My vote on Stoneridge

City Council voted on two new developments on Monday night.

Cutter's Creek will have different styles of attached townhomes, including ranches, in the woods at Anderson and Green. I voted for that one without unmanageable regret. I wish the homes didn't have to be so close to the creek. I hope the trees grow back quickly. The diocese owned the property, insisted on selling, and at least it went to a developer who pays attention.

Stoneridge is the one that's been getting all the attention lately. It's to be sixteen detached cluster homes tucked in behind houses on Monticello, Trebisky, Ammon and Azalea, where it's now wooded, shrubbed and wetland. The neighbors were either angry about losing their wooded backdrop or eager to sell their backland to the developer.

I voted no on that one. Not because of the angry neighbors but because of the design...it's going to be a clump of little houses amid a sea of grass, which is the worst possible way to use the land. I wouldn't have objected if the design was about leaving the woods and offering wooded lots around the new houses. But grass is as bad as paving, possibly worse since all the fertilizer, pesticides and weed killers they'll use to keep the grass green will rush across the surface and into a big pipe at the bottom of a funnel and run headlong into the creek. That's poisoning the waterway. Period.

I also believe, based on lots of data, that taking out the forest will not just lower the property values of the homes on large lots that surround this project, it will have many adverse impacts on the air quality and flooding issues of the whole neighborhood.

The language in our building code for Planned Unit Residential Developments says this:
"The Planning Commission shall review all proposed planned unit residential developments, giving particular consideration to the design and layout of the development to ensure that:
(1)Buildings and uses within the proposed development are located so as to reduce any adverse impacts on and to protect the residential character of areas adjacent to the development.

They'll be leaving a whopping 30 or 40 feet of trees around the edge of the development. That's the depth of my house, hardly enough buffer to block the view. Big deal.

As I said at the meeting, something's going to be built there. Whoever owns the property has the right to build. But those particular woods are not just big weeds, they're community assets. In that particular place, where this is the last remnant of woods, and wildlife habitat, taking them out so completely will have serious adverse impacts on the whole surrounding area – unlike Cutter's Creek, which will still be surrounded with woods.

A lot of the council vote had to do with the fear of getting sued if we put too many restrictions on the plan. Mayfield Heights got sued and lost big time when the guy who built the Costco wanted them to change the zoning from residential to commercial and the city didn't have a good plan to back up their refusal. That case didn't involve a PURD, it was land adjacent to other commercial buildings, and it's not the same situation we were facing. But fear of litigation held sway.

My vote may have been merely symbolic, but symbols can be important. I just thought you'd want to know why I voted the way I did.

Good Neighbors...and block watchers wanted

I keep saying "If you want a good neighborhood, you have to be a good neighbor." People tend to nod, and agree, and then way too often they follow up with ten reasons why they can't, won't or just don't reach out to the folks who live nearby.

I admit I find myself avoiding the folks in one of the houses across the street. Their kid gets picked up in the morning by a woman in an SUV who honks the horn. Loudly and repeatedly. The grownups there have completely killed what was, just a couple of years ago (before they bought the house) a gorgeous garden and luscious lawn with a beautiful japanese maple. The tree is dead, the lawn is completely weeds in mud, the picket fence is trashed and the garden is scary.

Since it's been hard for me to catch these folks at home, I haven't done my neighborly duty. Yet.

And now that I'm ready to admit that I have limitations (stop laughing...I heard that) I'm begging you - YES, YOU! - to step forward and say you'll br captain of your block watch. All you have to do is contact me. We'll set up a time for a block meeting, I'll reserve a meeting room and make flyers, we'll distribute them to your neighbors, and get a Block Watch working.

Please?

Summer's here

Hi. I'm in the process of dropping off the latest edition of the 4th Warder newsletter. With more than 2000 households in the ward, it takes some time. If you just can't wait, you can download it as a pdf file from my page on the city's web site...http://www.cityofsoutheuclid.com right away.

And if you'd like to help out by dropping the newsletter to the homes on your street, PLEASE email me (or add a comment to this blog) to volunteer.

So...I'd like to welcome the two new members of the Planning Commission, recently appointed by Mayor Welo. Mary Doria Russell (yes, the author) and Falanda Collins are both residents of Princeton Rd. in Ward 1. Come to think of it, two of our council members (Simon and Gray) also live there. Wonder if there's something in the water there that encourages public service. Hmmm.

I've been getting more than the usual number of "help" calls from people who want me to intervene in neigbor issues. My hope is that folks can talk to each other and resolve things first, before calling me or the police. How are we going to build neighborhoods people love to live in if we can't even talk to each other? I say that to have a good neighborhood, you have to be a good neighbor, and sometimes that means being a good example to the neighbors who don't play ball. And don't give up.

Fun Day will be July 29 this year, at Bexley Park, and it's looking like it'll be a baseball game between city employees and a traveling entertainment team, then music and fireworks. The daytime activities won't be part of the day this year. We're trying something new, with limited funds. We have to pay for our own fireworks this year...no, I don't know why, but that's the way it is.

The recycling committee will be selling a new canvas tote/shopping bag with graphics created by yours truly. The bags will be available starting in July. Look for them at city events and buy one (or more) to support the committee's activities.

If you run a homebased business, or know someone who does, we want to list you in the new online directory. We want to encourage people to keep their dollars within the community, and this will help residents find the product or service they need while helping our neighbors. Email me for a listing form.

Okay, gotta go water the garden, drop some newsletters and pick up stuff to fix the garage (TJ says I have to repaint it and fix the little door...I don't get special treatment, that's for sure!)

Jane