Amherst News-Times, 1998-11-25

              Intersection brings complaints — Page 3      Twp. fire contract extended — Page 3
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mherst News-Times
\
mhor  ->5.  1998
Amhorst.  Ohio
Fte     ling foes
to      lpromise
on Rt. 58 land
use exclusions
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City officials are considering revising Amherst's C-l commercial
zoning regulations in an effort to resolve a dispute over the controversial rezoning of residential property
along N. Leavitt Road.
The idea is being viewed as a
possible compromise to the continued debate between more than a
half dozen residents who want to
sell their properties for commercial
development and their Rock Creek
Run neighbors who oppose it
It was the end result of a lengthy
Nov. 17 public hearing continued
from September, one that is "to be
continued" again in 1999 — six
months after it started.
The controversy involves rezon-
\ ing about 1,000 feet ofrcsjdenual
property along iJbe-^asTTside of N.
: Leavitt Road between North Ridge
Road and Spruce Tree Lane.
The owners of the property claim
their land has little value unless ft
can be sold for commercial use.
They are seeking C-2 zoning,
which allows a wide variety of com-
! mercial development ranging from
retail stores to restaurants or motels.
Garrett Murray, the attorney for
more than 100 Rock Creek Run residents, said his clients oppose the
• rezoning because they have no idea
' what kind of businesses would be
located in the strip of land.
He called the request for rezoning
"premature'' because it lacks specific planning.
Among the most vocal opponents
were residents of High Meadow
Lane, whose back yards abut the
property. They demanded the city
require adequate buffers, such as
trees mounds or fences, from the
developers.
Mayor John Higgins said buffers
would be required.
James Blazak, the attorney for the
rezoning advocates, argued the city
had set a precedent in the area by
allowing several retail outlets to be
located across the highway or adjacent to his clients' homes.
Most neighboring Rock Creek
Run subdivision residents want to
keep the area residential. Nevertheless, several said they were willing
to accept zoning for small retail development (C-l) if motels, bars, gas
stations and fast food restaurants are
excluded.
The N. Leavitt Road homeowners
reluctantly agreed after a quick conference with Blazak, although they
made it clear they still would prefer
the more general C-2 zoning.
Council put a hold on its decision
until the city planning commission
can amend existing C-l zoning to
exclude the four types of businesses.
In turn, banks, which are not now
included, may be added to it.
Once this is done, the mayor said
the ordinance authorizing the
change will have to be approved by
council before the public hearing
can be reconvened.
The process may take at least two
months. For this reason, the rezoning may not occur until late winter
or early spring, if the compromise
holds and neither side changes its
mind, he added.
Wizzer is snug in the arms of Rachel Adams as he surveys his
temporary home, a thrift shop on Rt. 113 started by Adams to help
finance the Lorain County Animal Rescue Society.
New shop aids animal shelter
by QLEN MLLER
News-Times reporter
Velvet, Chance, Bean and Wizzer
are happy and warm puppies thanks
to Rachel Adams. So are Nicholas,
Buddy, Shady and Grady, some of
the stray cats that are temporarily
guests in her newly-opened thrift
shop.
Temporarily •*o**MM*v-*_t/s keeping some of them ill her home until
caring owners can be found for
them by the Lorain County Animal
Rescue Society.
Started by her more than a year
ago, the agency is one of several
animal shelters in the area that tries
to find good, caring homes for stray
and abandoned cats and dogs.
Adams, of lx>rain, opened the
society's thrift shop earlier this
month in a small store located in a
strip shopping center on Rl 113 just
west of Leavitt Road.
She is using the thrift shop's profits to feed, shelter and medically
care for animals given the society
by a host of people and organizations. They have included the
county dog warden and the Amherst
Police Department.
So far, secondhand merchandise,
a lot of it donated by animal lovers,
has been coming in faster than some
of the society's cats and dogs have
been adopted.
"But that's okay, it's good for
now," she said. "The wider variety
of good stuff we have to sell, the
more money we can make and the
more we'U have for things we want
to do."*»
Still, she wants animals to be
adopted so she has room for others.
Adams started raising funds by
holding garage sales at her home.
That stopped after Lorain passed a
law limiting the number people can
have in a year. She and her husband,
Herman, then began looking around
for a small, low rent shop until they
found the Amherst Township store.
The location is perfect because
it's near Amherst, which doesn't
have a shelter or pound for stray
dogs or cats, and is centrally located
in the county.
Now what's needed is a place the
society can temporarily house animals until they are be adopted. So
CONTINUED on page   3
Students find hands-on
projects easy to handle
by PAUL MORTON
Newt-Times reporter
Groups of Shupe Middle School
students are learning about math and
science by digging into the earth
and looking to the stars.
Under the guidance of teacher
Rosemary Hesmond, about 30 fifth
grade students at the school are
learning about archeology, and ab-
oiit 21 sixth grade students are designing a colony on Man. The projects are intended to teach math and
science by exposing the students to
areas where they are used in the archeology and space exploration
fields.
