Protect the Cincinnati Nature Center

WHO AND WHY -  My name is Robb Wing and I'm a member of The Cincinnati Nature Center , a beautiful nature preserve east of downtown Cincinnati in Union Township, Clermont County, Ohio!  I am also a member of The Committee To Protect Avey's Way, the primary waterway running through The Cincinnati Nature Center.    I am raising money to help pay legal fees in a fight with Union Township against over-development of lands that may very negatively impact The Cincinnati Nature Center.

THE STORY -   (very condensed) More than twenty years ago, a local family farm just to the south of the Cincinnati Nature Center was purchased by a developer. This property sits among many single family homes and neighborhoods and drains directly onto The Cincinnati Nature Center property. The intention was to build apartments - a LOT of apartments. The township, county and even the Ohio Supreme Court said NO to multifamily zoning! 

In 2000, somehow, the developer got a federal judge to form a consent decree that allowed 575 SINGLE FAMILY homes, more than double what the Ohio Supreme Court allowed.  It was approved and signed by the developer. There is a contingency allowing for MINOR changes to the decree if agreed to by all parties.

For the past 18 years, the developer patiently waited to find a group of township trustees to change the decree to what he wanted. The current trustees approved a plan on October 25th, 2018 to allow 1445 residences, of which 76%, or 1101 units, are MULTIFAMILY and of that, 875 are APARTMENTS.  Of the remaining 344 residences, 113 are patio homes, leaving just 231 single family detached homes. Nobody considers this a MINOR change by any means.

(The Cincinnati Nature Center is the property in the upper right quadrant, Avey's Run is running across the right side in the wooded area)

After the approval of this plan, many Union Township residents started a petition drive to put this to a township ballot vote by law. We collected double the amount of signatures required, over 3800 registered voters, in less than two weeks. The petition was then submitted to the township (we're following the letter of the law), which promptly rejected it and never forwarded it to the Clermont County Board Of Elections as required by law.

In addition, the township trustees stated publicly that they will be using Eminent Domain to take private property to benefit the developer in creating an access road to the no outlet road that splits the property.

There have been NO STUDIES done in regard to environmental impact, traffic, schools, infrastructure, public services, etc. as required by law.

OUR PRIMARY CONCERN - We are very concerned about how the density of building will impact the watershed that is currently protected within the Cincinnati Nature Center property. This is a federally recognized wetland environment which is used by researchers and educators. CNC statement 

Secondarily, we are concerned that local politicians are ignoring the voices of a large number of their constituents.

WHAT WE'RE DOING - We have created The Committee to Protect Avey's Way to represent the Cincinnati Nature Center in the legal fight to get a vote on the ballot. This is done because the CNC is not a registered voter and a ballot initiative has to be from a registered voter. The members of the committee are all registered Union Township voters. There have been several lawsuits filed and hearings are just getting under way. Which also means the bills are starting to come in. It has been estimated that we will spend more than $25,000 to fight this. Our goal is to let the voters of Union Township instead of just the three township trustees decide if this is good for the township.

"Cincinnati Nature Center fully supports the efforts of The Committee to Protect Avey’s Way, and their fundraising efforts to cover legal fee expenses.

The two organizations are each incurring legal expenses for specific actions in fighting Union Township on the Miller Place development plans. Our organizations are working cooperatively toward the same goal." 

Bill Hopple, Executive Director, Cincinnati Nature Center

 Any unused funds will be donated to The Cincinnati Nature Center for educational outreach!

WHY - I love the Cincinnati Nature Center! It has been a part of my life for over 40 years, starting when I was a Boy Scout. I have watched it grow and have seen how it makes a difference in many people's lives. Please help us keep it protected! Thank you, thank you, thank you!

Please help us spread the word, you can share my link on your Facebook timeline!