Welcome to spring in North Avondale, the most beautiful neighborhood in Cincinnati! As the trees bloom, our neighbors are getting outdoors more. Every neighborhood needs its residents to help maintain the beauty and culture we sometimes take for granted. Please join us to get more involved. Attend the monthly NANA meetings, held on the second Tuesday of each month at 6:30 pm in the North Avondale Recreation Center. This month, we will discuss Connected Communities and the potential impact on North Avondale.
North Avondale residents, I encourage you to review City Council’s proposed Connected Communities land-use and zoning policy. It is the most impactful policy seen during the two years I have been president. Connected Communities is a comprehensive land-use reform that impacts the North Avondale neighborhood and our neighborhood business district. It is based on our business district location plus the major bus transit corridor (BRT) along Reading Road. We believe this policy has the potential to severely impact North Avondale by removing the single-family housing zoning protections within ½ mile on both sides of the Reading Road corridor. The prospect of eliminating single-family housing will open the door to allow developers to tear down and replace or reconfigure single-family homes, eventually leading to the ruin of our historic neighborhood’s architecture and character.
The policy proposal will remove density restrictions in neighborhoods along Reading Road including North Avondale, Avondale, Paddock Hills, Roselawn, and Bond Hill in addition to many communities along the Hamilton Avenue corridor. Avondale and North Avondale have already experienced how uncontrolled development following the destruction of the old West End to construct I-75 nearly destroyed our neighborhoods. This proposal for uncontrolled development also includes the removal of the current parking requirements, which will increase the number of cars parked on neighborhood streets. This elimination is based on the belief that people will stop driving cars and use public transportation although the Metro system is underutilized and not the transportation of choice for the majority of residents at this time.
Unfortunately, this policy will not go to a popular vote like two years ago when Cincinnati residents as a whole voted this down. Now City Council is trying to eliminate the single-family zoning based on the neighborhoods along the Hamilton Avenue and Reading Road bus corridors. We ask that each of you reach out to your council members to oppose this policy. There is a lot of information, so we recommend going through the story map to acclimate yourself to this policy and reach out to your council members in opposition.
NANA asks that each of you add us to your gift giving by donating here. We appreciate the generous support of many. At this time, we ask for wider support from all sectors of North Avondale. Each donation, no matter the size, reinforces the participation of our community voice when key policy decisions are in consideration. Thanks to your generosity, our volunteer teams are able to represent the wishes of the community and make our neighborhood a better place to live and raise our families.