Neighborhood Updates

All members of city council will be voting on the Planned Development rezoning proposal for Hyde Park Square tomorrow, Tuesday April 22nd, 2025, at 1:00 PM at a meeting of the Equitable Growth and Housing Committee. The meeting will be held both virtually (Zoom) and In Person (City Hall):

‍City Hall, Council Chambers, Room 300
801 Plum Street
Cincinnati, Ohio 45202‍

If you would like to speak at the meeting in-person, you must fill out a speaker card before the meeting. If you are unable to attend in-person, you may also register to appear at the meeting via Zoom at the Public Speakers Registration Page, being sure to select Equitable Growth & Housing as the Committee of Interest. Zoom Registration must be completed by 9:00 AM on the day of this meeting to receive the link.

The relevant documents for the meeting can be found at the City page for the Planned Development proposal

If you would like to attend virtually without speaking, the city asks that you please do not use the Zoom link and instead watch the meeting on City Cable here: City Cable

The video below is shared on behalf of Save Hyde Park Square, which has collected responses from several civic and neighborhood organizations across the city.

If the video does not load for you, please try viewing it here instead.

City project page

City Council members Anna Albi and Seth Walsh will join us for a public listening session so members of our neighborhood can share thoughts about the Planned Development. This has been scheduled for Wednesday, April 9th, from 6:45-7:45 PM at Hyde Park School. Please park in the lot on Edwards Rd and follow signage to the meeting room. Several folks from HPNC will try to be available to help with foot traffic, too.

Please note that this Special Meeting will be in addition to the HPNC monthly meeting we will have on Tuesday, April 8th.

We have also learned that April 22nd and April 23rd are the earliest possible dates that the Equitable Growth & Housing Committee and full City Council could vote on the proposed Planned Development for Hyde Park Square.

Between now and then it is imperative that we keep up the pressure on City Council, and share our opinion on the Planned Development. Should you wish to reiterate the position HPNC has on the matter please review the motions we’ve passed via the Neighborhood Updates section on the HPNC website.

Please reach out if you have any questions!

As discussed at our March meeting, we are required to update our bylaws to include two additional statements regarding membership in order to remain eligible for funding through Invest In Neighborhoods. Those updates have been added to the proposed bylaws lilnked via the button below. Please be prepared to vote on these bylaws updates at the April meeting.

Proposed Bylaws

Social Services Day Eastside will be held on April 12th from 10am-3pm at the newly renovated Eastside Recreation Center, at 3988 Paxton Avenue.

Social Services Day aims to provide a comprehensive range of resources and services to the community.

Along with food and fun, the event will focus on providing information about services that promote resiliency and sustainability. Through the collaboration of City Departments, Community Partners, and Local Businesses, we will create a one-stop-shop experience for resources the City of Cincinnati has to offer.

If you'd like to register as a vendor you can do so here.

Do not hesitate to reach out to Isaac Smitherman (isaac.smitherman@cincinnati-oh.gov) if you have any questions or concerns!

Vendor Sign-up

As many of you have likely heard, on Friday the City Planning Commission met to discuss the proposed zone change requested by HPSRD, LLC. The meeting lasted almost six hours, and a recording can be viewed on archive.org.

Despite the overwhelming opposition from the residents, business owners, and civic organizations, the Planning Commission voted 3-1 to approve the zone change, via adopting the following motion:

I would move that we approve item 1 as the original application, under the condition, however, that it complies with the rear massing and scale adjustments and private driveway location change set forth in the revised application.

While disappointing, the proposed zone change will now face two votes by City Council.

It is critical for Hyde Park and our fellow Cincinnatians to contact City Council to ask them to vote against the Zone Change.

And as you contact City Council, please remember that the single “No” vote at Friday’s hearing was from Vice Mayor Jan-Michele Kearney. Thank her for listening to our concerns. We now need to help the other eight City Council Members understand we support development, but not the Zone Change. The existing zoning should stay in place.

Please join us at our monthly meeting this Tuesday, March 11th at 7pm at the Little Theater, on the second floor of Hyde Park Community United Methodist Church, at 1345 Grace Avenue, as we talk through potential next steps regarding this development.

If you have not already subscribed to receive news and donated to Hyde Park Neighborhood Council, please do so here. Please also follow us on Facebook.

In addition, we encourage you to go to www.savehydeparksquare.org and join their mailing list if you would like information from them on taking further action.

Watch Planning Commission Meeting Recording

On Friday we received formal notice from the City of Cincinnati about the next step in the Planned Development (PD) submission for Hyde Park Square: the Planning Commission meeting. This meeting is scheduled for Friday March 7, 2025, at 9:00 AM. The meeting will be held both virtually (Zoom) and In Person (City Hall):

‍City Hall, Council Chambers, Room 300
801 Plum Street
Cincinnati, Ohio 45202‍

If you would like to speak at this meeting, you must register via this link at least 48 hours in advance of the meeting: Planning Commission Registration

The relevant documents for the meeting can be found at the following links:

Project Website
Updated Application Materials
Traffic Impact Study (TIS)

If you would simply like to attend virtually, please do not use the Zoom link and instead watch the meeting on City Cable here: City Cable

Lastly, if you would like to share a letter to be included in the Planning Commission materials, you must send it by 1:00 PM on Thursday, February 27th. Please send it to:

Andrew Halt, AICP, PE | Senior City Planner
City of Cincinnati | Department of City Planning and Engagement
Two Centennial Plaza | 805 Central Avenue, Suite 720 | Cincinnati, OH 45202
andrew.halt@cincinnati-oh.gov

Meeting Planning Commission Meeting Recording

During our Tuesday, February 11th meeting Hyde Park Neighborhood Council unanimously adopted two motions regarding the proposed Planned Development for the south side of Hyde Park Square.

