Commission Recommends Proposed Changes to Hadley Township Development Area

A proposal to in Richmond Heights received the approval of the city’s Tax Increment Financing (TIF) Commission at a public hearing Wednesday night.

After nearly 10 years of failed efforts to develop the property as a whole, Richmond Heights City Manager Amy Hamilton said, the city is interested in trying new options. Under the proposal, two chunks will be removed from the development area eligible for TIF support. TIFs are used to generate revenue for development in a specified section of a community.

Land that would be removed from the redevelopment area includes parts of Thomas Street and West Bruno Avenue. A chunk of land between Dale Avenue and Elinor Avenue including Douglas Avenue and the eastern portion of Hicks Avenue also would be removed.

“The city’s intentions are … to reduce the area to exclude properties where the interest in redevelopment is not present,” Hamilton told the commission.

The city hopes the move will have the dual benefit of giving certainty to existing homeowners while enticing hesitant developers. Breaking up the area will allow for projects that focus on commercial or residential development instead of more broad mixed-use plans.

“No developers are interested in the current area,” she said. “Many just said that the area is too large to be developed at one time and too expensive in this economic climate.”

The blessing from the TIF Commission clears the way for the proposed changes to be brought before the Richmond Heights City Council. Hamilton said the council will hold a first reading of the commission’s recommendation at its Aug. 15 meeting with a second reading and vote planned for the following meeting.

The public at hearing brought out about 15 residents. The new plan appeared to provide little relief for some homeowners who viewed it as the latest step in the ongoing dance between the city and developers.

Reginald Finney was the only resident to address the commission during the public comment portion of the meeting. He acknowledged that “there is a possibility if this is removed, people might make some changes” but said the move might not stop the number of vacant homes from growing.

“These properties have been, as you can see, going downhill,” he said. “This is going to continue to creep.”

Margaret Crumpton, a resident of Hadley Township for 33 years, attributed the decline to a sense among homeowners that redevelopment is inevitable. Crumpton said the result is that “there are people who have moved on and sold their house” while those who remain have grown increasingly frustrated with the back-and-forth between the city and developers.

It’s also possible the redevelopment area could simply be changed again six months down the road, Louis Vaugn said. Vaughn owns two rental properties in Hadley Township and has been unable to find tenants for the last two years.

“You can’t put money in them if you know they have to sell,” he said. “You really just don’t know what to do.”