Bortz offers newest motion to stop Queensgate Terminals

City Councilmember Chris Bortz has introduced a motion asking for the City to cease negotiations with Queensgate Terminals (Queensgate) and to investigate using the land for residences or for a public park.*

The City's negotiations with Queensgate are a requirement of the settlement of a court case involving 30 acres of land along the Ohio River in Lower Price Hill.

The owner of the land, Hilltop Basic Resources, claimed that the City's appropriation of land for the future rebuilding of the Waldvogel Viaduct would impede access to their property.

The court ruled that, in addition to purchasing the land for $5 million, the City had to negotiate a lease with Queensgate for its use.

Queensgate plans to use this land for a multi-modal shipping facility that will feed freight to a larger facility that they're developing near Jeffersonville, Ohio.

Bortz would like for all industrial uses of the property to be cleared away immediately and for the Department of Community Development and Planning to begin a study to determine the feasibility of residential or recreational uses.

Failure on the City's part to enter into a lease with Queensgate would mean that the City would have to find another way to fund the maintenance of a $5 million site that has no tenant.

They could also face legal damages of $1 million or more, plus legal fees. As part of his motion, Bortz would like to protect all neighborhood funds from any potential monetary penalties.

On March 7, Councilman John Cranley introduced a motion that any proposed lease should be rejected and that the property should be used as greenspace. Cranley's motion was signed by all 9 Council members. An ordinance regarding the lease later died in committee.

Bortz's motion has been passed to the City Manager's office for a report. There is no timetable for return.

Design work for the Waldvogel Viaduct is expected to be completed in 2009 with construction beginning in 2011.

Further reading, including maps and aerials:
BC: City against riverside intermodal terminal, faces legal penalties (6/15/07)

* The motion was also signed by Councilmember Chris Monzel.