Council - Special Meeting

To order, and we're going to start with our public hearing tonight.

This is a public hearing to hear comments on six variance requests by Luxone LLC applicable to the property at 3655 Orange Place, Orange Village, Ohio. This is formerly the Red Lobster restaurant site to permit construction of five story motel. Is anybody here to speak to this tonight? We'd like to hear your comments. And if you do want to speak, I know you signed in already, Stacy. Thank you. But if anybody else wants to speak, they can sign in after they speak, but there's a piece of paper behind the podium. Is that microphone on?

Good question. Hold on.

We're going to make sure that microphone's on.

Hi, my name is Stacy Manilla. I live at 4969 West Woodcrest Drive. As we know, Luxone is seeking multiple variances, which indicate that the project which they are proposing does not conform to the intent or the requirements of the village's zoning regulations. Experiences, as we know, are intended to address exceptional hardships related to a specific property. They're not to accommodate a development that requires significant departures from the established standards set forth by the village before construction begins. Improving numerous variances such as this request significantly undermines the purpose of zoning code and will continue to invite future developers to seek similar exceptions. With this new council in place, it's time to establish a new precedent. Developers who plan to develop an orange village need to do so within the established zoning requirements of the village. Let's consider for a minute the cumulative impacts of the requested variances. They include zoning requires a minimum of three acres for this type of building. And they're requesting nearly three quarters of an acre less, which is about 30,000 square feet. I couldn't find something to give you a size parameter, but it's still a lot. Basically, you know, there's an old saying about putting a square peg into a round hole. It just doesn't work. the increased traffic and congestion on Orange Place that this can create, the noise, lighting, and activity that's gonna affect the nearby residential properties by granting the setbacks that they are requesting. There's also potential for reductions in response time for safety forces if their needs arise there at that location, because there's gonna be a reduction in parking. the impact on the character and the appearance of the surrounding community by building an additional motel in that area. What's that gonna look like? And lastly, they're reducing the room sizes that are pretty standard. So what type of visitors are gonna be using this motel? also the increased demands on our public infrastructure and municipal services. This is just a few. So if this proposed motel cannot reasonably be constructed without numerous variances, that would suggest that the site might not be appropriate for this type of establishment. I'm asking council to please set a precedent. We really need to begin to hold developers accountable by upholding the integrity of our zoning ordinances and deny these requested variances.

Oh, okay.

I'm sorry, I didn't know if it was separate from public comment. If I'm... Yes, I am. Okay, so Gregory Soltis. The address is 2111 Chagrin Boulevard. I work for RDL Architects, who's representing the property, and submitted the variances, the variance requests. And Stacy and I, our old friends, So I do understand the concerns for the property. There's a number of things to consider and that is that zoning codes are designed to evolve slowly over time because Cities change, technologies change, trends and markets change. This particular property, the owner has worked for a number of years trying to find another use for it and worked with some very reputable local firms that are designed to search for tenants and fill spaces. And the only real use that has come up is a hotel use. And I will say, just from personal experience, I've been working a lot of hours recently. I work up Chagrin Boulevard, and one night I was working very late, and my wife said, just stay on the east side, go find a hotel. I called every single hotel along the 271 corridor, and all of them were filled except for one, which is the one that's north of the property, so I stayed there. Which it was clean, and it was nice, and it was very quiet. So... From a market study perspective, this is a use that's needed, and even the marketing team and real estate team trying to find other uses to fill this has not been successful. That said, I used to work in hospitality design in Las Vegas, and obviously there are many different types of hotels, and the hotel market, the building market has changed over time. It's much more expensive to build buildings nowadays than it used to be even five, six years ago. And this particular type of hotel is not intended to be an extended stay. They have a specific clientele that they are looking for, which they call the Modern Achiever. It's essentially a business-oriented hotel for business people. So the rooms are smaller because people are not intended to spend much time in the rooms. They have a lobby space that is bigger, but is focused just for the people that stay there. So it's intended to get people up and running as they're getting ready to go out and do business. So they have a specific gym design. They have a contract with Peloton. And there are actually a couple rooms that have Pelotons in them. They have a little food counter. where you can grab food and go, they have a bar, and then they have kind of like a living room set up in the main lobby area. And so it's intended to facilitate more like very goal-oriented business people who would come in, come out. Seeing that the Chagrin Boulevard corridor and the 271 corridor is one of the largest business office markets within the metropolitan area you know a hotel like that makes sense I did submit examples of what the hotel would look like the design for the outside of the hotel and also for the interior because the hotel has a very specific not a very specific concept and it's this look up concept it's in the the concept the idea is to get people out of their phones so when you arrive the entrance is supposed to be highly designed and with a canopy that makes you look up, take notice. When you go into the lobby space, the same thing. The ceiling, the design of the interior is supposed to be very high quality, so you look up. And each interior is designed to reflect, as is the exterior, the local community. So it will be reflective of Orange and of Cleveland. None of the hotels are exactly the same, so that's also part of the concept. And so with regards to this fitting on this site, again, as things evolve over time, and this is a very unusual site compared to many of the other parcels on this strip, it's smaller, but not as much room is needed for cars because a good portion of their clientele arrive by Uber, or they arrive jointly in one car because they're business travelers. So in summary, though, it's going to be a very, very nice hotel, very high-quality design. And this is not the time to answer questions if need be, right? Okay.

It's just your comment time.

Okay. Okay.

All right. Thank you. Thank you. Does anybody else like to speak to these variance requests? Then I'm going to close the public hearing and start our special meeting for August 5th today. Anna, will you call the roll, please? Pledge of Allegiance. Pledge of Allegiance. I forgot. Thank you.

I pledge allegiance to the flag of the United States of America, and to the republic for which it stands, one nation, under God, indivisible, with liberty and justice for all.

Thank you. All right, now will you call the roll, please? Loyal.

Present.

Mr. Bilski did email me or text me today that he's not able to make the meeting. Since it's a special meeting, we don't need to excuse him. We'll start today with a motion to approve the special council meeting minutes of July 1st, 2026. Does anybody want me? Thank you, Stacy. Second?

Second.

Thank you, Jim. Great, does anybody have any comments, questions? Anna, will you call the roll, please? Boyle?

Yes.

Foster?

Yes.

Vinson? Yes. Kerland? Yes. Allner?

