Two trustees from Northern Summit County communities speak out against the Northeast Ohio Sustainable Communities Consortium plan: [email protected] A FREE & OPEN COMMUNITY FORUM & NEWSLETTER OF, BY AND FOR THE PEOPLE OF NORTHERN SUMMIT COUNTY, OHIO SINCE 1999 NS7 is published through SOLAR power! _______________________________________________ Vol. 16 No. 03 - Saturday March 15, 2014 _______________________________________________ COMMUNITIES LOSING LOCAL CONTROL For years our local communities have been in the sites of outside entities attempting to usurp our local control over a myriad of issues ranging from simple weed control methods to private property rights. Most of these Regional initiatives responsible for this usurpation of our local control have and continue to surface under the illusion of Protecting the Environment. In fact, they are about CONTROL, period! Most will recall the recent actions by the North East Ohio Regional Sewer District (NEORSD) to extend its reach into Northern Summit County and charge its residents a stormwater runoff fee (TAX). These fees were based on the area of impervious surfaces (roofs, driveways, patios, etc.) of all private and business properties. All of this is now on hold pending court appeals by some affected communities. Northern Summit County communities were recently asked to support and participate in The Brandywine Creek Watershed Balanced Growth Initiative. Communities were presented with a nearly half-inch thick report published by the Cuyahoga River Community Planning Organization (CRCPO) under a grant from the Ohio Lake Erie Commission. Ironically, a disclaimer at the beginning of the report states, The statements, findings, conclusions, and recommendations are those of the author(s) and do not necessarily reflect the views of the Ohio Lake Erie Commission. Put simply, the Commission does not necessarily agree with the report that it funded! The report was literally filled with the taking of private property rights including, but not limited to; 75 to 120-foot setbacks from wetlands, adjusted riparian setbacks where steep slopes, 10% or greater that exist within 500 feet of a watercourse, special permitting that limits development and disturbances in areas with slopes greater than 15%, limit areas of impervious surface allowed - including roofs and impervious paving, etc. What does all this mean? There are already riparian (land immediately along a waterway) setbacks of 50-feet in place but now they want to include wetlands and lands having as little as a 10% slope. And in their own words, they now want to LIMIT roof surfaces and paved areas of private property! We might as well go back to living in caves! This same report recommends that communities create Tree Commissions and to create a forest mitigation fund where developers OR LANDOWNERS who remove trees, but cannot (or will not?) replant them to contribute payments in lieu of planting, and use those funds to plant, improve or maintain tree canopy and forest cover on public lands and rights-of-way. At our March 3, 2014, Northfield Center Township Board of Trustees meeting the resolution to support and participate in The Brandywine Creek Watershed Balanced Growth Initiative failed due to the lack of a second motion! Sagamore Hills Trustees also rejected this proposal at their March 10th meeting. And now we are facing the Northeast Ohio Sustainable Communities Consortium (NEOSCC) and their VibrantNEO 2040 Plan. The Lorain County Township Association (LCTA) recently REJECTED the NEOSCCs plan based on some of the following: Lack of public input Concern over transit-oriented development Placing local communities in subservient role to an unaccountable, regional bureaucracy Concern that the NEOSCC would divert funds to regional projects at their whim instead of letting the public and leadership closer to the people decide the direction of their own communities with regard to land use. Trustee Lynch said that they were offended at NEOSCCs insinuation that the local townships were not capable of protecting the countys environment. Consider instituting a land value tax to replace existing property assessment and taxation methods. Expand land bank to acquire... more properties in the region Include planned unit overlay districts in zoning codes...essentially overruling local zoning Offer financial incentives to developers that incorporate affordable housing units - implement inclusionary zoning. (HUD plan) Promote complete streets. Very expensive. Lawsuit ongoing in SW Ohio over this right now. No new roads I previously stated that these initiatives are all about control and this was graphically justified at the NEOSCCs recent Board meeting conducted on February 25, 2014. At that meeting a HUD representative made the following statement, THE MOST IMPORTANT THING IS WE TAKE CONTROL. TAKE CONTROL AT THE LOCAL LEVEL... This is a DIRECT quote. The video can be seen at: youtube/watch?v=4dyJV1z5YQc . Ive been