by Rachael Whitcomb
Associate Editor
Boston Heights -- After months of hearings and several failed attempts by the developer, a retail area now can be built on a former golf course at Route 8 and Hines Hill Road.
A 5-1 vote by Village Council April 11 to rezone a portion of the 168-acre former Boston Hills Country Club will allow builders to develop 66 acres of the former golf course, previously zoned residential, as a retail area.
For the remaining 100 acres of the site, developers will have to apply for a new residential housing classification, dubbed "residential conservation development," from planning commission. The classification, adopted by Council by a 5-1 vote April 11, only will be granted as conditional use.
Council member Teri Slane voted "no" on both issues.
Rezoning will clear
way for retail
The rezoning will include 66 acres at the northwest corner of the Route 8 and Hines Hill Road intersection on the site of the former Boston Hills Country Club, which closed in October 2006 after being purchased by Boston Hills Property Investment.
Representatives for Boston Hills Property Investment could not be reached by press time.
A consultant hired by the village to provide input on the rezoning, David Hartt, said he recommended Council rezone the property because several parcels around it are developed for commercial uses already, and the village should treat its property owners equally.
He added that he thinks the retail use would be more beneficial to the area than office or industrial uses, and the project would ease the tax burden on homeowners in the village.
Previously, Boston Hills Property Investment, led by developer Sam Petros, proposed 100 homes on about 100 acres and dedicating 66 acres to retail space at the former golf course, according to documents on file at Boston Heights Village Hall.
No specific plans for the new retail area, which would be built along Route 8 just north of Hines Hills Road, have been submitted to the village. Any site plans would be subject to approval from the planning commission.
As for how big the retail development could be, the village's retail business district now allows buildings up to 50,000 square feet, but Council April 11 also gave a first reading to an ordinance that, if approved, would allow building sizes of up to 100,000 square feet for a single story and 215,000 square feet for a two-story building in the retail business district.
Planning commission recommended the matter to Council in December, but did not recommend the issue for the general business district, where other new developments have been proposed and building sizes are capped at 30,000 square feet.
Change could bring denser homes, more open space
Council also approved 5-1, with Slane voting "no," the addition of a residential conservation development as a conditional use to the village's zoning code.
The classification will allow developers to build homes more densely than the standard in the village in exchange for a large section of open space, according to village officials. A minimum of 25 acres will be needed to take advantage of this classification, according to legislation.
Council President Bill Goncy said the total buildout of the 100-acre residential site at the former Boston Hill Country Club would be 82 homes if developers there apply for and are granted the classification under conditional use.
Hartt said he recommended Council adopt the new classification, as well, despite opposition from residents and Cuyahoga Valley National Park officials who worry about the development's potential effect on the area's watershed. Hartt said with development being inevitable along Route 8, a conservation development would be a good transition from a commercial area to the more rural residential Boston Heights is known for.
Specific plans for residential development at the former golf course have not yet been submitted to the planning commission for approval or for consideration under the new residential conservation development classification, according to village officials.
E-mail: rwhitcomb@recordpub.com
Phone: 330-688-0088 ext. 3146