Yes. Perry? Yes, thanks. Next, I'll make a motion to approve the council meeting minutes of July 8th, 2026. Is there a second? Second. Thank you, Stacy. Any questions, comments?

Anna Boyle?

Yes.

Foster? Yes. Vincent? Curlin? Yes.

No, sorry. Yes.

Very. Yes. You just make us wake up a little. Thank you. Next is audience comments related to agenda items. Is anybody here to speak tonight about the agenda items? to we have no old business or new business so we'll move on to audience comments relating to matters we have discussion discussion of the annual renewal of the class C and D retail liquor license liquor licenses what do you have for us Steve

I don't have anything. This is correspondence from the Ohio Liquor Commission as the clerk of council. Council has the authority to raise objections to the annual request for renewals and we usually look to the chief of police to advise us if the liquor license holders are generally in compliance with the law or if there are license holders that have problems that would warrant us.

We have general compliance with the law. We have no issues with any of our permit holders currently.

Good to hear.

No action is required if nobody feels the need to.

Does anyone have questions or comments?

It's an offender. Is it like serving underage?

It could be that, and that's generally enforced by liquor control, and we don't even always know when they do that. For us, it would be unruly, bar fights, things like that, constant draw on our services that involves alcohol and the misuse of the application that they have permit for, and we don't have that. We're not challenged with that in that level. Thanks.

Anybody? Anybody? we can uh move on to audience comments relating to matters which advance the good of the village would anybody like to speak tonight okay great mr spitz please um speak into the microphone and when you're giving your name and address for everybody watching and also when you're done sign in behind you please hello my name is andrew spitz i live at 145 jackson drive my property

is adjacent to the southern border of the canyon's development. Thank you for your time and consideration. I'd like to first thank Councilman Boyle for coming to visit the residents at Jackson, for Councilwoman Miss Ulner for standing up for our rights as well. Before jumping in, want to strongly emphasize that I am not against development, especially residential development. I am, however, strongly opposed to development that is unreasonable, unnecessarily invasive, and insensitive to the residents who already live there. I had prepared a much different speech for tonight. However, after last night's meeting with the mayor, the law director, the qualities representative, and in good faith, I've significantly toned down tonight's comments. I'm placing my trust in the mayor, the law director, Planning and Zoning Commission, and the council members to uphold their obligations to represent and protect the best interests of Orange Village residents or Pulte's, or any developer's return on investment. Ultimately, I remain skeptical that the final design will satisfy any one of us. The Village contends that the design of the canyons project is consistent with long-standing practice of adjoining new residential constructions to existing neighborhoods. Unfortunately, I have been unable to find any example in Orange Village history. Developments like the Lakes of Orange, Orange Hill, Stonebrook, are either surrounded by undeveloped land, commercial property, or separated from established residential buffers, specifically full parcel buffers. More importantly, the village position appears to contradict the original plan submitted by Omni, approved by council, and voted on by the residents, which specifically identified a tree preservation area along Jackson Drive. If the village is contending that adjoining neighborhoods is their successful planning approach, then why did the village settle with KJI conditional upon putting buffers into a project next to the Song Church property, which coincidentally buffers up against Council President Lisa Perry's property? Ironically, this was happening at the same time Pulte's approval process was also occurring. The village has repeatedly emphasized the long-term benefits of the canyon while dismissing the construction impacts as quote-unquote temporary or a short period of time. Recognizing phase two started in May, and Pulte has yet to submit any plans for phase three, it's extremely insensitive to continue to label the Canyon project as temporary or short term. Especially to residents who have a front row seat to construction over a 16 acre construction site. For those who hated Donald Trump, does four years really sound like a short period of time? My physical house only being 30 yards from commercial construction site, this project offers no benefits, either long-term or short-term, and it only decreases my property value. It does, however, offer amazing amenities, like a 7 a.m. wake-up call to obnoxiously loud beeping any time a machine is in reverse. With zero privacy, I've been subjected to workers honking their horns and waving at me, mocking me. If your children have played softball or baseball on a hot summer windy day, you understand that minimal activity on that field will kick up a dust storm. In what has been the driest July since 2017, have a 16-acre field with massive earth-moving construction equipment constantly kicking up dust. Imagine that. Water only occurs after I complain or after a neighbor complains. When it should be happening and it's only, when it does happen, it's extremely minimal. During May and in June, I was forced to make the decision between my HVAC system sucking in dust or opening my windows, allowing dust to coat the interior of my house. Another lovely amenity is having a stagnant retention pond the size of a football field on the corner of my property. is a mosquito breeding ground and a nightmare for parents who have young children and dogs. The unprotected design of the retention pond immediately adjacent to Jackson Drive devalues our houses as future buyers with pets or common sense avoid owning land next to an unmanaged and unguarded pond.

Mr. Spitz, can you try to wrap up? You've already spoken for over five minutes.

I'll take my time. I'll finish. Thank you.

I will call you out of order if you keep going on more than one more minute.

Okay, great. Most recently, Palti's newly installed rainwater system failed this week. only 20 minutes of rain, almost a third of my yard was flooded with a six-inch river eroding dirt from 40 arborvitae trees that I had planted because the city wouldn't. How is this reasonable? How is this considerate? Long term, Pulte intends to build houses 50 feet from the property line with a 10 foot elevation above my house. Their first floor window will have direct line of sight into my second floor window. This is not an adjoining neighborhood. Most troubling is the village's recent explanation as to why Jackson Drive is no longer receiving a buffer is concerning. The designs, as we were told from the outset, the designs were intended to accommodate the transition from a more active commercial use to the north to a lower density residential community in the south. But that raises an important question.

Mr. Spitz, we have to cut you off now, but you may submit all.

I appreciate that, but I do not believe there's an ordinance that stipulates a specific time.

No, but I can hold this meeting, and I'm asking you, we have. Do other council members like me to finish? No, that's not how it works.

There's no law that states I can't speak.

Sit down and please.

But that raises a very simple question. Submit. Why should Orange Village residents be required to. Transition from their commercial property. We did not create this development. We did not design this development. And we did not determine its density. In fact, Village never once formally introduced this to anyone. what you want in the news thank you it's against our procedures and it is

Can you please sit down or leave? You can submit your whole thoughts in writing. We've also heard your emails.

Okay. We're going to leave the dice.

Thank you.

This is not this is not the way. You have to at this point.

Please limit your comments to under five minutes.

