood City staff have a noise meter that they can bring to your house to measure the decibel levels if there is loud music? This has been used several times due to the amplifiers used at the University of Dayton Art Street Amphitheatre. Dispatch: 298-2122

Did you know…………

The city of Oakwood has recreation equipment that we can use for block parties as well as barricades to put up for boundaries. Have you had a block party recently? Volusia has one scheduled for Labor Day weekend. Oakwood Recreation: 298-0775