CINCINNATI — Members of the city planning commission voted Friday in favor of allowing Hilltop, a concrete company, to relocate their operations from a coveted 17-acre parcel of land near Paycor Stadium to a new facility in Riverside.
Now, the issue goes to Cincinnati's city council for a vote.
Hamilton County purchased the 17 acres west of Paycor Stadium from Hilltop in 2019, but the concrete company has struggled to fully relocate its operations to a new location.
"We also believe very much in supporting the development that's taking place on the central riverfront. We've been down there since 1967 and we've seen in develop over the years and we're very supportive of that," Kevin Sheehan, the President of Hilltop said.
For the last four years, Hilltop officials and residents in the area have negotiated over concerns surrounding concrete dust control, visual impact of the site on homeowners and residents and a troubling influx of noisy truck traffic along River Road and in the surrounding areas.
During Friday's public discussion period of the commission meeting, residents of Riverside and neighboring communities voiced continued concerns about Hilltop's relocation to their neighborhoods.
The concrete dust issues and many of the visual impact issues have been worked on over the years, Gregory Lang, president of Riverside Civic and Social Club, told commission members — but more could still be done. Proposals for landscaping buffers and traffic changes in the area are still concerns among the Riverside and Sedamsville communities, Lang said.
Commission chair Byron Stallworth asked Lang whether his community had taken a vote; Lang said they had voted against Hilltop's relocation in their region of the city, though not unanimously. Lang said continued concerns about Hilltop's impact on traffic and the environment in the area — specifically with regards to dust and fly ash the company still brings.
Kim Gilday-Weber, treasurer of the Riverside Civic and Welfare Club, echoed similar concerns during public comment. She explained that, in a meeting between Riverside residents and Hilltop just days ago, the concrete company estimated its relocation to the area would mean 300 more trucks in the area per day.
She and other community members expressed concern about traffic, since there are already problems.
"Especially tractor trailers taking a right, their turn radius to go right off of Southside requires them to go into the turn lane of trucks waiting to take a left," Assistant City Manager Billy Weber said. "That can cause blockages on River."
The city's current proposed solution to this is moving back the line to the turn lane on River Road, which should give vehicles turning from Southside more room, but Gilday-Weber said she's skeptical that alone will solve the issue.
After the commission voted unanimously to pass the issue on to city council, Weber said he plans to bring the transportation and traffic issues voiced by community members to the city Department of Transportation & Engineering for discussion on how city officials can address concerns.
"We will continue to be engaged with the community, that's a very important part of what we believe are the core values of the company," Sheehan said.
There was no announced date for when the issue will go to Cincinnati city council members for a vote.
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