Friends,
An update of the status of our petition regarding the trailers at 417 Frank Boulevard , a slight revision in our plans and a meeting notice:
We are having a special meeting of those who have volunteered to collect signatures on WEDNESDAY, DECEMBER 28 AT 6:00 PM in the large meeting room of the Northwest Branch of the Akron Public Library on Shatto
Several of us had a very productive meeting on Monday evening with former 8th Ward Councilman John Frank who informed us of a provision in the Akron City Charter referred to as a “34A Petition.” According to Mr. Frank, if the petition is signed by 51% of those who voted in the last general election in the subject precinct and/or an adjoining precinct, then it only takes a negative vote of four City Council members to reject permission to build given by the Zoning Board. While I certainly cannot speak for Marilyn Keith, our Councilwoman, in the past she has undoubtedly shown sympathy with our cause.
Consequently, we are revising our plans slightly in light of the new information. We will continue with the current petition in Precincts 8-B and 8-L, but also attempt to get signatures from 51%+ of the voters in Ward 8-A, which is where the structures are located. Debbie Velzka was kind enough to get the voter list from the Board of Elections, so we know that we need a bit over 300 signatures from that precinct. . We need to get busy on this. At the meeting, we’ll pass out the 34A petitions and give instructions for how to have them filled out legally as well as giving you street assignments.
The relevant dates are as follows:
January 25: this is a very important meeting of the Zoning Board. We will need to have a good presence here with folks willing to testify to the fact that these are trailers and/or industrial structures and, consequently, ineligible for placement in the Heights. Also, we will need photos of the structures and of the surrounding houses.
February 10: this is a meeting of the Akron City Planning Committee which makes the final recommendation to Akron City Council. We will need to be here with the same turnout and materials from the January 25 meeting.
Akron City Council Meeting: we will need to find out the date Council intends to deal with this issue and be present to present the 34A petitions. These petitions are our final backstop, in case we do not prevail at either of the first two meetings.
I know this is inconvenient for many of you, but hope you can attend. Please let me know your comments and questions.
Best regards,
Bob Keener, President
Fairlawn Heights Neighborhood Association