My name is Anna Gecht. I live at 185 Jackson Drive and appreciate the opportunity to speak to you all tonight. I sent an email today to all council members, to the Planning and Zoning Commission, to the building inspector, laying out again the concerns of jackson drive residents and setting forth the history of this project and how we got to where we are and why there is so much frustration and lack of trust from the residents with this administration and with council I'm not going to rehash those right now, and I think Andrew did a fabulous job articulating a lot of those issues. I ask respectfully that you guys read the email and read the history of what happened, and you will understand why we were so shocked when there was no buffer, there was clear cutting of trees all the way up to our property, and now we're told that at most there's maybe a height of two feet of mounding, and that's it. The other issues I want to address, there are two. role of the law director in this village. The role of the law director is to provide legal counsel. The law director is not a policymaker. He does not have constituents. He was not elected. And so I would respectfully request some more checks and balances and for the law director to simply provide legal counsel on legal issues and not have a seat at the table as a policymaker for decisions that are made at planning and zoning and in council meetings. the the third issue i would like to address is just an overall issue with the operations and the processes in planning and zoning there is oversight um they are not following the orange village ordinances the tree preservation plan which months were put into to craft that and to get it approved is being ignored and I respectfully think, and I know this is a charter issue, but that there should be another member of council on the planning and zoning committee. Somebody who has been elected by the people, who has the interests of the people in mind, and can represent them when issues that are impacting residents are being heard at planning and zoning meetings. Because I was at that meeting last night, And it was clear how individuals were voting and the lack of interest that they had in providing notice to neighbors when there are encroachments on adjacent property. That was the issue last night. Whether a neighbor should have notice of an encroachment on their property. And most of the people in that meeting voted no. outrageous particularly given what we are talking about right now with the canyons project and the lack of notice that any of us received so um those are my comments for tonight again i hope that you read my email and um i look forward to working with planning and zoning and people on council to um Come quickly, hopefully, to a resolution about what the landscape plan will look like on Phase 3 of the Canyons Project.

Thank you. Thank you, Mrs. Kett. And thank you, Andrew Spitz, too, for your comments. Sir? Try to limit your comments to under five minutes. Thank you.

Thank you.

Can you say your name and address?

Joseph Lewis, 165 Jackson Drive.

Thank you.

Just following up with some of the comments already made by my neighbors, Jackson Drive residents did not create this development. We did not design it, and we did not determine its density. We did not determine where its roads, its lots, stormwater, infrastructure, or retention ponds would be located. In fact, the village never once formally notified any resident on Jackson Drive, which is required by law. So why should we surrender our privacy, our drainage, protection, trees, property, enjoyment, life, and our property values? Instead of requiring Pulte to modify its engineering to accommodate these protections, The village engineer apparently approved the removal of the tree preservation area to accommodate Pulte's storm water design without returning that material change to planning and zoning for approval. That understanding is correct. I recommend, I welcome the village explaining publicly tonight when the planning and zoning approved that change. If that is correct, then I believe council should be asking the same question. When did the accommodating of the developer become more important than the protecting of the residents? Before ending its effective communication, effective communication is the foundational pillar of local council responsibility, linking elected members with the public to build trust and ensure transparent governance. Council's absolute core duty is to communicate clearly, early, and honestly with residents about city projects. This responsibility becomes a moral obligation when those projects directly affects people's lives, homes, neighborhoods, wallets, and daily lives. When the public is blindsided by city projects, it is a direct sign that their interests were not considered. By definition, council is elected to represent its neighbors' and residents' best interests. to relay vital information to those who are impacted. Truly concerned council members have not knocked on our doors. They have not asked us for our input. Considering the phase three plat and the design landscape design have not been approved yet, we're asking council to show that they care. Take control over this project and ensure that the final phase three design restores a meaningful buffer along Jackson Drive. Provide adequate screening and privacy. Address the safety and location of the retention pond and establish effective dust control requirements and ensure that stormwater remains on the development property rather than being discharged into ours. These are not unreasonable demands. We're simply asking the village to protect the people who already call Orange Village home. Thank you.

Thank you for your comments. Anybody else? Stacy? Oh.

Hi.

Can you help her? You can hold it. There you go.

Good evening. My name is Ava Spitz and I'm the daughter of Andrew Spitz that we live on 145 Jackson Drive. This construction has caused a lot of problems to many people. For me personally, one of the biggest problems is all the dust that's getting into our homes through the air conditioner. and that makes me worried about my family's health. The biggest thing it has caused is stress and anxiety for my family and many of our neighbors. I also think that clearing the land of Phase 3 was not needed before Phase 2 was finished. I think it would have made more sense to finish one phase before starting another. Another thing... Another thing I think is when you're cutting down all the trees, you're taking away homes of many animals and bringing them closer to our neighborhood. For example, someone in Orange Village caught a bear on their rain camera walking across their driveway in the middle of the night because it didn't know where its home was. Imagine if someone knocked on your house, you would probably be scared and not know where to go. I think that's how animals feel too. You might think my dad wrote this speech or told me what to say, but he didn't. This was my choice because I wanted to share my own opinion about something that affects me, my family, and my neighbors. Thank you for your time.

Thank you for your comments. Good job.

Do you want to write your name, James?

Is that going together for you?

Hi. Council, thanks for this opportunity. My name is Dr. Maumee Higgins. I live at 155 Jackson Drive. So I'm not going to belabor many of the points that were already listed. I read the very lengthy email from Anna, and she spent a lot of time. We've spent a lot of time going over this. So I really do appreciate you guys hopefully reading the timeline of events and why people are so upset. I'm generally a very trusting person. So when we see a bunch of dust flying around, I'm like, okay, they just forgot to water things. Keeps continuing.

Kids, they can't play.