The first motion adopted was:

‍The Hyde Park Neighborhood Council Trustees agree with the Zoning Committee’s letter (February 6, 2025) and find that the four (4) criteria of CMC Section 1429-11(a) are NOT satisfied by PLK’s Planned Development (PD) Petition. We ask the Planning Department and Planning Commission to deny the Petition.

‍The second motion adopted was:

‍I move that HPNC retain counsel to support our position regarding the Planned Development proposed for Hyde Park Square. If the public is interested in adding to this cause we will accept unrestricted donations via our website or via a check made out to HPNC.

‍The letter referenced in the first motion is available here: ZC PD Letter

‍‍Those that would like to donate to support the potential legal fees can do so via this link: HPNC PayPal Donation Page

Donate Now

Please see the attached flyer for information about Kindergarten Information Night at Hyde Park School. It is scheduled for Thursday, January 30th, at 6:00 PM. Please reach out to Jill Sunderman (sundeji@cpsboe.k12.oh.us) if you have any questions at all!

The Hyde Park Neighborhood Council unanimously adopted the following motion at our Monthly Meeting on Tuesday, January 14th:

‍The Hyde Park Neighborhood Council’s motion of November 12, 2024 is revised and replaced by the following:

The Hyde Park Neighborhood Council (HPNC) values the historic nature, architectural integrity, and pedestrian scale of our Neighborhood Business District. While we welcome new investment, we believe that keeping the current zoning regulations (CN-P-B and UDOD #4) intact and undiluted is integral to preserving what is not only a neighborhood gem but is also a Greater Cincinnati treasure.

HPNC supports and encourages the redevelopment of the underused parcels that currently have single story, non-contributing structures at 3434-3442 Edwards Road, 2719-2725 Erie Avenue, and 3439-3449 Michigan Avenue, subject to the following:

• ‍The proposed seven story buildings (85-90 feet) are too tall and, therefore, are unacceptable. Michigan Terrace (3500 Michigan Ave.) is not a relevant precedent for the proposed buildings’ height.
• ‍Unless explicitly stated otherwise below, a maximum height of 50 feet (as required by the current CN-P-B zoning), with minimal height variances (less than 10%, or 5 feet), is required for all new buildings.
• ‍A variance for a new, five story mixed-use building at 2719-2725 Erie Ave. is acceptable, but the new building should not exceed the height of the A’Laise building (61 feet, +/-).
• ‍A new, four-story mixed-use building fronting 3434-3442 Edwards Rd. and 3439-3449 Michigan Ave. with minimal height variances (less than 10%, or 5 feet) is acceptable.
• ‍A Planned Development (PD) for a “boutique hotel” use is acceptable with the height restrictions, as defined above.
• ‍Parking and loading spaces for all buildings and all uses in a new PD shall follow the requirements in Chapter 1425 of the Zoning Code of the City of Cincinnati.
• ‍All signage and exterior lighting in a new PD shall follow the CN-P requirements in Chapter 1427 and Chapter 1437 UDOD #4 of the Zoning Code of the City of Cincinnati.
• ‍The PD shall follow all sound and noise ordinances applicable to CN-P-B zoning districts.‍

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As a reminder, for those of you that have an opinion on this matter, please attend the virtual Public Staff Conference on Tuesday, January 28th, 2025 at 6:00 PM. The meeting can only be attended via Zoom and you must register to do so. The city's notice and the city Planning Projects webpage also contain the link to register; there is also a shortened version: bit.ly/Hyde-Park-Square-PD-PSC. We suggest you download Zoom in advance so you can join quickly.

It is very important to attend the meeting, but please also reach out to the appropriate city officials via email as soon as possible to share your feelings. As you do, please feel free to CC HPNC (hpncpres@gmail.com) to make us aware.

• City of Cincinnati Planning:
  • planning@cincinnati-oh.gov
  • (513) 352 4845
• City of Cincinnati Zoning:
  • zoninginfo@cincinnati-oh.gov
  • (513) 352 2430
• City Council:
  • citycouncil@cincinnati-oh.gov
  • (513) 352 3246

Also, a number of neighbors have put together a website (savehydeparksquare.org) to share opinions and information about the development.

City Public Staff Meeting Registration (Zoom)

Yesterday morning, we received formal notice from the City of Cincinnati about the formal Planned Development proposal submission for Hyde Park Square. We have not yet had a chance to review the proposal in its entirety, but you can find information about the proposal here.

We were also notified about the formal date for the virtual Public Staff Conference for the proposed zone change. This virtual meeting will be held on Tuesday, January 28th, 2025 at 6:00 PM. The meeting will be held over Zoom, and the notice can be found here. Should you wish to attend the Public Staff Conference you can register to do so here. We suggest you download Zoom in advance so you can join quickly.

Also, we will be discussing the Planned Development submission at our January 14th monthly meeting. Please plan to join us! Meeting details and the agenda will be made available on our website the day prior to the meeting.

Meeting Registration (Zoom)