Newark City Council To Consider Rezoning Request For A Property Central To The Traditional Black Community Monday Night

A lot is happening in Newark this coming week. 

The Council meets on Monday night and among the items of interest will be citizen inquiries about the proposed gas power plant at the old Chrysler property.

Also, a rezoning application for New London/Cleveland Avenue has drawn a lot of attention.

State Rep. Paul Baumbach writes ~

Please note that this Monday the city council will meet, and on the agenda is an amendment to the comprehensive plan and rezoning of a 'major subdivision' at 60 New London Road and 63 West Cleveland Avenue.  You can read the proposal at http://www.cityofnewarkde.us/DocumentCenter/View/4313

The Board of Adjustment in December approved multiple variances (bad news).  In March the Planning Commission seemed to conditionally support the proposal, subject to some requested actions (likely bad news).

The good news (and it is very good news) is that on June 6th the Planning and Development Department voted to recommend that the proposal be rejected.  The vote was 5 to 1.  While I was pleased with the recommended rejection, I was a bit surprised that the information on the city's website does not include the rationale for the rejection.

The city council can still approve the proposal.  The planning and development department's recommendation is merely that, a recommendation.  I suggest that members of the community attend the city council meeting, and speak in favor of following the recommendation of the Planning and Development Department, and reject the proposals.

One concern that was raised is that the design can motivate drivers to enter on New London and exit onto Cleveland, to avoid the light at New London & Cleveland.  While this would be opposite to signage, we all know that this would save notable time given the intersection's common gridlock.

Paul Baumbach
State Representative, 23rd RD

And a group actively opposing this project sent this along ~ Request regarding City Council

I and many members of the community have concerns regarding the Major Subdivision, the ‘Campus Village’ project (63 W. Cleveland Ave & 60 New London Road) which is being put to vote by City Council.

Many of us have attended many meetings and expressed the impact this Major Subdivision could have on the neighborhood. We were very pleased that the Planning Commission voted decisively to recommend to council the against this project and the rezoning.

I hope you will consider the number of senior citizens and long term residents that live in this neighborhood. Some have lived here for in over 50 years and are extremely concerned. This proposed 40 foot high apartment building would tower over their homes and back yards. Several area churches and a home for handicapped individuals would be impacted. The density is way out of scale for the neighborhood. The proposed apartment building of 10000 square feet of living space and covering over 77 percent of the lot will not have enough open space and is totally out of character for the neighborhood.

Thanks for your time. Please let us know your thoughts on this proposal.

Sincerely,

Jim Hearn

 (Bobby Miller on New London - UD images)

Plus, a Comprehensive Update meeting is set for Tuesday ~

Comprehensive Development Plan update discussion.

The Newark Planning Commission Public Workshop will be held on Tuesday, August 13th at 7p.m.and will cover Community Vision

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