EASTERN HILLS
JOURNAL
Your Community Press newspaper serving Columbia Township, Columbia-Tusculum, Fairfax, Hyde Park, Madisonville, Mariemont, Mt. Lookout, Oakley, Terrace Park
WEDNESDAY, FEBRUARY 10, 2016
75¢
BECAUSE COMMUNITY MATTERS
Oakley not embracing new Chick-fil-A Concerns expressed about drive-thru Forrest Sellers fsellers@communitypress.com
OAKLEY – The announcement of a new Chick-fil-A in Cincinnati has met with mixed reactions. Steve Dragon, a representative for developer Vandercar Holdings Inc., said that a Chick-fil-A would be the newest tenant at Oakley The Station. announcement was made during the Feb. 2 Oakley Community CounDragon cil meeting. Dragon said this will be the first Chick-fil-A in the city of Cincinnati. There is a Chickfil-A in Clifton, but it has limited hours of operation. What has council members and a number of residents concerned is that the restaurant will have a drivethrough. In the past council has shown an opposition to drive-throughs in the community. This could open a Pandora’s Box, council Vice President Dave Schaff said. Schaff said he fears apSchaff a proving drive-through would create problems if other restaurants wanted a similar concession. Hypothetically one might be OK, but not five, Schaff
said, referring to four other potential sites in Oakley Station where tenants have yet to be announced. Schaff took an informal poll of residents attending the meeting to find out if they supported the proposed design. The results were split almost in half. Oakley resident Laurie Munson said she was worried about potential traffic backups. This could create congestion at the east end of the development, she said. The Chick-fil-A would be at the intersection of Marburg Avenue and Disney Street. This is going to be a corner piece entering Oakley Station, said board member Chris Mengel, adding that proper buffering at the site needed to be addressed. Board member Jason Wilcoxon echoed the concern expressed by Munson. “Can the site handle lunch and dinner (crowds)?” he inquired. Dragon said aesthetic issues would be addressed and that Vandercar was comfortable with the design plan. Gary Rouse, a principal with GBC Design Inc., said the Chick-fil-A would be about 4,700 square feet, consist of a double drive-through and have a parking lot of 57 spaces. A development plan for the site will be presented to the Cincinnati Planning Commission in March. Although several suggestions were made, the Oakley Community Council did not take an official vote on the proposed plan for the Chickfil-A restaurant.
FORREST SELLERS/THE COMMUNITY PRESS
A new Chick-fil-A has been announced as a tenant at Oakley Station. However, Oakley Community Council members have concerns about a drive-through restaurant at that location. This is a Chick-fil-A in West Chester Township.
PHOTOS BY FORREST SELLERS/THE COMMUNITY PRESS
A local developer has presented a plan to provide additional parking in East Hyde Park.
Developer suggests option for Hyde Park parking problem Forrest Sellers fsellers@communitypress.com
HYDE PARK – Can 25 additional parking spaces in East Hyde Park make a difference? Local developer Dan Schimberg thinks so. Schimberg, president and CEO of Uptown Rental Properties, has proposed expansion of the parking lot at the Ravenswood apartment complex on Erie Avenue. Schimberg said 22 of the spaces would be for tenants of the complex, which is operated by Uptown Properties, but that three of the spaces would be open to the public. The Ravenswood parking lot would be next to the East Hyde Park Commons park. Schimberg said the public would be able to use the parking spaces during park hours While the parking lot would obviously benefit the tenants at Ravenswood, Schimberg said this is a proactive approach to an ongoing issue. “It’s a substantive improvement to the parking problem,” he said, adding that the 25 parking spaces would free up to around 550 feet of curb space. Schimberg also stated that Ravenswood has a waiting list of about 25 people. If approved by the city, one of the tennis courts would have to be removed to accommodate the additional parking spaces. However, Schimberg said a “hitting” wall would likely be installed in its place that could be used for tennis and lacrosse practice. Dan Jones, a supervising engineer with the Cincinnati Recreation Commission, said the Recreation Commission was not opposed to the proposed plan and that the loss of the court was acceptable. However, members of the Hyde Park Neighborhood Council, were not as quick to embrace the proposed parking plan, which was presented during its January council meeting.
SEEING RED 9A
YOUR ONLINE HOME
Red beans and rice not just for Fat Tuesday
Find local news from your neighborhood at Cincinnati.com/ communities
A local developer has proposed a plan that would involve expanding the parking lot at the Ravenswood apartment complex in East Hyde Park.
A proposed parking plan for East Hyde Park would involve eliminating one of the tennis courts at East Hyde Park Commons.
“What feedback have you gotten from residents?” Hyde Park Neighborhood Council Board Member Janet Buening asked. Schimberg said feedback he has gotten from East Hyde Park residents and business owners has shown there is a “tremendous desire to solve this problem.” Bob Smyth, vice president of the Hyde Park Neighborhood Council, said a survey of residents in East Hyde Park indi-
Contact us
News ..........................248-8600 Retail advertising ..............768-8404 Classified advertising .........242-4000 Delivery ........................576-8240 See page A2 for additional information
cates they are in favor of doing something to help alleviate the parking problem. At the time of the meeting, Smyth said about 40 people had responded to the traffic and parking survey. Council Board Member Gary Wollenweber, who is also chairman of the community’s Zoning Committee, asked whether a zone change would be required. Schimberg said it was his unSee PARKING, Page 2A
Vol. 36 No. 3 © 2016 The Community Press ALL RIGHTS RESERVED