Panhandle Lots

A panhandle lot is a lot that is set back from the street, behind other houses, and only accessable via a long narrow drive. Imagine the main lot with a house, is the pan, and the long drive is the panhandle. In an predominantly built area, like Amberley, where some homeowners own large lots, panhandle lots may be the only area in which to build a new house. Typically, they are created when an existing homeowner sells a large lot and the new owner decides to subdivide the lot into two or more lots. Panhandle lots allow a developer to put an additional lot onto an exisiting property without building a new road. Panhandle lots can consist of one single lot with a single home or a series of new lots and homes, essentially creating a new street or drive behind the original street. Each new house would share one long driveway and the address, typically, is on the main street.

Earlier this year, The Board of Zoning Appeals heard applications from two developers over the course of nearly as many months who each wanted permission to create panhandle lots on property they had just purchased. Each property was in excess of two acres, thus meeting the minimum requirement for one acre housing lots in property zoned Residence "A." Both properties were located in deadend or cul-de-sac streets, and both were heavily wooded in the rear. Neither property owner presented a detailed plan to the BZA for the yet-to-be-built homes. Both applications were contested by existing neighbors and homeowners who stated that they did not desire the extra traffic from construction vehicles, additional curb cuts to create a drive, and a new house to be built in their backyards. Yet, each case was decided differently, primarily due to Amberley's current Zoning Code which does not provide any guidance for deciding on these type of lots. 

The trend for older communities is to restrict panhandle lots, allowing them only when detailed plans are presented to the BZA. This protects existing homeowners who were not expecting to have to share their backyard with a new homeowner's front yard. It also protects the integrity of older neighborhoods and the rural ambiance that comes from living in an area with larger lots and mature trees. Additionally, it puts potential buyers on notice that they may not be able to subdivide their property if it will result in a panhandle lot without first having their detailed plans scrutinized by the BZA. 

Amberley's Planning Commission has been examing new legislation that addresses this issue and will be presenting it to Council in the coming months. Please subscribe to our Village webpage at AmberleyVillage.org if you want to be notified of the public hearing for this ordinance.

Amberley is not an Island

One thing I like to keep in mind when I think about Amberley and my responsiblitity to the village as a council member, is how Amberley can remain a vibrant community, given the challenges that all local municipalities are facing, including elimination of estate tax, local government funds, and tangible personal property tax,  since most of our state revenue has been cut or eliminated. Where does Amberley Village fit within the structure of Hamilton County and who is looking out for us, besides our Amberley officials? Fortunately, we are not alone, but as a small community, it is important for us to shout a little louder and be a little more visible, so as not to be neglected.

One of the organizations that Amberley participates in is the First Suburbs Consortium of Southwest Ohio. First Suburbs are those suburbs that are generally located near core cities and were established prior to 1960. First suburbs share many common concerns -- older housing stock, shrinking tax base, and competition from the newer, outer exurbs for economic development. As the name suggests, the First Suburbs Consortium can generate the power of collaborative interests to influence policy -- as it is doing right now regarding HB5 and changes to how Ohio collects municipal tax.

Representatives to the First Suburbs Consortium are appointed by council. I was appointed in 2011 as an "alternate" representative. In February of this year, I learned that our appointed representative was not attending meetings, thereby leaving Amberley unrepresented and without a voice. In March, I attended my first First Suburbs general membership meeting where the Mill Creek Watershed was discussed, as well as updates regarding HB5 and other state legislative news. I have subsequently been appointed to serve on the executive committee of the Consortium.

Amberley is facing many challenges ahead, as we are forced to contend with a shrinking budget yet residents expect the same level of service they are used to. It is important for us to realize that we, as a community, share many of the same issues with our neighboring communities and that we are stronger when we harness our collective resources and ideas. The First Suburbs Consortium is just one way Amberley can have a louder voice at the state level.

French Park

Have you been to French Park recently? This 275 acre Cincinnati park in the heart of Amberley Village is one of our most beautiful amenities, if not the most beautiful feature of Amberley. The park is the second largest park run by the Cincinnati Park Board, and we are very fortunate to live within such close proximity to its ever-changing scenery.

