Riverside Heights Civic Association & Crime Watch

There is an easy solution to fixing the blight along N.Blvd. Demand that the city allow for rezoning these residences to professional offices that maintain their residential character. If you notice, all of the existing offices along this corridor are attractive, well maintained and free of any code violations. This would vastly improve the appearance of this corridor that should be the welcoming point of the neighborhood. Many people refuse to buy these properties as houses due to traffic and other issues.Therefore, they will continue to be rentals and the owners will not invest any money to rehab them. Professionals, such as attorneys,doctors & CPA's have the financial backing to invest money in these homes to rehab them and continue to maintain them as professional offices.

easy solution

I agree with this individual about allowing proffesional offices along North Boulevard. I feel that they would create a nice buffer between N. Blvd. and the interior of the neighborhood. Plus, it would be great to have these needed professionals within walking distance from our homes.

I would agree....except

The solution you have proposed does seem quite simple and I would whole-heartedly agree except for the traffic and congestion these businesses would create on our neighborhood streets. I would be open to such a plan only if the properties faced Blvd. and were only given access on and off Blvd. For example, the properties at the corner of Ohio and Blvd., I would have no problem with commercial zoning if those properties faced Blvd. and had no access to Ohio Ave. We live in a beautiful, quite neighborhood. I would like to see it stay that way.

reply

Good point. I feel that a good remedy for this would be to install a landscape buffer to prevent traffic from entering off of Ohio. Most of the properties along N.Blvd.,including these, have the cut-outs on N. Blvd. and not off of the side streets, which allows entrance from N. Blvd as you proposed.