Cleves council advances model zoning code review after $30,000 planning grant

Unidentified speaker delivering the mayoral report said the village has been working with Hamilton County on a draft ‘‘model zoning code’’ and that staff member Justin secured a planning grant of about $30,000 to support redevelopment planning for the downtown Founders District.

The council agreed to stand up a Planning & Zoning committee chaired by Ted Babel with members Mary Angeline and Stephanie Meyer Kroner to perform detailed, page-by-page comparisons of the draft and the existing code. "I think it's imperative that we do a comparison of what we had before and what's new now," said a council member who volunteered to lead the review, promising a report that highlights changes and clarifications.

Members debated whether to pursue an emergency adoption or follow a standard three-reading schedule to allow public input. One council member urged three readings so residents could comment on substantive changes such as fence heights and building design; another said the timeline for executing the planning grant makes earlier adoption desirable. Justin said the first reading is tentatively scheduled for Feb. 11, with a final council vote targeted for March 11, though some council members suggested pushing to April to ensure robust public review.

Council discussed posting the draft online with a “DRAFT” watermark after a first reading so residents could review it in advance. Justin told the council printed copies should be available within about a week after finalizing with the printing company.

The council did not adopt the code at this meeting. The next procedural steps are committee markup and notification to council members when draft copies are available; committee meetings will precede any final council reading or vote.

The transcript alternates spellings and naming conventions for council members and staff (for example, 'Bable' vs. 'Babel' and 'Meyer' vs. 'Stephanie Meyer Kroner'); this article uses the full names as introduced during the mayoral report and notes inconsistent spellings in the meeting record.