Cincinnati City Council unanimously passed an ordinance to fund a homeowners association for the residents of Rockford Woods in Northside, repealing one passed just last month.
The ordinance creates a new capital improvement project account that will be funded with $250,000 from the Strategic Housing Initiatives Program '08 capital project account.
The repealed ordinance had not been properly executed.
Approximately $50,000 of the funding will be used to pay for the homeowners association, with the remainder going to pay legal fees and to upgrade the subdivision's private streets to public standards.
The subdivision was abandoned in 2001 by developers EEHV, LLC, leaving incomplete property records and inadequate infrastructure.
The developers' failure to establish a promised homeowners association forced residents of Rockford Woods to pay out of their own pockets for basic maintenance and improvements.
Questions asked
With the resolution of Phase I, some are starting to worry about what a possible Phase II could bring.
Neighborhood resident Karen Nagel has contacted City Council to question plans by EHHV, LLC to build 40 more houses when it took six years to sell 16 in the first phase.
Nagel also notes that three lots from the first phase remain unsold, and she worries that the City will just end up bailing out the developers again.
Marian Ruman, who lives on a street adjacent to the development, also has written a letter to City Council saying that, even though she has seen paths and survey flags on the site, it has been difficult to gather any information.
"I do admit that the homes that have already been built look very nice, but I am strongly opposed to continued destruction of the woodland around Rockford Place," she said.
Ruman also notes that a tree fell during a recent storm - blocking the only point of egress for her and her neighbors - and she wants to know if the plat she saw many years ago has been changed to address that.
Nagel agrees.
"Our infrastructure can barely handle what we have now," she said. "We surely can't handle 40 more households!"
A report on both letters is due back before City Council by the end of this month.
Previous reading on BC:
Rockford Woods aid passes unanimously (2/19/08)
City to finally resolve Rockford Woods fiasco (2/5/08)
On beer wench duty this Sunday
1 hour ago
1 comments:
Again, as a Rockford Woods homeowner, I want to clarify some information in this article in addition to my attempt to clarify the other Rockford Woods article.
”With the resolution of Phase I, some are starting to worry about what a possible Phase II could bring.
Neighborhood resident Karen Nagel has contacted City Council to question plans by EHHV, LLC to build 40 more houses when it took six years to sell 16 in the first phase.
Nagel also notes that three lots from the first phase remain unsold, and she worries that the City will just end up bailing out the developers again.”
Related to my other post on this topic, three lots in Phase 1 remain unsold but not because they are difficult to sell. Rather, the Phase 1 homeowners demanded that all activity should cease until the current problems were solved. It is an outright falsehood to say “it took six years to sell 16 in the first place”. I was the 15th homebuyer in 2003 and the 16th property (now in foreclosure) was sold in 2004.
Further, EHHV, LLC is no longer the developer. Per the agreement between the Phase 1 homeowners, the City, and EHHV, a new developer is to take over the development. There is no basis for Ms. Nagel to be concerned about bailing out the previous developer. He’s already out of the picture.
'Marian Ruman, who lives on a street adjacent to the development, also has written a letter to City Council saying that, even though she has seen paths and survey flags on the site, it has been difficult to gather any information.
"I do admit that the homes that have already been built look very nice, but I am strongly opposed to continued destruction of the woodland around Rockford Place," she said.'
Completion of Rockford Woods is one of three Key Action Strategies in the Northside Comprehensive Land Use Plan which has been approved by the Northside Community Council and the City Council. A letter to residents and adjacent homeowners from Tim Jeckering (President of the NCC) states, “All totaled for Phase One and Phase Two, the overall site is 60% dedicated greenspace and 40% developed.”
He also notes that “the Rockford Woods development has consumed countless hours of time from many people within the neighborhood as volunteers with the goal of increasing home ownership while maximizing greenspace through thoughtful planning.”
I couldn't have said it better. I've been dealing with this stuff for four and a half years.
"Our infrastructure can barely handle what we have now," she said. "We surely can't handle 40 more households!"
Once Phase 2 is renewed by the City Planning Commission, it will revert back to the 2001 plan of 37 homes (not 40) for a total of 56 homes in the two Phases.
It’s worth noting this is actually the fifth development plan for Rockford Woods.
1. In 1992, 86 homes were proposed.
2. In 1994, the plan was reduced to 72 homes.
3. In July 1996, the plan was reduced to 60 homes.
4. In November 1996, the plan was reduced to 58 homes.
5. In 2001, the plan was reduced to 56 homes.
Jeckering notes, “Between 1997 and 1999 Phase One street right-of-ways were installed defining the building lots; storm water, sanitary, and water lines were installed. The storm water retention basin was also installed.” The Phase 1 homeowners have asked for a complete inspection of this infrastructure as part of the agreement with the City and the new developer. Both agreed.
I believe the concerns about lack of infrastructure are unfounded.
Phase 2 has the full support of the NCC, the City Council, the current Administration, the new developer, and the Phase 1 homeowners. A group led by Ms. Nagel is opposed to continuing the plan which only needs renewed by the City Planning Commission. In fairness to them, I do not believe they have access to all the facts regarding what has been negotiated and why it was negotiated. Nevertheless, the group has seen fit to place “No More Houses on Rockford” signs in their yards on Rockford, Hart, Saxon, and Edna streets.
If Phase 2 is not renewed, then the entire agreement can be nullified. This puts the development back into a state of confusion regarding ownership of the streets. The City has agreed to take over the Phase 1 streets, but only on the condition that there is a functional HOA. Yet the HOA is controlled by the new developer with the stipulation that the homeowners take control of the HOA once 75% occupancy of all homes in both Phases is achieved.
Hence, if Phase 2 does not go forward, the new developer would be left holding the bag with regard to payment of property taxes, utilities, etc. The HOA would not be functional and the City could renege on its agreement to take over the Phase 1 streets, which leaves the developer legally bound to maintain them. This is why the previous developer dissolved his LLC and walked away from the development in the first place.
While I understand the concerns of those who want to protect greenspace, it would seem the NCLUP accounts for these concerns while attempting to attract people into the Northside community.
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