Opponents of Stoney Pointe Commons, a planned housing complex for homeless and disabled adults on Vernon Odom Boulevard near Romig Road, continued their fight in a public hearing Monday night with hopes of slowing the project’s construction.
Richfield-based Tober Building Co., the project’s developer, requested Akron City Council to vary the parking requirement from 102 spaces to 39 for the 68-unit complex’s parking lot. The rest of the property is zoned correctly, and the developer only needs this last variance approved by City Council to move forward with the $11.3 million project.
Residents living near the area gathered 192 signatures on a petition asking council to decline Tober’s request. Several of them have attended council meetings since September when they learned about the project to voice their opposition. Their concerns include a possible rise in crime rates and a decrease in property values, among other issues.
“I’m not going to speak about the merits of the project, because there’s only one issue before council,” said James Simon, an attorney representing Tober, at the hearing. “We’re not here to talk about whether it is desirable to put the project in its location because we have the zoning for the project.”
Simon said Tober, who was not at the meeting, is requesting a smaller parking lot because many of the complex’s residents will likely not own cars. He also said the smaller lot would reduce the amount of wooded area that needs to be cleared and would save the developer nearly $150,000.
He said Tober will move forward with the project regardless of whether council approves the variance or not.
Some residents argued that people living in Stoney Pointe might eventually get cars or may have family members who want to visit that won’t have a place to park.
“There is no room, there are no side streets,” said Melanie Foertch of Akron about the area surrounding the proposed parking lot. “Every side street is a private drive, an unpaved, one-lane private drive.”
Residents expressed concern with an overflow in traffic and less space for emergency vehicles to move through the streets.
“In my opinion he’s just trying to save money,” said Glenn Auvil of Akron.
City Council held off on voting on the variance until the Board of Elections reviews the petition from residents and confirms all the signatures are valid. Construction on the project is scheduled to begin in March.
In other business, Ward 5 Councilwoman Tara Mosley-Samples called for council to look into a gun buyback program for next year’s budget. She cited gun violence and officer-involved shootings around the country. She also cited three shootings this weekend alone in her ward.
“We have a gun problem in our community. I have a gun problem in my ward,” Mosley-Samples said.
Theresa Cottom can be reached at 330-996-3216 or tcottom@thebeaconjournal.com. Follow her on Twitter @Theresa_Cottom .