University Heights City Council meeting highlights 1-2-2018

JANUARY 2, 2018

• Installation of officials
• Mayoral address
• Announcement of appointments
• Public comments
• BZA ruling on unrelated occupants
• Demolition permits
• Medical marijuana operations
• Medical marijuana applications moratorium
• BZA ordinance revisions
• Vacant buildings
• Maintenance of parking place and surroundings
• Catch basin and sewer cleaning
• Emergency sewer repairs
• Tree pruning and removal project
  
  

Present were Mayor Michael Brennan and council members: Vice Mayor Susan Pardee, Pamela Cameron, Philip Ertel, John Rach, Michele Weiss, and Mark Wiseman. Councilman Steven Sims was absent. Also present were acting Law Director Michael Cicero, Finance Director William Sheehan, and Clerk of Council Kelly Thomas. The meeting was held from 7:15 to 10:12 p.m.

Installation of officials

All oaths of office included a pledge to uphold the constitution and laws of the U.S., of the state of Ohio, and the charter and ordinances of the city of University Heights. Mayor Brennan was given the oath of office by Judge Kathleen Ann Sutula, for whom he was staff attorney previously. Ertel was given the oath by Judge J.K. Montgomery. Pardee, Rach and Wiseman all received their oaths (plus lengthy introductions) from former councilwoman Francine Goldberg.

Clerk of Council Thomas, Police Chief Steve Hammett, Service Director Jeffrey Pokorney, Building Director James McReynolds, and Development Director Patrick Grogan-Myers also pledged their oaths. Pardee was re-elected by council to serve as Vice Mayor, and Mayor Brennan was designated safety director. Robert Pirko III was sworn in as the Interim Fire Chief, replacing Chief Douglas Zook.

Council members were given new committee assignments. Pardee explained that each council member chairs one committee, serves on two others, and serves as an alternate on a third. In Addition, Wiseman was appointed to the planning commission, and Weiss to the Board of Zoning Appeals.

Mayoral address

Mayor Brennan welcomed the many public officials and other candidates who were present. He thanked former Mayor Susan Infeld for her 20-plus years of service. He also thanked his family, and all seven members of council, but most importantly he thanked the residents of University Heights who have chosen him to be their mayor. He commented that all who were seated at the front table have a vision for the city – to make it more open and inclusive, safer, and with more civic engagement and citizen involvement. He also said that all people need to be more respectful, even when they disagree – especially when they disagree. Mayor Brennan stated that he intends to create positions for economic development and community engagement. He also stated he believes it will take time to effect change but the work has begun. “Together we will reach new heights.”

Public comments

Municipal court – Judge Montgomery, who presides over the Shaker municipal court, which also serves University Heights, asked council to please keep the channels of communication open with the court. He stated that there are major changes in the way courts are addressing crimes. The collection of bonds has fallen out of favor (reducing revenue for courts). He also articulated that crime has changed significantly with guns everywhere. Jails have become treatment beds for addicts and treatment costs are rising. Housing court is dealing with homes which are owned by LLCs, which are often remote and have no connection to the community.

Partnering with South Euclid – Georgine Welo, mayor of South Euclid, noted the positive energy in the room, and noted how wonderful it has been to partner with University Heights over the years.

Crime – Resident Ronald Collier says that he loves the city but the crime issue is bothering him. He lives near Cedar Green and worries about people following people home from stores and robbing or assaulting them. Chief Hammett said that these types of crimes have always happened but are currently on the rise. Arrests have been made, but police work is ongoing. The cars that were stolen had the keys in them. The chief advised that if [a person] think[s] someone is following [them], [they should] stop at the front of [their] drive (not the back of the house) where it is light and visible, go to the police station, or call ahead to the police. He said that if something doesn’t feel right, people should act on those feelings.

Swensons – James Pasch of Campus Road and a member of Beachwood City Council, told council that the residents on Fenway, Campus, and Cedar Roads tend to call him with their concerns. What bothers him about Swensons is that the business doesn’t border the residents of University Heights – it borders Beachwood’s residents. Beachwood makes an effort to include all residents who will be impacted [when introducing new businesses] and this wasn’t done. Also, the current UH city ordinance states that food shouldn’t be served outdoors past midnight. The UH council is considering moving that to 1:30 pm, but there is no need for a restaurant to serve past midnight in a residential area. Also, employees are being directed to park on Fenway. [Pasch] asked for the two city councils to have a combined meeting to discuss how to minimize the impact of Swensons on the residents. Mayor Brennan responded that he intends to meet with Pasch and concerned residents to discuss their concerns, regardless of whether the ordinance is passed tonight or not. He also noted that residents were notified per the requirements of the law, though perhaps not sufficiently.

Resident’s concerns – Yoyo Moore said that he has lived here for two years and feels it’s a great place to live. However, he would like council to reconsider the ordinance which prohibits parking commercial vehicles in personal driveways. The ordinance dates from 1940, and his commercial vehicle is his only vehicle. He is also concerned with parents who are speeding and running stop signs to get to Gearity School to pick up their children, and also with questionable activity taking place in the parking lot of Gearity and in one particular home in the middle of the night.

