SOUTH EUCLID, Ohio — In South Euclid, the city is considering a new townhome development — but not all neighbors are on board.
Pat Picciano has lived in his South Euclid home for quite some time. He enjoys his neighbors, his large backyard, and the space between homes.
"It's a nice mix of large homes, small homes. Like I said across the street, they got four acres of land, I have almost an acre,” said Picciano.
But what he doesn’t love is his property tax bill.
"I feel it's about time somebody stands up and says something, because my property taxes here are going to be $5,900 this year. That's almost $6,000, and what do I get for that?” said Picciano
He’s also concerned about the proposed Trebisky Grove Townhome Development, which the city is considering on a patch of land behind homes between Monticello Boulevard and Ammon Road, near his house.
"I learned about it through a mailer that they sent out, you know, to everybody, along with the along with a map showing where they're going to put, yeah, 32 townships,” said Picciano.
In a letter to homeowners in the area, the city notified residents about a zoning and planning meeting scheduled for Feb. 23, where the project will be discussed. But Picciano says he simply doesn’t want the development.
"Number one, they just found a little piece of land, and they're going to cram more people in there. Number two, how's this going to help us? It's going to remove trees, remove green space, force all those animals more into our backyards,” said Picciano.
We reached out to the city both on Monday and last week to better understand the benefits of this development and why they’re moving forward with it. We have not yet heard back.
"I would say, how is it going to help us? How is it going to help lower our property taxes, better our city services? Because in the eight years I’ve been here, nothing's gotten better,” said Picciano.
We also reached out to Sommers Development Group, the developer behind the project. We are still waiting for a response from them.
