The tank isn’t yet empty in the debate over a possible new gas station on Madison Avenue and West Boulevard.
A developer has proposed building a Shell station and retail plaza on the site of a vacant CVS steps from Cudell Park. A spirited group of opponents has made itself heard during City Council meetings and outside the former CVS itself.
The Board of Zoning Appeals denied a necessary variance last year. The property owner, Shaker Madison LLC, is still in court trying to overturn that decision.
That brings us to the latest news. In a court filing this month, Shaker Madison called the zoning board’s decision “arbitrary, capricious and unreasonable.” The company argued that a gas station plaza is the only viable use for the site, which has been vacant for years.
“Zoning ordinances are intended to promote public welfare—not perpetuate blight,” the company’s attorney, Joseph F. Russo, wrote in the filing.
Russo also criticized the process. He wrote that the board gave more attention to opponents than proponents and blindsided the company with an opposition letter from the city planning director.
Plus, one board member, Nina Holzer, recused herself from the zoning vote because she had just been elected to the board of Northwest Neighborhoods. The nonprofit submitted a letter of opposition to the project. Another zoning board member was absent.
Russo argued the company should have been given the chance to request a postponement because only three of five board members were available to vote.
Cleveland’s Law Department, which represents the zoning board, hasn’t yet filed its response. The case is before Judge Kevin Kelley, the former City Council president and 2021 mayoral candidate. (Even in his new job, he can’t escape City Hall drama.)
At this week’s City Council meeting, public commenter Diab Dar-Issa urged council to table zoning legislation that would help the gas station project. Instead, he argued for a proposal by Mayor Justin Bibb’s administration to buy the land for a new fire station.
“This false dichotomy of a gas station versus abandoned building needs to stop,” Dar-Issa said.
