CADIZ — The debate about whether to allow a new housing development in Cadiz ended Thursday, when Village Council voted unanimously to deny a zoning change that would allow construction of Meagan’s Point.

Council members Derek Sefsick, Albert Peters, Eric Miller, John Vermillion, Sal Deluca and Billy Hyde were initially quiet after Mayor John Migliore read the ordinance for the third and final time.

Solicitor Costa D. Mastros broke the silence to explain that if no motion was made, then the ordinance would be dead. Vermillion made a motion to approve in order to have the vote, and all council members backed up their silence with a “no” vote.

A boisterous crowd had filled the Cadiz EMS building to express their displeasure with the project, which was proposed for the corner of Ohio and North streets. The audience erupted with applause following the vote.

Prior to the vote, though, several members of the community spoke. Resident Diane Jones spoke the longest with some in the crowd acknowledging that she was speaking for the people. She began with the issue of notices, stressing that there had been none or that it was insufficient notice, prior to the first and second readings that took place earlier in the year. When Mastros told council members they were in good standing, the crowd reacted negatively and Jones continued pounding away about a lack of notice to the residents about what was going on.The public hearing had been tabled twice in April.

In an April 8 Times Leader article, the project was incorrectly labeled as part rehabilitation facility, which it would not have been. Executive Director of the Metropolitan Housing Authority Debra Yeater stressed that it was a housing project.

The issues of most concern were the lack of jobs in the community for residents of the development, transportation and the lack of activities for people in the village.

“No one wants this here in our town,” Jones told council, though she and the rest of the crowd were respectful in voicing their complaints. She pointed to the lack of transportation and colleges in town and said she was concerned about people wandering around the village, which drew applause.

Jones and others also noted that the sidewalks in the village are in poor condition, that there are no playgrounds for children and the basic infrastructure for people already living in the community is lacking.

Jones also accused Yeater of not hiring anyone from Harrison County and said there was no maintenance man listed for the project. Yeater disagreed and said the development did have a maintenance mechanic, which Jones said was not the same.

“Everybody deserves a second chance. They do, you know,” Jones said of the potential residents of the development. “But they deserve a second chance somewhere where they’re going to prosper” rather than in a place where they can’t get a job or get an education.

Jones also said she was told by realtors that her property value would go down “immensely” if the project became a reality.

Itv was suggested that instead of building a new housing project, the authority could invest in and expand the low-income housing community of Bingham Terrace. Project Designer Brad Breisch was present and told the crowd that the developers were only requesting a change in a zoning variance, from an R-1 (single-family) to an R-3 (multi-family) zone.

“This is in the very early stages of design,” Breisch said. “We’re just trying to take that next step forward to allow us to pursue to designing this more.”

He also clarified that if it were to be a rehabilitation facility, then it would have to be a commercial zone, which was not requested. Still, some in the crowd continued to raise the issue because of their suspicion that it was intended for drug rehabilitation.

Lisa Ward, executive director for the Mental Health and Recovery Board for Belmont, Harrison and Monroe Counties, spoke next to defend the project’s position.

“This is housing,” she said and clarified that $750,000 of the funding was coming from the Ohio Department of Mental Health and Addiction Services, but for a brick and mortar project, “no treatment.”

She and Yeater were later asked why they chose Harrison County for this project. Yeater tried to explain that someone in need of affordable housing could be “your neighbor,” but the crowd wasn’t buying it.

“How can you bring something in when you’re not taking care of what’s here?” one woman asked, drawing loud applause.

After more back and forth, the one-hour hearing finally came to an end with council’s vote.