Asthma, coughing, like it's out of control. Then the rain came. It was a decent downpour, I'm not gonna lie, but it was 15 minutes. We get a week of rain at times. It was literally flooding in from the entire area. And I see people, I see kids in their most vulnerable moments where they're drowning, they choked on something. They don't always make it. We go to the backyard. There is like a five foot muddy water pit. There is no fence, there is no slip fence. Imagine your child drowning in there. your pet. I do appreciate Mayor Judd Klein's immediate response and Pulte's, you know, willing to pay for finances, but between the dust and letting it go and this first violation, I don't know if you guys are going to submit, I forget what the technical term is, something about Yeah, a deficiency, that's the first violation, or given their quick response, you're going to let it slide. But what happens if next time? What happens with the rain? They did come out and fix it. We'll see if it works. I think it's just very frustrating when we vote for you to protect us. And trust you. And then these things happen over and over. I wasn't here for the last meeting. My husband was. Spending time away from our kids to listen to what's important. And from what I heard, there was a lot of time spent on mound and protecting properties and things. And Seems like there were already plans before that that there was no mound going to be in place and that's really frustrating for all of us who work and You guys spend your time here to explain things to us and we take time out of our personal time It's frustrating if that was never the plan at all. So I do hope that You guys look at the timeline and we can come to a conclusion together. Thank you Thank you for your comments

Stacy Manila, 4969 West Woodcrest. So like others in this room, I also attended planning and zoning meeting last night and I left pretty angry and embarrassed, embarrassed to be a resident here. Before the meeting began, there was some discussion amongst the members that were sitting at the table and they were commenting lightheartedly the Miles Road construction issue hitting gas lines, three of them in a matter of days. Right now, we are very fortunate that we did not have an explosion, the same kind of explosion that happened in Twinsburg just a month ago. Picture this. You leave for work. You drop your kids off at camp. You go out for the day. Maybe you just run your errands, right? Come back home to your street hours later, and there's nothing but debris as long as your street. Damaged homes. Some of your neighbor's homes are nowhere in sight. All you have with you, right then, is your body, the clothes on your back, your car. Fortunately, you and your family weren't home. That's it. Your life as you knew it eight hours ago is no longer. No home, no food, no refrigerator, no other clothing, your medications that you might take, your glasses. Think about it, think about your own life. We are so fortunate that they shut the gas off and we didn't have that situation. I bring this up not only because of the Miles Road project, but the other projects that are encompassing our village. The safety of our residents remains the highest priority throughout every phase of any development, whether it's residential or commercial, or repair of infrastructure. While growth can provide economic benefits, it never should come at the expense of public safety, infrastructure, or integrity, or the quality of the life of the community that we have here. To ensure consistent oversight and accountability, moving forward, construction activities must be monitored by an engineer. is directly accountable to the village, one that knows our local and state ordinances, the infrastructure, and the community standards. Relying on an outside engineering firm that is not directly responsible for the village, it creates gaps in communication, reduces transparency significantly and limits the ability to respond promptly to issues that arise during construction. An engineer employed by the village provides daily direct oversight, independent review of construction practices. It'll promote transparency, accountability, traffic management, erosion, sediment control, storm water protection, road condition. I can keep telling you things that it would benefit. but also, you know, it makes sure that we're up to local and state regulations. An engineer employed by the village would lead and oversee planning and zoning. It needs to be a liaison between planning and zoning and council, the mayor, the finance director, and our public safety officials. This level of oversight is needed to bring transparency between the development of the village and the residents. An engineer ensures that the developers remain accountable throughout projects, and the safety of the residents is always at the highest priority.

Stacy, you have about 30 more seconds.

Development continues in Orange Village. Residents can no longer afford to have outside firms and professionals review and approve proposals for developments. Residents deserve that any construction being done in the village is made by professionals whose primary responsibility is to protect the interests of the village and its residents.

Is there anybody else who would like to speak tonight who hasn't had an opportunity? I'm going to hold off my comments until it's my turn. We'll go on to comments of the mayor.

you um well first of all i want to thank all the people that came tonight to speak on these these two topics they're important and we take them very seriously we listen to your comments and and look forward to working with the community and helping resolve issues that arise that we need to address i will talk about a few of them in my comments there are a few announcements that i need to make to begin Flags and household hazardous waste collection will be on Friday, August 8th from 7 a.m. to 3 p.m. at the service department. Computer collection will be the month of August, Monday through Friday from 7 a.m. to 3 p.m. at the service department. Paper shredding will be Friday, August 14th at Pepper Pike City Hall from 9 a.m. until noon. There is a five-bag limit, grocery bag that is, to what you can bring. Thank you to everyone that helped make the Orange Village Firefighters Association's 5K run and the Party in the Park a success. I can't thank our fire chief, assistant chief, Anna, all of our city services people, and particularly Bob Zugan and his staff, chief. Chief Roberts and his department and everyone else who contributed in making that event the success that it was. Join us on August 15th for a summer concert at Orange Village Park. Replay a seven piece band playing music from the 1960s through the 80s will perform at 6 PM. I do want to take time here to talk a little bit about what happened with the gas line and what the subsequent actions have been. Just today I spoke with the Government Affairs Director for Enbridge to set up a meeting with them and the Mayors and Managers Association of Northeast Ohio. This problem is not just limited to Orange Village, it happens throughout the region and the county. And we need to work together to find ways in which this cannot happen in our communities. We were fortunate. We've had several breaks in our gas line. Any one of them could have been an absolute disaster. And fortunately, quick action through our departments, our service department, fire department, police department, and their counterparts in Solon avoided problems that could have turned real ugly really fast. We were able to eliminate and turn off, get the gas turned off, Enbridge came in, got the contractor to stop their work so that we can resolve and make sure that these kinds of situations don't happen again.

To that end, when you have your meetings with Enbridge, I'd like you to please let them know there are residents who suffered damage from the power going off and on and things were blown. There's, you know, because of that three times in two weeks is not acceptable.

Kim, that will be part of conversations that we'll have. And? It's going to be a bigger meeting than just.

I also want to, in this day and age, there are still many people who work from home who are unable to attend meetings. And I think that Enbridge owes restitution. And I think that that should be discussed.

Businesses as well, locally.

Yes, businesses as well, we're not able to operate. Agree. And there needs to be restitution because I don't believe that Enbridge, I think money is the only thing that they listen to.

Disagree with you.

So I wanted to make sure that you know that and I want would like you to please make those points in your meeting.

