Akron Council's Weekly Legislative Spotlight! 2023 Issue #28

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Akron City Council

Weekly Legislative Spotlight

From the Desk of the Council President

Hello Joan,

Welcome our new subscribers. We are so excited that you have decided to join us! To our regular subscribers, thank you for continuing to read Council's Legislative Spotlight.

We share highlights from Council's legislative agenda from the previous Monday's Committee and Council meetings each week. Definitions and information about commonly used terms and council-related facts are also featured.

Please stay connected and abreast of the legislative agenda of Akron City Council.

The information shared in each week's Legislative Spotlight will continue to educate, empower and liberate you to become increasingly engaged with your City Council in making Akron a better place for all its residents.

Sincerely,

Margo Sommerville

Council President

Ward 3 Council Member

Legislative Highlights From Monday, September 18, 2023

Ordinance No. 251-2023 authorizing the Mayor or his designee to file an application for and, if awarded, accept and expend grant funding from the US EPA's Office of the Greenhouse Gas Reduction Fund for Award Option #3; and declaring an emergency. Vote: Ayes: 13, Nays: 0. The City of Akron seeks to apply for and, if awarded, expend funds as a coalition of 31 local jurisdictions applying for the Solar for All Grant Award Option #3 to cover at least 30,000 households across 31 geographic areas including the City of Akron.

Ordinance No. 253-2023 authorizing the Director of Public Service to enter into a contract with the Ohio Department of Natural Resources, Division of Forestry to apply for and accept the ODNR Urban Canopy Restoration Grant; and declaring an emergency. Vote: Ayes: 13, Nays: 0. This grant is a $25,000 grant to plant trees to aid in the restoration of lost urban tree canopy. This grant is a 50/50 match and is already budgeted from the 2023 AWR Tree planting project.

Ordinance No. 259-2023 authorizing the Deputy Director of the Department of Neighborhood Assistance to file an application and enter into an agreement with the State of Ohio for the State of Ohio Office of Community Development’s Lead Safe Ohio Program; and authorizing the Deputy Director of the Department of Neighborhood Assistance to enter into all necessary contracts for the operation and term of the Program; and declaring an emergency. Vote: Ayes: 13, Nays: 0.

The Public Safety Committee met to discuss the permit process for community events. View this discussion here .

Remember...

You can see all the legislation discussed during the meeting at: https://onlinedocs.akronohio.gov/OnBaseAgendaOnline/

Akron Riparian Setbacks

In August, the City of Akron released a draft ordinance focused on the preservation and maintenance of the lands surrounding our rivers and streams, known as riparian buffers. Feedback was received until September 8, 2023.

This legislation is expected to come to Council soon. If Akron passes this ordinance, the city would join many other Ohio cities who already have riparian setbacks including: Cleveland, Cincinnati, Dayton, Columbus, Toledo and Youngstown. We would also join local municipalities such as: Tallmadge, Green, Cuyahoga Falls, Richfield, Barberton, Stow, and Coventry.

View the full Press Release here or view the draft ordinance here.

Check out the calendar on

Council's website for

upcoming Ward Meetings!

The Akron Marathon is Saturday, September 30th!

View road closures here.

Visit akronmarathon.org for more information!

Speed Tables are scheduled to be removed in the first half of October.

Please participate in this traffic calming survey!

If you have a specific city issue that you'd like to see resolved (a pothole, water leak, tree down, missed trash collection, etc.), you can enter it in the online system or call 311.

Upcoming Open Comment Public Hearings

Up for Public Hearing September 25, 2023:

Ordinance authorizing a Conditional Use to construct a solid fence and carport at 2015 13^th St SW; and declaring an emergency.

Ordinance authorizing a Conditional Use to construct an attached garage addition at 2232 Goodyear Boulevard; and declaring an emergency.

Ordinance authorizing a Conditional Use to construct a parking lot at 921 Cordova Avenue for the Maple Valley Resource Center at 1474 Copley Road; and declaring an emergency.

Up for Public Hearing October 2, 2023:

Ordinance authorizing a Conditional Use to establish an auto repair business at 1152 Grant Street; and declaring an emergency.

Ordinance authorizing a Conditional Use to construct an oversized garage at 677 Cuyahoga Street; and declaring an emergency.

Ordinance authorizing a Conditional Use to place an oversized pole sign at 725 S. Canton Road; and declaring an emergency.

Up for Public Hearing October 16, 2023:

Ordinance authorizing a Conditional Use to construct an oversized garage at 1203 Sawyer Avenue; and declaring an emergency.

Ordinance authorizing a Conditional Use to retain a two-family dwelling at 2447 Newton Street; and declaring an emergency.

Ordinance authorizing a Conditional Use to construct a solid fence beyond the building line at 1558 Hampton Road; and declaring an emergency.

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Notices are posted on our website at least 15 days prior to the meeting date.

If the Ordinance is a Conditional Use (Zoning measure), a notice is also mailed to the owners and residents of property within, contiguous to, and directly across the street from the property involved in the Ordinance (per Charter Section 34). Notice is also published in the Akron Beacon Journal.

You do not need to fill out any forms to participate. You may attend in person in Council Chambers or remotely via videoconference.

Those wishing to attend remotely need to notify the Clerk of Council as outlined in the meeting notice in order to receive the information to join remotely.

Public Comment Period

Those that wish to participate in the public comment period of a regular Council meeting need to submit a public comment form.

The sign-up form is available here.

For those that do not have a mobile device/computer to utilize, or need additional assistance, Council staff will be available in person before the meeting.

Signing up is a requirement of Council Rules, similar to other bodies. The only change from our previous sign-up procedure is that we made the process digital!

Suspension of the Rules:

Allows Council, upon a two-thirds vote, to temporarily suspend or set aside the Rules of Procedure for Council. This motion is most commonly used to pass legislation as an emergency.

Declaring an Emergency:

Allows Council to dispense with the requirement that a piece of legislation be read at three separate Council meetings, and allows the legislation to go into effect earlier than 30 days from passage of the legislation.

You can view the Rules of Procedure for Akron City Council here.