Pure Deception - Or Just the Obvious Fact: Church is Gone
Here’s What We Know - For the Rest: Still Pulling Teeth at City Hall
Changes With Enormous Implications Coming to Downtown
by David Miller
Loveland, Ohio - Loveland Magazine was founded one late night in 2004 when I was trying to find out when the Loveland Homecoming Parade was. Like I said, it was late at night, too late to be making phone calls to the school or even friends that might know. There was nothing in the local newspapers. I googled and googled and could find nothing abut it. No date, no time, nothing. I said to myself that night, “Well dang it... whether you want to go to it, or avoid it because of the traffic gridlock - there needs to be someplace to find out when it is.” Since that late night, we are guided by the principlel that as our first priority we will respect our readers as our bosses, and serve them the basic who, why, what, and whens of living in and around the Greater Loveland Area. Some days are easy because of the great help we receive from our loyal readers themselves and other good institutions that provide great news releases. Other days Loveland Magazine might as well be a dental clinic, because it feels like trying to get just basic information to you - turns into pulling teeth.
With that said, here is a bit of news that every Loveland resident, taxpayer, or business owner needs to have - because what happens at City Hall in the coming weeks, might well change the very character of our community, when hundreds of apartments are built.
Are you for it? Or against it?
There are many different perspectives to the proposed change. If you are a property owner in Historic Downtown Loveland, you may be able to increase your rent. If you currently rent, your rent may increase. If you are a business owner who rents, will you be able to pay the increase because you will have more customers? All Loveland taxpayers will be subsidizing “high end, luxury boutique apartments.” Is that OK with you? Are you excited that you will be able to afford a luxury apartment in Historic Downtown, right on the Loveland Bike Trail, a block from a State and National Scenic River?
You have an established business, but competition moves in with a rent subsidy next door. Is that OK with you? Are you passionate about historic preservation, or just lukewarm? Do you see the old church as an eyesore and be glad when its gone?
If you own a business and perceive parking to be an already existing problem, maybe you have your own concerns when you learn the new parking lot in downtown is for the apartment renters. Maybe you will be concerned that other parking in downtown will also be used for renters because the change only requires one parking space for each apartment bedroom.
Do you own and live in a single family home in Historic Downtown? Are you excited that your home value will increase as speculators pounce - and you can finally sell and buy that dream home in the country? Are you fearful that your property taxes will increase to the extent that you will lose your home?
You may have been excited about he prospect of new sexy places to eat and shop, but doubt this zone change will accomplish that. You may be excited about bringing hundreds of wealthy income tax payers to town. You like having a circus and farmers market in downtown, but will be sad when they are gone?
There will be a public hearing at City Hall next Monday night, August 1, at 7:30 PM at the Planning and Zoning Commission meeting about changing the zoning code to allow multifamily apartments in Historic Downtown Loveland. The new zoning if approved by City Council in the coming weeks will allow hundreds of apartments to be built in the Historic District. If approved, the code change may pave the way for very expensive three acres of taxpayer property to be given to a developer for some of the proposed apartments. If this happens, the current plan is for the developer to lease back to the taxpayers the first floor of two of the buildings, and for the next 50 years, taxpayers will become lease agents looking for clients. The zoning code change is called, Case No. 11-13: Historic District Special Planning District (SPD).
Pulling Front Teeth and Basic Information From City Hall
Two weeks ago on July 14, there was a neighborhood meeting held at the Veterans’ Memorial organized by City Hall. Questions arose about the re-development of Historic Downtown Loveland. Residents were particularly concerned about the demolition of the historic Church of God on Third Street. One resident said from the audience, “I’m against it.”
In response to the particular question about the church, and other general questions, City Manager Thomas Carroll said he would post the SPD plan on the City’s web site, “Tomorrow.” He did not post the plan, he only posted four images ( Download SPD_Concept_Plan-1) of which, three are not even part of the SPD plan.
Three images are sketches, or what in the trade would be called elevation renderings, of the three-story apartment buildings the Greiwe Development Group hopes to build within three-acres of the twelve-acre SPD plan. Rick Greiwe and his partners have been given exclusive development rights for those three acres within the SPD. Griewe has named, his project, “Loveland Station.” That’s it, just sketches - no accompanying text or legend to explain what the building actually represent.
The other image is a grainy aerial photo with the entire 12 acres highlighted, with some areas blocked off and marked as, A, B, C, and D. However, there is no legend or accompanying text to explain what A, B, C, and D are. The specific areas where Griewe proposes more apartment buildings is whited out, but only a person already familiar with the proposed SPD would know that. Actually, Griewe proposes even more apartment buildings than are shown on the aerial map. The Eads Hardware and Fence site on East Broadway has been proposed for one, as well as the steep hillside between East Broadway and O’Bannon Avenue. The Old McCoy Carryout building, now owned by the City, has been mentioned.
The parcel where the church is located on Third Street is in a blocked out portion of the aerial map, but nothing about the plan itself, and none of the narrative of what the City and Greiwe has proposed for Historic Downtown’s future. In that regard, I guess Carroll did answer the specific question about the historic church, because in the 
picture he posted, it is whited out.
