by Lauren Krupar
Associate Editor
Boston Heights --The Election Day failure of two referendums seeking to change the village's zoning has no effect on a developer's plan to sue Boston Heights for $10 million, developers say.
Voters in Boston Heights cast their ballots Nov. 6 to keep the village the way it is and keep "big box" retail out.
"As is the case in any rezoning, change is hard to accept," Council member and mayor-elect Bill Goncy said. "Now that we've all looked at it and said it would not work, I would hope the developers would look at a compromise."
But according to the development company that wanted the zoning changes, the complaint -- alleging the village owes it $10 million because the vote makes the land undevelopable -- will continue.
"The lawsuit will continue until it is concluded," attorney Sheldon Berns, a representative of Boston Hills Property Investment, added. "We obviously believe it will be concluded satisfactorily for our client."
While Berns said they are "disappointed" in the election results, he added the election has "no effect" on the lawsuit. A status conference remains set for Nov. 27.
Calls to Boston Heights' attorney were not returned by press time.
The failure of the two referendum issues overturned Council and planning commission decisions to rezone more than 65 acres of the former Boston Heights Country Club from residential to retail and to amend the zoning code to include "big box" retail.
Issue 51, which would have rezoned the land, failed with 53.74 percent, or 309 votes, against and 46.46 percent, or 266 votes, for the issue, according to final but unofficial results from the Summit County Board of Elections.
Issue 52, which would have changed the village's zoning code, failed with 59.09 percent, or 338 votes, against, and 40.91 percent, or 234 votes, in favor of the rezoning.
The two issues were a citizen-sponsored initiative to reverse Boston Heights Village Council's approval of an ordinance to rezone a portion of the former country club to allow retail.
If Issue 51 had passed, a 65.9562 parcel of land at the northwest corner of the intersection of Route 8 and Hines Hill Road would have been rezoned from residential to retail business.
If Issue 52 passed, a new conditional use for limited enlarged retail buildings would have allowed "big box" stores in a retail business district such as the former country club.
The issues spurred Boston Hills Property Investment, the developers of the property, to file a complaint in the Summit County Court of Common Pleas alleging the referendum would make the property unusable for development.
Boston Heights alleges the developer's losses, if any, are not the village's responsibility and asked the court to dismiss the case in an Aug. 28 filing.
Goncy said the failure of the two issues will impact the village's future.
He added Boston Heights, which is mainly residential or part of the Cuyahoga Valley National Park, needs to investigate ways to increase the village's funding.
Two other issues also impact the village's future, Goncy said. The Route 8 project in which the Ohio Department of Transportation has purchased several retail properties in the village and the proposed elimination of mayor's court at the state level both could negatively impact the village's funding, Goncy said.
"We need to look at ways to replace our lost business," he said. "We need to look at the future."
E-mail: lkrupar@recordpub.com
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