Can I finish my remarks and then you can add in? I apologize on the part of the village for the disruption and inconvenience caused by these events. Our objective is to complete the water line replacement and restore Miles Road and get it done in a timely manner. Please note that the contract for the work is between Cleveland Water Department and the city of Solon and Terrace Construction. However, as the installation is taking place in Orange Village, as such, we have management and oversight and inspections. We will look forward to seeing the project completed in the fall and appreciate the patience of residents and businesses. I can tell you this. We had a large meeting. There were about 30 people here on Thursday representing all of the participants in it from Enbridge, Terrace Construction, Police and Fire from Solon, Orange, the Mayor's Office and Vice Mayor's Office from Solon, myself, our staff, to go over what the strategy would be. And here's what's happening. All work from Brainerd Road going east on Miles Road has been suspended until such time as Enbridge can fully validate that all the utilities are clearly identified where the contractors can protect the gas lines from damage. The gas lines that were hit in some cases were either what we call orphaned or service lines, but nonetheless, Enbridge needs to be responsible to enable the contractor to identify those so they don't hit them. Secondarily, the work that the terrorist construction is doing west of Brainerd Road on Miles Road is being completed with the idea of finishing that work to open up Miles Road going westbound, being able to go both ways from west of Brainerd to the village line. That work is able to proceed because all the gas line activities are out of the way. and there is little likelihood of damage as a result. So I wanted to share that with the community. We fully understand this and I've had numerous conversations through the service department and directly with Enbridge. This is something that they need to address and take responsibility for in full. And that will be addressed through the meeting that's being planned for the Mayors and Managers Association that's coming up. I spoke with the director of that this morning. I was looking to have that happen next week, but they're planning on doing this in a couple weeks with Enbridge. I also invited people from OOPS who actually spot the locations for gas lines and other utilities along with PUCO to attend that meeting. We'll have a full conversation on this with an outcome that I think will result in a better situation for all of us. On another note, concrete road program is underway. As you may know, Lander Road southbound from Harvard to Smithfield, there's closures expected to last two weeks. On that one, they will begin working in Orangewood on April 15th. They're working Friday and Saturday doing pavement work in Orangewood. You need to visit the website for more information. restricted the builder they asked for an extension to be able to work beyond their the allowable time on the weekend and i said we've just enacted new regulations relative to times contractors can work and we're not going to violate that for our own purposes and so we're maybe hamstringing ourselves and getting something done but we're going to stick to our our promise to to better control work time Drone delivery of prescriptions from Cleveland Clinic is going to take place in a new program in our area. Don't be alarmed if you see these drones in the sky. Please note that Consul passed an ordinance changing the construction hours to 7 a.m. to 6 p.m. Monday through Friday and 9 a.m. to 6 p.m. on Saturdays. No work on Sundays or holidays. And this is the regulation that I refer to. As it relates to the canyons development, I want to thank the comments. I did read the email that Anna submitted. And as the work on the canyons has been underway along the boundary with Jackson Drive, I want to update the community on issues and actions being undertaken to address the concerns of the residents to this end. Work is underway to install sewers that are part of Phase 2. This work has included grading and tree removal. The tree removal was conducted per the tree removal plan as directed by the village engineer. Landscaping and buffer design included in the preliminary development plan will be approved as part of Phase 3 design submission. As there was a significant rain event last weekend, the stormwater management system was overwhelmed and overflowed into neighboring properties. Pulte's team has taken measures to upgrade this stormwater management program facilities to prevent a reoccurrence and offered. provide restoration for yard damage with homeowners providing documentation. That has been sent to them or being sent to them, I hope, so that that can be resolved quickly. I've agreed to provide regular reports to the residents and post to our website on progress schedules and anticipated work by Pulte, what Pulte will be doing over the next year. The village and neighbors will be better informed and have information that will be delivered in layman's terms. I want to take it out of engineer and arcuspeak to peoplespeak so people understand it. Yesterday I met with Anna Geck, Andrew Spitz, Keith Filipowski from Pulte Development, Law Director Steve Byron, and Building Commissioner Brandon Hughes following the Planning Commission meeting last night. We have determined to hold a design work session to review landscape and mounting proposals in a work session to get community input prior to the plan being submitted to the Commission. We believe that this will result in a more collaborative outcome in the interest of all concerned. Lastly, I wanted to inform the community that we've been working on e-bike and e-vehicle like e-scooter legislation, and we're anticipating coming to council next week with a preliminary draft of that. And those are my comments. Thank you.

Thank you, Mayor. Okay, my comments are, I'd like to start by saying thank you to everybody who came from the community to speak tonight. We really appreciate your comments. I want you to know that I and I think all of Council I can speak for, read all your emails. We hear you and we've listened to everything you've put forward. We ask questions to our directors as we've pointed you in their direction to ask questions to. I want to also just say we appreciate your comments here, but know that you can also submit your comments in writing with more emails if you wish. If you have further information you want to share with Council besides at this meeting. uh we have business that we conduct during the meeting that that goes beyond this and we had a policy of limiting comments to three to five minutes and i should have told you mr spitz that you had a five minute limit and i apologize for that but when we uh have public comment time we appreciate your respect for our process and um and just know that we are listening to you okay it doesn't have to be just here during the during the meeting um thank you again for being here and that that concludes my comments we'll move on to what's the order Dr. Boyle, you're first tonight. All right.

I would also like to thank the residents of Jackson for coming here. And I did have an opportunity to meet with the folks out there. And I'll be blunt, I was surprised. Having gone through a zoning issue recently, I really expected this was going to be a group of what we call NIMBYs, not in my backyard people, because the issue that you were facing was literally in your backyard. But it wasn't that. It was more, I think all of the folks that I spoke to were recognizing, like, look, we understand that there's going to be development. We're not against development. I mean, the house you live in was developed from something. but rather that the kind of the hit and miss understanding of what was happening, how it was happening, the timing of what was happening. And I read yesterday, and I did speak to Anna today about it, that I had not seen it, the development agreement. And the development agreement is from 2024. I wasn't on council. I was probably standing in the audience with Stacy and others yelling at the council members about the church property.

