Conditional rezoning approved for proposed senior housing development
A public hearing was held regarding rezoning Fox Ridge Part One A Lot 4 and 5 from commercial to residential, bringing a proposed senior housing complex one step closer to reality. It was noted by City Administrator Cami Rasmussen the parcels have been the subject of multiple proposals in recent years, and “The Council (in July) looked at a concept presented by the Senior Community Housing Corporation for a senior housing development on those lots.” An appli- cation was made to rezone the property, which was reviewed by Planning and Zoning (P&Z)
during their October 1 meeting with approval recommended.
“The plan is to do the development in phases. The corner lot will be the first phase,” she said. “One of the concerns that Council had during this discussion, as well as P&Z, was…these are commercial lots that are being rezoned from Commercial General to R-3 Residential, which is multi-family. The concern is, what if these (parcels) are rezoned and the development doesn’t move forward.”
To address the concern, City Attorney Kevin Olson drafted a conditional rezoning whereby the R-3 classification would only be applicable if the senior housing project moves forward. “If for some reason the project does not move forward, then the developer will have to rezone it back to commercial,” Olson said.
Under the conditional rezoning, a site plan is to be submitted for approval by June 2025, however it was noted a plan was likely to be submitted in December.
“The Council has been very vocal about wanting high density (commercial and residential development) in this area,” said Rasmussen.
“The Council’s reasoning for supporting this is because it meets the senior housing needs in the community and it is being run by a non-profit organization, so there are unique circumstances with this development that the Council supports the rezoning,” she added.
There were no comments from the public.
The Council approved the conditional rezoning agreement and the first of three readings of the ordinance to rezone the two parcels.
City Zoning Map updated
A public hearing was also held regarding updating the City’s Zoning Map.
“The last time we have formally updated our Zoning Map has been several years,” said Rasmussen. “Each time that we have updated the map, there has been annexation or rezoning. We finally just have to draw a line in the sand and say, ‘we have got to get this updated.’ We get a lot of calls from appraisers and realtors wanting to know if we have an updated map available on our website. It’s going to make everybody’s life easier plus it’s just time to update our Zoning Map.” Doing so, she added, has to be approved by ordinance, and it needs to be reviewed by P&Z, which was done at their October meeting.
“We also have to give public notice, which is why the public hearing.” The Council approved the first of three readings and then the map will be shared with Johnson County.
“And then we also have the burden of making sure that as things get rezoned, that the latest rezoning is incorporated, so we’ll have to work closely with the County to make sure we keep the map updated.”
Again, there were no comments from the public.
Dog ordered to be removed from the city
A hearing was held regarding a dog owned by Solon resident Sara Towne. City Attorney Kevin Olson reported on October 14, 2024, Mayor Dan O’Neil issued a Notice of Violation and an Order to Remove the dog, which has been the subject of complaints. Olson read the applicable city ordinance to the Council, which states within three days of receiving the order, the offending animal must be removed from within city limits, permanently placed with an organization, or destroyed.
“There are two complaints that this is based on,” Olson said. “On May 30th there was a complaint and on July 8th there was a complaint.
Both complaints were investigated by the Johnson County Sheriff’s Office (JCSO) as required by the ordinance, and both (complaints) were found to be founded.” City Administrator Cami Rasmussen issued a warning letter after the first incident, and the second incident occurred about a month later, he said. An appeal was received from Towne whereby she stated she had put into place several methods of containment, said Olson.
Towne told the Council she had an inground fence installed but had had issues with batteries in the dog’s collar. “She’s my emotional support pet, I’m training her to be a service animal, and she hasn’t gotten out since that July occurrence, and she’s never bitten anybody or attacked anybody.”
Towne said the dog thought it was a game when she’d get out and Towne would chase after her to bring her back. “I don’t know what else I can do, I think I’ve done everything.” Olson confirmed with a representative of the JCSO that there had been other incidents
reported but were unable to confirm.
“What the City is thinking at this time,” said Olson, “is that this dog has been out a lot, and there’s been a lot of complaints over the years. So the Council’s duty is to either affirm the Mayor’s decision to make sure that the animal is removed from the city limits or you can reverse it (allowing the dog to stay).” Olson noted if the Council reversed the order and the dog were to get out again, “You’d probably be back here again.”“Issuing it (the order) was certainly not an easy decision,” said O’Neil. “The concern was that there have been two founded vicious attacks and what’s not to say there wouldn’t be a third.There have been numerous complaints. If there were a child walking (and getting attacked), I would feel awful if there was a third incident and we didn’t do anything.”
A motion was made and seconded to affirm the Mayor’s order and passed on a unanimous vote.
FY 24 End of Year financial update
Travis Schmidt, Finance Officer for the City of Solon, provided an overview of the Financial Review for the end of Fiscal Year 2024 (FY 24), which ended on June 30.
The City undertook major projects including upgrading the watermains along Chabal and Elm Street and completing the reconstruction of East 5th St. Also, the City began the engineering process for the new wastewater treatment plant including pur- chasing property for the plant in the amount of $714,787.
Properties were also purchased for the North Street Project, the former City Hall was remodeled for use as the Johnson County Sheriff’s Office Substation, and baseball diamonds at the SRNA were improved with new dugouts, sand, and sod.
$1 million in Local Option Sales Tax reserves was placed into Certificates of Deposit with the goal of accumulating interest prior to the groundbreaking for the new sewer plant.
And the Capital Equipment Replacement Schedule saw some major purchases including a new leaf vacuum, Ford Super Duty F-550 truck, a new cabbed lawn tractor, and a UTV with $110,000 set aside for future purchases for a total of $234,459 available in FY25.
The General Fund increased from $2,538,089 in FY23 to $3,001,302. Reserves increased from $1,879,899 to $2,777,574 while revenues decreased from $3,085,921 to$2,602,879. Expenditures increased from $2,905,529 to $4,073,390.
Increases in the General Fund Expenditures were seen in Police, Fire, and Emergency Management from $2,44,428 to $227,649; Streets from $516,554 to $823,948; Library from $360,273 to $371,736; Parks from $213,016 to $238,686; and Recreation from $234,352 to $264,063. Garbage and Recycling also saw an increase from $225,881 to $234,244.
Expenditures decreased in Mayor/Council, Legal, and Engineering from $116,393 to $70,614 and Financial Administration down from $994,631 to $831,643.
The City spent $1,010,810 on property acquisition in FY 24 for the future wastewater treatment plant and proper-
ties on North St.
Total expenditures went up from $2,905,529 to $4,073,390.
Revenue from property taxes, permits, and fees decreased from $2,538,778 to $2,042,810 while Road Use Tax Interest increased significantly from $361 in FY23 to $2,178 in FY24. Recreation saw an increase in revenue from $132,917 to $141,435.
Overall, revenues decreased from $3,085,921 in FY23 to $2,602,879.
The full FY24 End of Year Financial Report is published in this week’s legal notices.
Council meeting dates/times
The Solon City Council meets the first and third Wednesdays of the month at 5:30 p.m. in City Hall, 101 N. Iowa St.