Committee hears proposal for parking lot at 921 Cordova Avenue; council raises concerns about evening truck parking

Planning staff presented a conditional-use proposal for a retail parking lot at 921 Cordova Avenue intended to support the future sale and redevelopment of a city-owned structure and adjacent parcel. The proposed lot would measure roughly 60 by 112 feet, provide about 18 additional spaces, include a garbage enclosure, a 6-foot solid fence to screen adjoining residences, and require a licensing agreement where the parking would extend into a portion of an alley.

"City of Akron intends to approve a plan for a new small parking lot at 921 Cordova Avenue in order to facilitate the future sale and redevelopment of a vacant city-owned structure and property," the presenter (Jim, planning staff) said, adding that a request for proposals to sell the property has been issued and that the formal sale and any development proposal would later come to council.

Council members questioned whether the lot would attract overnight truck or flatbed parking along the Copley Road corridor and asked whether gates or other controls could be required. Councilman Greer said the corridor has a recurring problem with "empty parking lots and then trucks getting parked there, flatbeds getting parked there," and urged consideration of measures to discourage that outcome. Planning staff said the parcel is currently grass and that improvements would be the responsibility of a future owner awarded via the RFP; staff expressed doubt that the lot would be attractive to large trucks given access constraints but suggested controls could be part of later development plans.

Councilman Balden noted the lot sits in Ward 4 and described the zoning approval as a way to make the site more viable for future developers. The committee did not take a final vote in the afternoon; the hearing will be repeated at 5:00 p.m.