But isn't it?

and others um but that that document itself anticipates and recognizes an entity called the jackson road preservation zone which is is clearly something that was understood and recognized was going to be a part of whatever the end product was that was going to be done and what that looked like whether it's going to be trees whether it's going to be a mound or whatever is something that was clearly understood clearly recognized by the developer and and by the community and including to the point where the the whatever the end result was was going to need to meet with the with the the approval of of the village and so what's what's in front of us now is not a is not meeting with anyone's approval So the comments that I have, Mayor, that I think we have to do, we watched the power go out because they knocked out lines there. And your answer, appropriately so, was let's put a pause on what's happening here so we can figure out what's happening, so we can get a clear understanding of the totality of the project before we start moving forward. strongly recommend that you do the same thing on this project and you know I don't intend to put a yes vote on anything for Pulte until they have a clear understanding on anything until there's a clear understanding of what exactly that buffer is going to look like the way I read this development agreement it I view it that it's supposed to be a buffer parcel not necessarily even you know could be filled with trees or mound or whatever That's not the way it looks, and I'm sorry that, you know, the answer might be Pulte is going to have to have less units on there. Whatever the answer is going to be, the answer has to be something that recognizes that whatever the Jackson Road preservation zone, it's in bold, it's in italics, it's in parentheses, it exists. And I assume we put it in there for a reason. it actually doesn't exist but it should and it was supposed to it exists in the paper in the in the thing yes so all right that that's that and i apologize for droning on that um i i do have um something that i did want to say and it and it's perhaps it has nothing to do it's more global um we lost two public servants since our last um since our last council

Both in what I would label are very tragic situations.

Yes. Go a little closer. I'm too far away from it. Sorry. We lost two public servants in both in tragic incidents. One in Pepper Pike, and I, you know, to my, you know, my colleagues at work and first responder, my heart goes out. A fireman was tragically killed in an accident in Pepper Pike.

And that matters.

those of us who aren't in public service when we see trouble when we see a fire when we see when we hear gunshots when we see a car accident or anything along those our natural instincts is to run the other direction those that that serve run towards those things because that's the job that they've taken upon the gentleman from I apologize he was from North Randall if I'm not mistaken came upon an accident and helped at 2.30 in the morning on a dark road to help somebody else that I believe had a flat tire and lost his life by a drunk driver. That's a tragedy, but it is a recognition of the work that our safety forces do, and I would like to recognize Cameron Duvall is the individual's name, and I think it's something that we should recognize. The other one hits much closer to home, not necessarily here, but an individual by the name of David Smarek, who was the North Royalton Building Commissioner, and I'm sure we all read about it. And I'm not going to belabor the issue, but the reality of it is that public service is a difficult job and it's getting more difficult. The number of violent offenses against public servants has rapidly increased over the course of the last decade or so. And whether it's because the dialogue is more vitriolic or whether it's because we don't care or because Fox News or C-SPAN tells us X and we have to believe it with all of our dying breath and everyone gets a gun or whatever the answer is, cannot continue. This is a building inspector who was shot in the head three times at work. And these are our public officials and it matters. And I just wanted to say that I recognize the work that those public officials do. And it matters to them. And I sincerely hope that all of us who serve the public recognize that those two individuals, you know, look, their their lives should not be should be not in vain. And I and I mourn their loss. Thank you.

Foster.

First, I want to say you guys are very passionate, and I can understand why, because that's your happy place. And I know that when I come home from a long day of work, you want to come to the place that you built, you designed, you envision your kids to be happy and safe and not in your backyard so i i'm not sure what the answer is but i agree with mr boyle said and that we find some reason or some way to um get to the bottom of this and find out what we can do i would be very just as passionate as you guys would are you come to decompress, when you come to relax, that's your spot.

So my heart goes out to you, hopefully you find some way to make it amenable to everybody.

Good evening, everyone. I would also be terribly remiss if I didn't thank our service department and our first responders for all of your diligent efforts in working through the most difficult of situations these past few weeks. I won't rehash everything, but suffice it to say that despite a myriad of issues thrown at you all at the same time, I truly am proud of how our folks handled everything and worked to keep our residents safe. During what was a scary situation for a lot of people on multiple occasions, especially seeing what just happened in Twinsburg and what happened in Canton. Our village employees did their due diligence to protect our residents despite the inconveniences that may have arisen as a result of things beyond their control. I concur with Kim in that I demand that Enbridge remunerate our residents or be responsible in some way to compensate our residents for what should have been done in the first place. And I would like to see that happen and I would like to be a part of that meeting when it occurs. With regard to the Jackson Road residents and the adversities they've had to endure, I thank you all for speaking up throughout the last few weeks, few months. I thank the ones who spoke up and showed us to make us aware of the ongoing issues you've faced. I apologize that I couldn't be at the planning and zoning meeting last night. As I mentioned to Anna, I'm the liaison for arts and culture and we had our meeting last night as well and we only meet once a month. but I can tell you that I have watched every video you have sent my way and I thank you for sending them I have looked at every picture I have read every email some of the follow-up you haven't seen because it's been as Lisa mentioned with department heads with our mayor with other entities to try and make this right I'm especially grateful to those who, while angry, with very good reason, are focused on solving the problems with grace. And Ava, out of the mouth of babes, I can't tell you how grateful I am that you spoke up. The courage that you had to come up here and speak as articulately as you did, way beyond somebody of your age. And I appreciate your words, and I hear you, and I see you. All of you, I hear you, and I see you. I hope I can speak for everyone up here when I say I truly want what's best for all of our residents. That's always my intention and my focus and will continue to be. After all, we're residents too. We're your friends and we're your neighbors. And I want everyone to please keep that in mind as we work through these challenges that even though we're not in your backyard, we see what's going on and we are going to try and make it right. Our Arts and Culture Committee. last night, you should start to see signs soon about our two upcoming concerts popping up soon. Eve, I hope you'll come to them because they'll be really good. I want to see you there enjoying yourself and enjoying your village and your home. Please mark the following on your calendars. This Saturday, August 8th, we have another fantastic market with a ton of great vendors from 9 to 1 in the building services loop. The focus is on health and nutrition. Please join us. Saturday, August 15th is the Orange Arts Center's second annual Art Fest at the Orange Arts Center. Arts and Culture will have a table and flyers, and we hope to see you there. Saturday, August 15th, as the mayor mentioned, is the band replay at the Mulcahy Pavilion from 6 to 8. You're welcome to bring a picnic if you like. Benches and seating will be available, though you're welcome to bring a blanket and lawn chairs if you prefer. And Thursday, September 3rd, also at the Mulcahy Pavilion, the award-winning Men of Independence will perform along with a salute to veterans and America, maybe even a kickoff to our own centennial. Again, we hope you'll join us and enjoy the evening in our town. School calendars for the 26-27 school year are out and available. I have left a stack with Anna. If you haven't received one, you can get it from her or you can come by the school to get one. We ask that it is only one per household, please. We will leave a stack here and there's at the school as well. the great opportunity to get involved with Orange alum Amy Babish and her family at the annual Papa's Path program this past weekend, which raised money for Parkinson's research. And I want to commend them and our own Orange Village resident Jamie Morris on her Hit for Hope fundraiser to fight cancer. I am also proud of all who assisted with the Kiwanis rummage sale to enable the organization to raise more than $25,000 to help children and communities in need locally and around the world. This occurred despite another issue we had the past month, which was the smog conditions from the Canadian wildfires. People still went out, people still shopped, people still worked, and it helped to raise this amount of money to do good around the world. Thank you to all who constantly give of themselves to make this world a better place. Finally, a huge thank you to Anna Girardi and all of the departments for all of their efforts to create the spectacular party in the park. I also want to thank the OHS Marching Lion Band and Lionettes for being a showstopper there as always, and all who worked and participated in the first ever Aloha Run event. We do have lots of reasons to be proud of Orange. We want to continue to build on that. Thank you.