Hesmond said the projects were
offered to all students in each grade,
and those who were interested filled
out an application. She said in order
to participate, the students must be
"pretty good students" who have an
interest in the topic as well as parental consent The student's classroom
teacher must also recommend the
student
The sixth grade project of designing the Mars colony was limited to
21 students because of the structure
of the class, which is a joint venture
of the Lorain County Gifted Consortium sponsored by NASA. The
Shupe students are working on the
project together with students in the
Avon Lake, Firelands, Lorain, Mid-
view, and North Ridgeville school
districts.
The students are divided into
groups, each of which works with
similar groups in two other schools
to build a habitat the basic component of the Mairs colony, called
Marsville. Each habitat group works
on three different systems which
would be necessary for the habitat's
function in the Martian environment. The systems include air
supply, architecture, food production, communication, and waste
CONTINUED on page   3
Shupe students get a taste of an archeological dig for one of their school projects.
Legion loses liquor appeal; plans to sell post
by QLEN MLLER
News-Times reporter
The American Legion post
on Middle Ridge Road is for
sale, a decision brought about
after the Ohio Department of
Liquor Control revoked the
facility's liquor license.
The decision was made by
post officials during a Nov.
14 meeting because of their
inability to win back a
license revoked in 1995.
"This wss a very hard decision for us lo make. This
(facility) means a lot to us,"
poet adjutant and 1991 Legionnaire of the Year, Corky
Godfrey said.
Projected revenue from as
canteen and hall, in which
liquor was sold, was a aoajor
factor in fruftiHi>g the post hi
the late '70s. htbo-pnWuand
fraternal organisations have
often rented she pest for a
wide variety of
"Now, obviously that's not
going to happen," post member and attorney Kenneth
Stumphauzer said.' "So, in
light of circumstances and decreased revenues, they realize
it can no longer be supported
by their customary (legion)
activities."
The post has a large
kitchen area and the canteen
area/dining hall is shout 2.000
square feet Both are no longer needed or affordable for
it to operate, he added.
But the poit will not cease
Opfaf,10*0*0 j  U**fste*—ftaL lACQIDOTS
plan to "downsize" by building or moving into a smaller
mete affordable she, where
liquor will not be sold, he
explained.
Patty Ha-drn, a
son for the Ohio
of Liquor Control, said the
pott's bqnor violations date
beck 20 years. They have hv
cbded the ale of uqeor to
non-members and gambling
while allowing liquor to be
sold, which is against state
law.
The violations have resulted
in a series of fines and
license suspensions, the most
recent of which was issued in
199S. The legion's license
was revoked for selling liquor
on Aug. 3.' 1993 while under
a 180-day license suspension
for a previous violation.
An appeal en the revocation filed by attorneys for the
post was upheld by the Lor*
ain County Qxnmon Pleas
Court in August of thto year,
thus ending the quest to re-
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KbUm  Isov  UOwflBBtj  B**v SDODQ*
Now, it is the sale of te
property, not ths violations,
that coawerna iiTlrJfrni living
near fee Maddfe Ridge Reed
post aad dry
far fee
r.
Ths issue of
matter. It began last year after the legion requested the
land be rezoned commercial
(C-2) to facilitate its possible
sale.
The issue has not been resolved and will continue into
1999. Discussion on retaining
residential zoning was tabled
by council Nov. 16 until next
year. Members of council's
building and lands committee
felt the issue cannot be resolved before council recesses
for its Christmas and New
Year's break in mid-
December.
* Second ward counciiman
Edward Cowger, who represents residents around ths
post, wanted to know when
ihe natter would he brought
op far discussion Main.
No data wa        ~
John Dietrich noted fee rezon-
ing part of N. Leevkt Road
between. North Ridge Road
.end Spruce Dee Lane must
11 isn mil i m .ii i m i 11 an      I.    ii
he said it might be better to
wait until American Legion
officials have located a buyer
with whom the city can talk.
Under state law, the post's
land automatically became re-
sidentially zoned when it and
several other acres were annexed into the city from Amherst Township nearly 10
years sap.
It was under township residential zoning regulations
(R-l-1) and has been regarded
as falling into a non-
cemforming residential use
city zoning category ever
since. It has not been officially placed under fee dry's
more restrictive (R-l) zoning,
a move supported by most
council
la fee roeentime, Stum-
said feeee is no im-
«ssd teasel *s
tion is a good one because of
the open land surrounding the
building. It also has a baseball diamond in the rear,
making it suitable for possible
recreation use, he added.
"But they (post officials)
want to be socially responsible," Stumphauzer said.
"They'd lite to find someone
who would be interested in
the property who would work
in conjunction wife the city's
needs."
Up pwfewuui would be to
^ fee land to fee city, although poet offidals realise it
afford fee fend be-
of other flnanrial
he added.
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