BZA ruling on unrelated occupants

Tom Peffer of Sole Houses LLC asked council to overrule the decision by the Board of Zoning Appeals (BZA) denying his request to allow four unrelated people to live in a rental house. Sole Houses owns rental homes throughout the area and was unaware of the ordinance when it rented a home to four JCU students. The home had previously been rented to a family. Their lease ends May 31, and requiring them to move out would create a hardship to the students and to Sole Houses. Cicero explained that overturning the BZA ruling would last for one year from today. McReynolds reported that the building department found six other homes with four or more unrelated occupants. Three homes immediately complied and three more did over the winter break. This is the only home which chose to appeal. Council supported the decision of the BZA to enforce the limit of three unrelated residents because this is a major problem in the city.

Demolition permits

Council approved Sims’ proposal that the regulations in the city code entitled “Demolition Permit Required: Issuance” and “Applications and Appeals” be changed to require that any application for a demolition permit be considered exclusively by council, in order to clarify that the board of zoning appeals does not have purview over demolitions. It had not been clear initially who should handle demolition requests.

Medical marijuana operations

Council approved Ordinance 2017-49, clarifying regulations around “Medical Marijuana Operations,” “Medical Marijuana Dispensaries”, and “Use Regulations” regulating cultivators, processors, dispensaries, and testing laboratories in order to lay the groundwork for potential future business opportunities. Councilwoman Cameron passed, stating that her years as a social worker helping people battling marijuana addiction has made her more cautious about legalizing the drug.

Medical marijuana applications moratorium

Ordinance 2017-50, also approved, establishes a moratorium on applications for building permits, zoning approvals, and certificates of occupancy that would enable the creation of medical marijuana testing laboratories or testing facilities for at most six months to give the city time to review pertinent laws and to plan for regulations. Councilwoman Weiss reported that more information is coming shortly regarding testing laboratories. Vice Mayor Pardee felt that John Carroll might be a prime location for testing facilities.

BZA ordinance revisions

Council approved Ordinance 2017-52 amending current ordinances entitled “Establishment of Board of Zoning Appeals” [BZA] and “Appeal to Council: Fee” to make the mayor a non-voting member (instead of a voting member) of the BZA. Councilwoman Weiss has been talking to other cities about their boards, and feels that this would help to depoliticize the BZA and allow them to make decisions more purely. It would also remove the right of appealing BZA decisions to council, instead sending appeals directly to the court.

Vacant buildings

According to Councilman Wiseman, when a bank files a foreclosure on a house that is vacant, the city would require the bank to register the house and pay a fee. However, there was no mechanism in the city to prevent the house from decaying and becoming an eyesore. Thus, council approved legislation to empower the city to hold a bank that forecloses on a house to be responsible for maintaining the house and bringing it up to code. This ordinance (2017-53) was developed by the building committee and is based on legislation that has been in effect in South Euclid for many years.

Maintenance of parking places and surroundings

Council approved revisions to Ordinance 2017-54, amending the city rules entitled “Maintenance of customer parking places and surroundings.” Vice Mayor Pardee explained that this revises an old ordinance which was within the criminal code instead of zoning and was not being enforced as it stood. This ordinance removes the text about serving food outdoors, and revises the portion regarding parking cars within 75 feet of residential structures between the hours of 1:30 a.m. and 6 a.m. (instead of midnight and 6 a.m.) Councilman Rach voted against the ordinance, stating that it seems the law is being changed on behalf of one specific business. This seems to change a rule established initially in the 1950’s on behalf of the community. Rach preferred a special permit instead of changing the law. Mayor Brennan noted that commitments have been made to Swensons, but the city also needs to be good neighbors to Beachwood. He affirmed his commitment to work with Councilman Pasch and residents of Beachwood to ameliorate the situation

Catch basin and sewer cleaning

Council accepted the bid from AAA Flexible Pipe Cleaning for the 2018/19 catch basin, inlet, sewer cleaning and televising program in the amount of $298,800 for two years. This was the lowest of five bids, and AAA has successfully provided the service for the past four (or more) years. The motion was approved on emergency to have the contract in place in case any emergencies occur in January.

Emergency sewer repairs

Council accepted Fabrizi Trucking and Paving Company’s bid for the 2018/19 emergency sewer repairs in the amount of $236,580 for two years. Fabrizi will provide emergency repairs when the city can’t get to the work or doesn’t have the necessary equipment. They have provided satisfactory work for the past two years. Fabrizi will be paid per job, not to exceed a total of $236,580 over the two years.

Bid for tree pruning and removal project

Council approved Parks Tree Service’s bid for the 2017-18 city-wide tree pruning and removal project in the amount of $37,243. They are a new provider but were the low bidder and had good referrals. This bid was approved on emergency so that the pruning and tree removal can be completed by March. This only pertains to trees in the tree lawns and not on private property.

LWV Observer: Wendy S Deuring.

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These reports contain member observation and selected highlights of public meetings and are not official statements of the Heights Chapter of the League of Women Voters of Greater Cleveland. This disclaimer must accompany any redistribution of these reports.