Mrs. Kerlin? I also want to thank everyone for coming out and speaking. I appreciate when residents have, you know, have things that they want to express and they come out and express it. Or if you just want to come and see what's going on, I really appreciate that as well. But I don't want you to think that, especially for those who aren't able to come, I don't want you to think that you're not heard. We do read the emails. We do watch the videos that you send. We do pay attention to what is being said, and as has been mentioned a couple times, we do talk to the department heads that are involved to see how we can help. I do think that one of the biggest, one of the issues has always been communication, and I think it's so important, and I appreciate you communicating your needs.

I have long said, from when I was on council previously,

ran for mayor long said that it is not our job as the village to make money for developers that the residents are important and are the most important ones in the thing it doesn't in the equation is the thing it doesn't mean that we can stop developers from developing or that we even necessarily want to but that we should the residents in mind and I do as I do think that Pulte needs to reset and rethink about what they're doing it was also my understanding that there would be a large natural buffer zone that was always in the plans when I was part of things way back when, a couple years ago. That was what was presented, that's what I understood. I was touting, going on and on about how we were gonna keep as much of our natural canopy as possible, and it is shocking that it was knocked out. So the fact that it doesn't sound like, the plans that I've heard so far, it doesn't sound like in my view that they're really doing enough to try to make things right. Now they're never gonna make things completely right because once the trees are gone, they're gone, right? But let's see, if there's not enough room for the landscaping that they said that was promised originally, then maybe they need to rethink where they're putting these units and maybe as Mr. Boyle said, they need to have less units. They have to do something to, come as close as they can to make it right, and I really believe that. I also think, as far as we were talking about communication, I've said it before, I'm gonna say it again, I think that neighbors need to get notice, whether it's from a large commercial project like this one, or a small one like fences going in suddenly my yard I have fencing and I didn't put any of it in works for me in a positive way but I think that we should have something in the ordinances that when there's going to be work done that at minimum you get a postcard saying hey there's going to be work done your neighbors right on your property line I think that people really need to know I think on a big project like what's happening behind Jackson that there should have been I mean a whole big brochure this is what we're doing this is exactly when we're doing it this is the time frame this is who you call if you have questions and concerns I think that you really communication and they're not the only ones by the way I know he said he was the only one but Mr. Spitz had said but the lakes of Warren's were the people who live there were shocked when suddenly another section of it was being developed in their backyard where they thought was going to be natural that their Realtors had told them was going to stay natural land so I mean I think that there's been a long-standing issue with communication that we need to figure out how to resolve So I guess that's the main thing I wanted to say about that. Just sorta to switch gears a little bit, I just wanna, my question about when we had the public hearing about the possible variances to build a hotel, I'm just gonna say my concern is that some of the most significant issues, safety issues for our safety forces have come from hotels. an incident where an officer almost lost his life that happened at a hotel. So it's very, hotel, motel, whatever, it's very hard for me to be excited about a hotel coming in. I understand that when they are higher end that we have less issues, but there's no way for us to enforce that the hotel's going to keep a certain price point to keep them higher end, as far as I know. So I just wanted to put that out there as a concern of mine. And that's all I'll say right now. Thank you.