involved in Northern Summit County politics for 19-years and have personally witnessed many actions that have taken control of local affairs from our local communities. I have also witnessed an indisputable acceleration of these actions through initiatives in just the past few years - All in the name of regionalism, growth control and protecting the environment. When its all said and done its clearly about CONTROL! Elected representatives (Mayors, Councilors and Trustees) need to exercise due diligence and common sense. They should not even consider adopting the Brandywine Initiative, the VibrantNEO 2040 plan and other related proposals unless they have read them and understand what they mean, and at what cost to their residents. Failure to do so is irresponsible and could have dire consequences for the future of their communities through the abdication of their local control and sworn responsibilities to their people! Paul G. Buescher Northfield Center Twp. Trustee - Chairman A Letter on the Same Subject from Sagamore Hills Trustee Paul Schweikert: Dear Northfield Center Township Trustees: Trustee Buescher told me you were unable to get a rep to the Summit County Township Association meeting on March 4, 2014. Paul asked for feedback on the presentation. There was a presentation given by Northeast Ohio Sustainable Communities Consortium (NEOSCC). They have a web page VibrantNEO.org. Their Director is Hunter Morrison. Hunter was a planner for the City of Cleveland for 20 years. He may have had a hand in the Euclid Avenue Business Project Corridor. NEOSCC is a non-profit corporation formed to develop a regional policy plan for sustainability for a 12 county region in Northeast Ohio. NEOSCC gets its funding from a Hud Grant 4.25 million dollars. They get another 2.2 million dollars from an organization called Fund for Our Economic Future. Fund for Our Economic Future has a web page and lists Brad Whitehead as their president. The mission of this fund is to promote well-being of the people of Northeast Ohio by shaping and sustaining long-term economic competitiveness strategy. If you want to be a voting member of this organization, you are asked to contribute $100,000 or more to a 3 year phase of the fund. (I won’t be voting anytime soon) Several of the voting members committed 1 million dollars or more per 3 year phase. They do not list the voting member, but each voting member serves on their board called the Funding Committee. Getting back to NEOSCC, they have a web page that displays goals and initiatives. There are 41 initiatives and many are good, however there are a number of initiatives which are very vague, and open to a number of interpretations. Several of these initiatives give me cause for concern. I will not list them all, but a few of my favorites are: 1.4 Continue development throughout the region in accordance with local zoning requirements and preferences, but prioritize public subsidies to projects within the region’s established communities. I wonder if these subsidies are given to voting members of “Fund Our Economic Future”. 1.6 Consider instituting a land value tax to replace existing improvement-based property assessment and taxation methods. Since when is this the job of a non-profit? 4.1 Include mixed-use designations and/or planned unit overlay districts in zoning codes throughout the region. Is there intent to supersede local zoning? 4.3 Offer financial incentives to developers that incorporate affordable housing units into their projects and implement inclusionary zoning in markets with widespread affordability gaps. This is the job of City Planning Commissions or Township Zoning Boards. Are the developers who get financial incentives friends to those with voting rights to “Fund Our Economic Future”? My feeling with NEOSCC’s 41 initiatives is they are an emulsion of good and dubious initiatives which make it difficult to discern the effects they will have on taxpayers’ wallets. Equally important, is their intent in siphoning off local or county funding for one or more of their initiatives? My gut feeling is yes. Lastly, I have seen vague language initiatives before. Anyone remember the Proposed Sales and Tax Levy used by Summit County in 1993? They said, it was to get rid of a deficit, build a new County jail, “and prepare a long-range financial plan for Summit County’s future.” Once this passed the voting public, they blew 1 million dollars saying we needed to eliminate elected county offices and re-invent government. I digress, I personally don’t like non profits that want to spend public tax dollars on protects they deem worth. Just another Elitest organization that doesn’t answer to the electorate and wants to spend public money with little or no oversight. Sorry, I got long winded, but think we have all seen this dog and pony show before, and I got a feeling here to go again. Sincerely, Paul Schweikert [Sagamore Hills Township Trustee]
Posted on: Sun, 16 Mar 2014 16:44:15 +0000