Spirited debate peppers Walker Lake Road rezoning issue at Ontario City Council meeting

ONTARIO — Residents filled council chambers and experienced a spirited discussion Wednesday night as Ontario City Council weighed the proposed Walker Lake Road development.

Zoning, traffic impact and long-term maintenance were the hottest topics of debate.

Radd Schneider, vice president of acquisitions for Redwood USA LLC, addressed questions raised during a previous council meeting, which drew strong community feedback at a public hearing.

Zoning Choice: PUD Over R-2

Schneider said the city will zone the development as a Planned Unit Development (PUD), allowing flexibility in site design while still meeting city standards.

“In terms of the PUD instead of the R-2, the biggest reason for us is the R-2 density works, but you do have to do duplexes, which must be individually lotted,” Schneider said. “Whereas with Redwood, because these are technically apartments, it’s basically one big lot, and that is what all the buildings sit on and what our LLC owns.”

He added the decision to pursue a PUD followed concerns raised during previous rezoning attempts.

“I suggested a PUD to try and put restrictions in place,” Schneider said, noting prior concerns about moving directly to R-3 zoning and whether the proposed development would match what was ultimately constructed.

Because the development spans both Ontario and Mansfield city limits, Schneider said Redwood will install signage within the property to clearly identify municipal boundaries, directly responding to questions raised at the previous meeting.

Long-term maintenance

Schneider also outlined Redwood’s long-term maintenance strategy, saying the largest ongoing costs include concrete, roofing and stormwater infrastructure.

He said the company inspects concrete and roofing two to three times per year. It also inspects storm basins and drainage systems monthly. Stormwater ponds will include aerators at a minimum to prevent algae buildup.

Schneider said lenders require Redwood to place a portion of monthly cash flow into an escrow account to fund long-term maintenance, similar to a homeowners association reserve fund.

Another concern raised at the previous public hearing involved the number of children the development could attract and its impact on schools.

“Typically, from our experience, when a school-aged child moves in, it’s from a divorced parent or someone already in the school system,” Schneider said. “We’re fairly low-impact historically on the schools.”

Rent costs also drew questions. Schneider said the company based its pricing on local demographics, which are stronger than those near a similar project in Mansfield, putting rents at $1,900 per month.

Rick Pauley, Councilman At-Large, asked if there is a limit to how low rent would go and whether there have ever been significant reductions to fill units.

Schneider said rent rarely drops more than $50 to $75, and he has never seen reductions in the hundreds.

Pauley also asked how many jobs the development would bring to Ontario.

Schneider said it would include a leasing manager and service technicians — two full-time positions. He said that during construction, the company often works with Amish crews and Northeast Ohio crews.

“So basically two jobs would be created?” Pauley asked.

Second Ward Councilwoman Rose Feagin askied construction crews would stay in local hotels, commute or use a combination of both.

“I think most would commute,” Schneider said. “We try to keep crews local for convenience and efficiency.

“It wouldn’t make sense to house or fly people somewhere else, so our trade basis is as local as possible.”

Traffic study and concerns

Traffic along Walker Lake Road dominated much of the public discussion, with several residents previously saying congestion already makes the road difficult to navigate.

“The biggest issue I see right now is my own experience in this area, hearing from my colleagues and citizens as well about the issues with the width of the road, turn lanes and traffic,” Council President Eddie Gallo said.

Ben Morgan, lead transportation engineer with Davey Resource Group, explained the traffic study and described how officials made the final decisions.

“First thing we did was consult with the city engineer to establish the study area,” Morgan said. “We then established background traffic by collecting traffic count data.”

This includes intersection counts and two-way traffic counts along the road. Forecasting those volumes to account for any regional growth which will occur in the area.

Morgan said the typical focus for residential developments is when traffic is heaviest. His analysis showed officials did not need a turn lane on Walker Lake Road.

“So you did not collect weekend data?” Gallo asked.

He noted the traffic generated by stores, restaurants and services — especially on weekends.

“I can tell you on a typical weekend it’s one of the top 10 routes in the whole county,” Gallo said. “Let alone the city, so that is concerning to me.”

“It’s concerning to me that we didn’t factor that in. I’m not even going to talk about Thanksgiving, Black Friday and Christmas.”

ODOT has a policy and procedure we use to factor volumes based on the day and month the count was taken to account for seasonal changes, Morgan said.

“We’re concerned with a typical weekday scenario, when traffic occurs four or five times a week, not that one or two-hour window on a Saturday that might be higher than the p.m.,” Morgan said.

Gallo asked Schneider if there have been previous developments where infrastructure issues could be a deal breaker.

“If we say, ‘It’s a good deal, put us in a turn lane and widen the road — that’s the deal breaker and you got your development,'” Gallo added. “Have you guys done that in the past?”

“I don’t know off the top of my head, but I wouldn’t be surprised. I know cities or municipalities have the ability to request something even if the traffic study doesn’t require it,” Schneider said.