Thank you. Mrs. Ulner. So I have a number of things. Everybody knows that I will be transitioning, resigning, and I will be, not yet, obviously leaving planning and zoning. So because there's a lot going on with planning and zoning, I would like to, and I don't have an exact date when I will resign yet. I'm working on it, but I don't have it yet. But I don't want there to be a moment when there is not somebody from council on planning and zoning. so i'm going to ask that we name my replacement now so that because it's very possible that i might resign and we might not have a council meeting you know between them i would like my replacement to be named i actually want to recommend mr boyle i would like to invite if whoever it is to start attending the meetings so that there is continuity So also that I can you know update the whoever it is on what's been going on Last night's planning and zoning meeting There was a request for a deck to be built which where would be two feet into a setback of Which would affect another a neighbor in lakes of orange and because of the HOA and the way lakes of orange is structured that neighbor did not have to have notice and I did ask that we table the discussion for two weeks until the following meeting I made that motion so that that neighbor could be notified the HOA had approved the deck it may very well get voted and approved I you know I don't I'm guessing it might but but the vote was three to two to table it so that the neighbor can be notified and I also have subsequently spoken to the mayor who has now I believe already gotten with I know he was attempting to get with mr. cold you did get with him though yeah reached him yet but he will be reaching him to make sure that because lakes of orange is a little bit different that going forward because if they had come in and the HOA had represented to us we spoke to the neighbor they understand what's going on we would have just you know move forward on it then but we I wanted to make sure that that neighbor was notified so also disturbed I've been on planning a zoning for a little over a year and a half some of the processes don't make sense to me I as I always do I have I've given the mayor notice of my concern the whole debacle and I use that word because it's appropriate the whole debacle with the canyons is because of The plan was approved conditionally by, with the condition put on it by Planning and Zoning, of maintaining a buffer. Maintaining, not recreating, not filling it in later, but maintaining a buffer. was also subject to the engineers comments this the engineer made then reviewed everything and that is when the trees came out basically to meet the what the engineer wanted at that here's the failure at that point it should have come back to planning and zoning because planning and zoning should have been able to say okay well we gave that condition that condition can't happen so what is our plan B And that didn't happen. And that's a failure in process. And the reason I'm raising this is because I believe that that process needs to be improved so that this never happens again. Because it shouldn't happen again. Anytime planning and zoning approves something with a condition, condition has to be met and if the conditions not going to be met because the engineer said whatever the engineer said I respect the engineer I'm not engineer I'm not suggesting that what he said is not important I am suggesting that then it needs to come back to planning and zoning period because if you're not going to meet the condition that it was approved on then it's not approved and that needs to that process needs to change and I hope that it will change going forward understanding is is that there will be um a collaborative meeting to determine phase three and what happens but i am um whether this vote will happen with me here yet or it's later i i think the project needs to come to cease and to stop completely 100% stop until, I understand, I hear you. I understand that's not gonna happen, I hear you. But it should stop. That's the right thing to do. Because there ought to be a reset. And they may not be able to build all of the lots that they want and the buildings that they want. But I can tell you as long as I'm still on planning and zoning, I will be voting no on every Pulte project until it's corrected. As much as it can be corrected. So that's just what's gonna happen. I'm only one vote on planning and zoning, but hopefully others will agree. I also, I wanna once again thank my fellow council members for changing our ordinance for construction hours. I think that's important. There was some discussion and I think some confusion and lack of information on our part when we made that vote. And I appreciate that it's been improved. It's 7 a.m. to 6 p.m. and then nine to six on Saturdays. Apparently, when Pinecrest was built, the start time was 7.30. And lo and behold, Pinecrest got built. It happened. It worked. It can happen with a later thing. I've been very clear. I am going to be leaving Orange and moving to another state, another area. And guess what? They start construction at 8 a.m. And somehow the houses get built. So we have an ordinance now, it's been changed to 7 a.m. to 6 p.m., 9 to 6 on Saturdays and nothing on Sundays. I'm gonna request that the council once again reconsider and have an 8 a.m. start time so that we can help make lives a little bit easier for our neighbors, our friends, our residents, and by the way, I want to thank, I fail to thank you all for speaking, and I appreciate it, and I've spoken and emailed and lots of things with lots of neighbors on Jackson, but I think it should also be noted the entire development of Orange Tree Estates stands with the members who are directly affected on Jackson, and the entire development is very upset about the way this has been handled. To that end, I had requested that the mayor start doing a weekly letter to the residents on Jackson with updates of the schedule, what's happening, what's going to be happening, and all that. I spoke with the mayor and with Pulte, and they both agreed, and the mayor referenced that earlier, so that is happening. And then that information will be on the website for the greater community at large to know what's happening and what's going to be happening. The lack of communication and the lack of correct communication and accurate information is a problem. And when neighbors are trying to piece together what's going on and they're the ones putting out the information, sometimes it's right and sometimes it's not so right. They're trying, but we ought to be steering the communication wheel. We ought to be putting out the information so there's no question. There's no excuse for neighbors to have to sit there and make a FOIA request, none. Obviously, we're working hard to fill those, and that's great, and we should, and we will, I'm assuming, but that's not appropriate. We ought to be more forthcoming and proactive in our communications, and that does not happen, it has not happened. And I am also not against development. But I am a believer that we need to be protecting the rights of our residents who are already here, and we have failed in that job miserably so far in this project. So I reiterate, I think the project should be halted. I do think very strongly that if Pulte cannot have as many homes built, then they just can't have as many homes built because that buffer needs to be in there. However it is, it's not our problem that they can't build as many and sell as many homes. Or if the fence is gonna cost them an extra $30,000 that they hadn't budgeted. Okay, it needs to get done. And finally, I do believe that it would be appropriate at some point in the future for the Charter Review Commission to consider, or I'm assuming it would go through the Charter Review Commission, two members of council on planning and zoning. I do believe it is important, and I do believe that would be appropriate. I say this all as I'm leaving. So there's only so much I can do, but I am still here and fighting while I'm here. Noted.

All right, it looks like we have two orders of business before we go on to our executive session. So first I would like to, I plan to appoint because the law director has told me it's in my power to appoint somebody to Planning and Zoning as a chair, Jim Boyle to Planning and Zoning, but until Mrs. Ulner resigns, can you please observe those meetings, get caught up, so you can continue her fine work?

I will, and I did, yes.

Your?

Yes.

Thank you, great. Thank you. And then also, Kim, you mentioned changing the start time for construction. If you would like to make a motion, you can see if you can get some momentum. We've tried that a couple times here before, but that's our process.

I'll make the motion for an 8 a.m. So Monday through Friday, 8 a.m. to 6 p.m. It would not change Saturday, which would still be 9 to 6 and still no on Sunday. I do think the project will get done. It's perhaps they bring in more people and they work, you know, more employees during that. But it will get done. It gets done in other communities. Will you call the roll, please?

Talk too much. Yes. Foster? Yes. Vincent? Yes. Erland? Yes. Hallner?

Yes. Okay.

Wait a minute. So that actually changed it now?

We amended ordinance. No, no, no. The legislation will be drafted.

It'll draft the legislation. It'll come back.

Amend.

But you can't amend it because it's already passed, so you have to redo that decision.

Right, and it'll come back on the next meeting. I think we have a motion to authorize the law director to draft legislation to accomplish that.

My assumption is, since everybody voted yes, that they'll vote yes on that.

Can you please put it as an emergency so it's effective immediately? Probably suspended. OK, great. Thank you. I need a motion to adjourn to executive session. A motion by unanimous vote of the quorum. This is long, I'm sorry. Thank you, law director. By roll call and accordance with Ohio Revised Code Section 121.22 , Then it is necessary to enter into executive session to consider confidential information directly related to the request for economic development assistance, including the protection of interest of an applicant for such assistance or the possible investment of expenditure of public funds to be made in connection with an economic development project, and to consider marketing plans, specific business strategy, production techniques, trade secrets, or personal financial statements of the applicant, or negotiations with political subdivisions respecting requests for economic development assistance, all of which to be provided or administered under Chapter 715, 725, 1724, or 1728, or Section 701.07, 3735.67 to 3735.70. 5709.40 to 5709.43, 5709.61 to 5709.69, 5709.73 to 5709.75, or 5709.77 to 5709.81 of the revised code, or that involves public infrastructure improvements or the extension of utilities directly regulated to the economic development project, and to discuss pending or prospective litigation with our legal counsel.

I'll make that motion, but I'm not saying it.

Okay, we will not be having any action after this, so we'll see you all next week. I'd like to invite the law director. You call the roll.

Yes. Aye.

Wait.

Boyle. Bill. Foster.

Yes.

Vincent. Yes. Herland. Yes. Allner. Yes. Perry.

Yes.