City Council hears 5 ordinances; discusses Amtrak project

The Oxford City Council read through four ordinances for the first time and approved one following its second reading during a regular meeting Tuesday. It also discussed increases in the cost of its project to place an Amtrak stop in the city.

Ordinances which are read through the first time are not voted on by council and will be pushed to the following meeting on Tuesday, Sept. 16 for a second reading.

Dissolving SCRC

The council read through an ordinance for the first time which would dissolve the Student Community Relations Commission (SCRC).

According to the staff report on the meeting agenda, the SCRC was formed in 1986 to “foster communication and understanding between Miami University students and the broader Oxford community.”

Assistant City Manager Jessica Greene told the council Tuesday the group continues to struggle to reach a quorum and produce actionable recommendations for the council. She said, at the same time, the city has “strengthened” its direct working relationship with Miami University, including the Office of Student Life and the Associated Student Government.

“These partnerships have proven very effective in addressing students’ and community issues and fostering open dialogue. While SCRC is proposed to be ended, the city remains committed to maintaining strong collaboration with Miami University students and staff,” Greene said.

To do that, she proposed meeting quarterly with student representatives and staff and conducting a table of campaigns to encourage students to apply for other city advisory boards and commissions.

Councilor Alex French recommended to students who want to see SCRC reformatted or brought back to recommend it to the council.

Councilor Amber Franklin said, “I think it’s actually better to sunset, even if it creates more conversation between the community and the student body who are a part of the community, that would maybe revive it in a way that could be more effective in the future.”

Rezoning and approving a subdivision

The next two ordinances read for the first time included rezoning land for and approving a 34-home, single-family subdivision by 4 Leaf Development LLC on nearly 18 acres currently addressed as 1701 Lake Forest Drive.

The first ordinance was to amend The Official Zoning Map of the City of Oxford to transition the nearly 18 acres of land from a multi-family residential district to a single and two-family residential district.

According to the proposal summary in the agenda, 4 Leaf Development currently owns about 97 acres of land located east and south of the Annex housing complex and accessed most directly Lake Forest Drive. The property includes 30 acres of single-family residential land, 30 acres of two-family residential land, and 37 acres multi-family residential land.

4 Leaf Development proposed rezoning 18 acres of its multi-family residential land to two-family residential land, which would enable it to qualify for the potential approval of an Open Space Residential Development (OSRD). An OSRD includes clustering houses to preserve open space on a property.

The subdivision 4 Leaf Development is proposing would be named “Lake Forest Cove” and include 34 lots for single-family homes and two large parcels for open space and conservation, according to the agenda. The residential lots would be accessed by two new public streets, East Southpointe Parkway and Timber Cove Trail.

The proposal also includes new sidewalks along both new streets, and an existing manmade pond at the center of the site would be retained. If approved, a clubhouse would be constructed to the west of the pond.

The proposal involves several waivers and staff recommendations available on the complete agenda at cityofoxford.org. 

Resident Wyatt Holmes asked the council to vote against the rezoning, arguing for higher-density housing.

“I believe 4 Leaf Development is trying to install manufactured homes that will sell for far more than they’re actually worth,” Holmes said. “It makes me nervous to see a developer wants to lower the amount of available housing in an area. That means they would likely collect as much profit as possible while building the fewest units.”

Etta Reed, president of Bayer Becker professional design consulting services, represented 4 Leaf Development during the meeting and said the local LLC has owned the property for 20 years and is “not looking” to install pre-manufactured homes and will instead make them custom to buyers. 

Councilor David Prytherch said the location the developer is asking to be rezoned is not a walkable location to campus and the current zoning was “never supported by our comprehensive plans.” 

“There are places where the density is better, so the fact that the applicant wants to voluntarily down-zone something that is probably more appropriate to the context is a win for the city and saves us,” Prytherch said. “I think this is a conversation we were going to have to have anyway in our rezoning.”

Councilor Jason Bracken said, “I don’t like down-zoning. I want more density. I want to provide as many houses as we can with recognition to environmental, historical and other things that we value a lot. But this makes sense for multiple reasons.”

Resident Jim Vinch suggested the developer should be required to put a conservation easement or other permanent protection on the resources on the property.

Reed said the developer is on board with all the listed conditions in the proposal, and it will be required to have a conservation easement on the open space.

Indoor golf simulator

The last ordinance read for the first time included a proposal for conditional use for a golf simulator indoor entertainment facility, which would be located at the site of the former Princess Theater at 10 N. Beech St.

The theater closed in 2014, and the original building was demolished in 2015 to create a mixed-use building, according to the agenda. But since its completion in 2016, the ground-floor commercial space has remained vacant.

Two local entrepreneurs Tyler Storer and Jackson Trester, who are also responsible for OxVegas Chicken and Fitness on High developments, are proposing installing nine golf simulator bays and an accessory bar in the new entertainment facility, which would occupy the entire ground floor. The only exterior change anticipated in the proposal is the addition of a third emergency exit door on the north side of the building adjacent to the alley.

Prytherch spoke of the former theater being sold after a fire, a long bidding war, and a community fight to “Save the Princess.” Eventually, he said the bottom floor sat vacant for a while, a restaurant that it was previously leased to never came, and student housing became available in the upper floors.

“It was an incredible fight. We tried to save it. … We came really, really close,” Prytherch said. 

“That’s a sad story, but I think having the site vacant doesn’t get us any closer to that theater. And so to see something going in there that can provide an entertainment value that’s relevant to 2025 – I miss the Princess Theater. I wish we could have saved the theater. – but I would be happy to have someone give it a go, create something cool.”

Supplemental budget ordinance

The one ordinance approved by council including making supplemental appropriations for Fiscal Year 2025.

The appropriations, according to the agenda, included:

• $100,000 for the General Fund to account for “quicker than expected” development of Owl’s Landing
• $6,430 for the General Fund to account for emergency repair of a municipal building air conditioning unit
• $50,000 for the Municipal Facilities Fund to account for replacement of the failed air conditional units at the courthouse and replacement of the impound garage roof
• $50,000 for the ARPA Fund to add American Disabilities Act (ADA) audible accessible traffic signal improvements
• $404,000 for the OATS Fund for negotiation of easement settlement amounts

Amtrak discussion

Greene reserved the end of the meeting to discuss the city’s ongoing project to place an Amtrak stop in Oxford.

Currently, Greene said the city is planning an access sidewalk behind SDS Pizza at 7 E. Chestnut St. and a sidewalk platform behind the Nelson Morrow Building at 909 S. Main St., the Oxford Township Trustees building at 925 S. Main St., and behind the city salt dome.

Originally, she said the city’s estimate for the design and engineering and construction of the station when a grant was drafted in 2020 was $750,000 and $2.5 million, respectively. 

The city received the OKI (Ohio, Kentucky, Indiana) Regional Council of Governments Surface Transportation Block Grant for over $2 million.

Now, Greene says updated estimates show the city will need to allocate an additional $126,000 for design and engineering and an additional $600,000 for construction.

Greene said the engineer for the project was able to have the grant increased by 10%, and the city will reach out to Miami University, who is considered a partner for the project, to discuss how to work together to fund the remaining costs.

A potential schedule presented by Greene to the council shows final plans for the project to be completed by the spring of 2026, construction beginning in the summer of 2026 and operations starting in the summer of 2027.