The trails in French Park can't be beat. With the addition of the new Amberley Trail built by the Israel Scouts and Mayor Mallory's Teen Summer Greanleaf Program, it's possible to run or walk five miles without every seeing the same scenery. It's impossible to get lost, because all trails lead down to the creek, which leads to the parking lot.

The Amberley Creek, a tributary of the Mill Creek, is a great place for fossil hunters or hikers who just want to escape the summer heat. There are plenty of surprises in the park too. Have you seen Mr. French's pet cemetary? I ran the trails this morning, and I was surprised by a new park improvement -- new stalls in the bathroom!

If it's been a while since you've visited the park, I suggest a visit this week. The wildflowers are in full bloom and are simply stunning!

Water Management

My nephew, Tyler, an environmental engineering major at OSU, has become increasingly interested in water conservation since visiting a kibbutz in Israel last winter where significant inroads on water management and conservation are being made by evironmental engineers. This week, he installed a couple of rain barrels for me. I can't tell you how happy I am to have them, just from a financial perspective, since our summer water bills tend to lean toward the side of high to outrageously high. I like plants and plants need water. But from a practical and environmental perspective, many of us in Amberley have been dealing with the question of what to do with too much water for years. While the Amberley Creek and its subsidiaries provide us with a lovely ambiance, when it rains that beautiful babbling brook can become a raging menace -- overflowing its banks and flooding our yards. Yes, the water comes from the rain falling directly from the clouds, but it also comes fast and furiously from the gutters and downspouts on our homes.

Amberley: Before Rain Garden Installed

Installing rain barrels to collect the water from our downspouts have many benefits. First, it prevents the runoff from our gutters from entering our already overloaded storm sewers. Second, rain barrels help to prevent ponding and flooding of water in our yards; third, it prevents flooding of stormwater into our streets; fourth, rain barrels provide free water for our gardens.

 Rain gardens are another practical measure homeowners can take to harvest and control some of the excess water flooding their property. In fact, Amberley Village has examples of both a rain barrel and a rain garden at Village Hall.  Before installing the Village Hall rain garden, the south end of the field was prone to flooding. By installing a rain garden, not only has the flooding been curbed, but the area is now more beautiful with the addition of deep-rooted native plants and grasses, and is a habitat for butterflies and birds.

Rain Garden in 2008

Amberley's website has plenty of information about rain barrels and rain gardens. More information can also be found at Rain Garden Network, as well as guides for installation.

Rain Garden in 2013

Amberley Rain Garden in 2013

The Hamilton County Storm Water and Conservation District has published a manual for use in properly constructing a rain garden. It can be downloaded here:http://www.hcswcd.org/uploads/1/5/4/8/15484824/raingardenmanual.pdf

Electric Aggregation

Are you getting your electricity from Dayton Power & Light (DP&L), Amberley's electric aggregator? If you are not, is it because you are currently under contract with another energy supplier (not Duke Energy) and don't want to pay an early cancellation fee? Without boring you with the details of my own experience of trying to join with other Amberley residents and get the much lower aggregated rate (.045/kwh), I will simply clear up some misconceptions and provide some information that is not currently on our website:

1. DP&L will pay any other provider's early termination fee of up to $150. If you are staying with another electric provider because you don't want to be charged a cancellation fee, call DP&L and explain this to them. They are difficult to get a hold of, but they will call you back. If you send them an email, you will hear back within 24 hours. Their email address is DPLEnergyCare@DPLinc.com.

2. Amberley's contracted rate until May, 2014 is 0.0445 cents per kilowat hour. (My current rate with First Energy is 0.063 cents per kwh and changes with each reading. I would have saved much more money by switching last year, had I known DP&L would pay the early termination charge).

3. If you never contracted with another supplier, you are already benefitting from Amberley's contract with DP&L, even though your bills still come from Duke Energy.

4. You must fill out the form on the website and email or fax it to DP&L to get the Amberley Village rate. The rate for regular customers is currently 0.053 kwh, which is not as good a deal as Amberley's negotiated rate.

Start saving money on your electric bill!

Complete Streets

Pedestrian shoulder Ridge Rd.

According to the American Association of State Highway and Transportation Officials, "Providing safe places for people to walk is an essential responsiblility of government entities involved in constructing or regulating the construction of public rights-of-way." This seems so obvious, but Amberley has been wrestling with this issue for decades. By not moving forward with long-range planning to make Amberley more pedestrian friendly, housing and livablity trends are passing us by as the Millenial generation is seeking out living spaces that provide multiple options for transportation, which include more public transportion options as well as safe pathways.