So, off to pulling teeth I went. I searched the rest of the City web site looking for the plan. It is not there. I looked under the Planning Commission documents, etc., and found nothing. I searched other obvious places like the “Calendar” - thinking that may lead to the document. Nothing there. Not even that there was a Planning Commission meeting next Monday, let alone a Public Hearing for the SPD. I finally found the first draft of the SPD plan within what are called Council Meeting Packets. These are very lengthy PDF files that contain every document that a council-member would need for each meeting. In my version of Adobe Reader there is no way to sort the information in these documents, or search for their content, they are long documents and one must simply scroll down until you find what you are looking for. I read through six of these council packets before I found the SPD plan near the end of one 92-page document.
Since I wanted to publish the SPD Plan here on Loveland Magazine, and didn’t want to follow that lengthly search with trying to figure out how to extract only the SPD documents from the 92-page council packet, I sent an e-mail yesterday asking Michelle Knowland, the City’s Management Analyst: “Can you e-mail me the current Loveland Station SPD submission, and any related documents (staff reports, etc.) that will be before the P&Z at their public hearing?”
Knowland responded, “Hi Dave, Happy to help,” and proceeds to tell me that if I wanted them I could go on the City Web Site, find the council packets and look for the June 28 meeting. Well duh... I already found that out last night after an hour of searching. And, that’s not what I asked her. I asked her if she would send it to me. Wasn't I clear?
She continued, “There is one Planning & Zoning staff report for the July 13th meeting that is slightly different from the memo found in the City Council June 28th packet. This document is two pages if you would like a copy.” I already told her that’s exactly what I wanted. Why do I have to ask twice?
She continued, “As far as new material that will be before P&Z at their public hearing, it has not been completed yet. That information will be available Friday at noon if you would like to stop by City Hall to pick up copies of the documents. Please just let me know and I can have the materials ready for you.”
Search for it? Ready for me? Hard copies? Go to City Hall on Friday? What are those early close summer hours? Didn't I ask her to e-mail the stuff?
Pulling Wisdom Teeth
Assistant City Manager Gary Vidmar was asked by Loveland Magazine on July 20, “What is the total number of apartments planned for the downtown SPD?” The reason City Hall and Griewe are proposing the SPD for the entire 12-acres, is that the zoning needs to be changed so the multifamily apartment buildings can be built anywhere in the total 12-acres. The only real difference between the proposed SPD and the current zoning - is that if passed by Council, multi-family apartments would then be allowed in all of what residents and visitors know as Historic Downtown Loveland.
Vidmar responded, “There are tentatively 84 units planned for Loveland Station and 42 planned for the 3rd St. site,” but Vidmar offered no accounting or math for other “tentative” parcels that he knows have been discussed at City Hall for the total SPD. Greiwe is acquiring “first right to buy” agreements for other parcels in Historic Downtown, and Vidmar knows this and has probably been helping him find properties. That is his job.
Vidmar also has not responded to a request of accounting for what taxpayers have already invested in the 3-acre Loveland Station property. All current indicators lead to City Hall giving Greiwe the three-acre site. Vidmar said the parking lot will be Greiwe’s to use. If City Hall wants any retail or commercial there, Greiwe will then lease the bottom floors of his apartments to the taxpayers, add 12% profit, and taxpayers will have to find tenants to fill the space. If the taxpayers’ tenants need any improvements to their space, Greiwe will do that, adding another 12% profit.
Griewe is negotiating the terms of a 50-year lease with Vidmar, Knowland and Carroll that he wants the City to sign. He says he will not risk his own money on building commercial or retail space in Historic Downtown.
Taxpayers will also help Greiwe pay for future improvements to his buildings for the next 50-years. (Read Paul Brown Stadium/Hamilton County lease into this if you care.)
On June 28, Rick Greiwe gave City Hall the 50-year lease as an ultimatum. What if he walks away, after we have changed the zoning for him? Does it pave the way for any developer to begin building apartments all over Historic Downtown? We may trust Greiwe’s commitment to quality apartment complexes and be willing to subsidize them - but what happens when the flood gates open. What if Greiwe wants a complete return on his investment sooner than 50 years? What happens if he decides to sell in five?
(Read background and view video of Greiwe’s statements: Rick Greiwe: "We don’t want to take the chance on commercial in Downtown Loveland.")
City Hall placed a small “Legal Notice” in the Cincinnati Enquirer about the August 1 Public Hearing. It says all interested parties are urged to attend, but gives no description what-so-ever about what “Case No. 11-13 Historic District Special Planning District” is, and does not even a mention that this is a zoning code change. It was not published in the Loveland Herald. There is no mention on the City’s web site about the meeting, and the meeting is not on the City’s web site Calendar. However, the agenda for the meeting is now posted on the back door at City Hall - so perhaps until now, maybe only ten ordinary citizens and business owners were in the know about this historical reconfiguration of Historic Downtown Loveland.
Extracting: The information
City Hall: “Let us make an informed decision.” It’s not that we don’t normally trust you - but why are the facts, documents, and meeting dates being kept from us now about Historic Downtown?
Loveland Magazine has gone through the extraction procedure and present these documents - they are not complete, and not up to date, but it is what we have so far. I wanted to publish the current Zoning Code for Historic Downtown here so readers could really understand the changes, but that is a even far more complicated extraction process than imaginable.
Gold Fillings: The 911
Here is the SPD plan that Carroll promised, but did not produce. (Extracted from the council packet.) Download Spd
City Manager Memo about the SPD: Extracted from council packet: Download Memo 66 Proposed Special Planing District
Legal Notice: Download Lovelandsmtp@safety-center.org_20110727_135742
Ozone
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