William Joseph (Joe) Leet, who served as a member of the Blue Ash City Council representing Ward 2 from 2017 to 2021, died January 3, 2025 following a long illness. I knew Joe as a person who did his very best for our ward and who was never shy about letting everyone know exactly how he felt. His Celebration of Life will be held at McCauley’s Pub in Sharonville, Ohio, on this Thursday, January 9, 2025, at 6:00 p.m. You can read his obituary here.
In any city there are times when the uses for a property will change. Because we have so few undeveloped pieces of land, almost anything that is built in the City of Blue Ash requires that it be built on a piece of property that already has something on it. In the SimCity simulation, if you don’t like the way a piece of land is being used, the player can just knock it down and see if something better comes or they can change the zoning and see if that will be enough incentive for the market to make a positive change at the property.
In real life, such changes are not that easy. Changing how a piece of property is used costs money: money to retrofit the current building; money to knock down the old and build new; and, sometimes, money to incentivize a land use that is of particular value to the larger community. In addition the interest of the landowner, the property neighbors, and of the City should be considered.
Read more about what this might look like and how the proposal for a Wawa convenience store and gas station as well as a car wash fits.
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In a letter to the City of Blue Ash, Grand Communities LLC, a Fischer Group Company, withdrew its application to re-zone a portion of land along Kenwood Road to allow for the development of townhomes.
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Matthew 25 Ministries is seeking to add a Chapel and a multi-purpose “Function Space” to their facility at 11060 Kenwood Road. The addition, which backs up to homes on Cook Avenue in the Hazlewood Neighborhood, will go before the Board of Site Arrangement early in 2023. Comments and concerns about this project can be shared with the board by emailing them to Paul Kleier at the City of Blue Ash.
According to this article from WCPO, the Sugar and Spice restaurant at Summit Park will open this month. They have been working on building out their space throughout 2022 and missed a summer opening due to supply chain issues. This third location is at 10275 Summit Pkwy.
The final development plan for the BLUE, proposed for the corner of Cooper and Kenwood Roads in Blue Ash will be considered by the Planning Commission at their regular meeting on Thursday, January 5 at 6:30 PM in Council Chambers.
The application, including drawings and staff recommendations can be found here.
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