It is time for Amberley Village officials to recognize that, although we do not have a central business district within our own community, a majority of our residents live within walking distance of business districts in either Pleasant Ridge, to the south, and Dillonvale, to the north. Safe access to these areas and to our own amentities within the Village will increase our property values thus benefitting the financial forcast for our community

In her presentation, "Designing Communities for All: The role of complete streets in improving accessibility and enhancing economic competitiveness," Kerstin Carr of the Mid-Ohio Regional Planning Commission (morpc), indicates that "every one-point increase in the 100-point Walk Score scale is associated with an increase in home value of $500-$3,000." From a health standpoint, she cites another study that found that "43% of people with safe places to walk within 10 minutes of home met recommended activity levels. Among individuals without safe places to walk, just 27% were active enough." Amberley has great places to walk -- French Park, Amberley Green, the Amberley Walking Path, the JCC --  but we lack a safe way to get there on foot.

The Health, Education, & Welfare committee of Council held a meeting yesterday on the issue of pedestrian safety. The issue encompasses more than just providing a safe shoulder of the road upon which to walk. Our intersections can be made safer by installing crosswalks. Streets can be identified that are routinely used as cut-through thoroughfares and traffic calming measures can be examined. The city council of Westerville, Ohio, passed a Resolution last year expressing support of the Complete Streets Initiative. By so doing, they are expressing their committment to remember pedestrians when the time comes to budget for street maintenance and improvements.
Amberley should do the same. In fact, at Monday's council meeting, we supported the introduction of a Long Range Financial Plan, the partial mission of which includes this question: "What are (we) doing as... government officials to ensure that our community and ...property value is not only maintained but enhanced ten years from now and beyond?" (Emphasis mine).  An important question, and not one to be ignored when budgeting for the maintenance and future of our community.

Amberley's Neighborhood School

When my husband was growing up in Amberley, he attended his neighborhood school for elementary school, which, at the time, was Losantiville School. I attended my own neighborhood schools while growing up in Finneytown. In fact, for most of us, the neighborhood school was our school, unless our parents made a different choice -- say to send the kids to parochial school. In recent decades, here in Cincinnati, the neighborhood school has been replaced by the magnet school. Parents stand in line for days, often in inclement weather, to enroll their children in select schools of choice, because of the perception, often based in reality, that the neighborhood school is unable to adequately meet the educational needs of their children.

When my family moved to Amberley in 1997, I could not tell you what our neighborhood school was. Amberley didn't have its own school and as far as I could tell, where I sent my child to public school depended on what quadrant I lived in. Although Amberley only comprises 3.5 square miles, our children could go to any one of three "neighborhood" schools. Most Amberley parents did as we did and sent their kids to private school.

Things have changed since 1997. The former Pleasant Ridge Elementary School, a neighborhood school in CPS for over 100 years, was rebuilt and re-opened as PRM (Pleasant Ridge Montessori). A very dedicated  group of parents and community volunteers have been working tirelessly since 2006 to make this school a top-performing neighborhood school for Pleasant Ridge, Golf Manor, and Amberley Village. Through the very active involvement of educators, community leaders, parents, and Xavier University, PRM has seen its academic performance indicators rise and its socio-economic makeup become more diverse and more closely resemble the neighborhood where it is located.

Last night I attended a community meeting at PRM where the focus was on the next steps for the school. From my estimation, over 200 community members were in attendance. Most were parents of PRM students, but additonally there were local elected officials from all three communities served by the school, representatives from social service agencies and other interested community members.  This is an extremely involved parent body!  For a community like Amberley, which has not had a neighborhood school to call its own since it was incorporated, we are very lucky to have this rising star of Cincinnati Public Schools as our neighborhood school. The best part is, parents of Amberley kids can enroll their kids in a school where the parents and teachers are as involved as any private or magnet school for free and without camping out for a week.

If you are a PRM parent and Amberley resident, please leave a comment about PRM in the comment section of this post. I'd love to hear your thoughts on PRM. If you are interested in the next steps for PRM, there is another community meeting on May 22nd at 5:30 at the school itself.

Natalie