Monday, March 18, 2013
Walmart has submitted new site plans for its proposed relocation to Rothrock Road.
Revamped site plans for a new Walmart Supercenter and Sam's Club on Rothrock Road were submitted to the Copley Zoning Department earlier this month, the West Side Leader reports. At the Copley Board of Trustees March 6 meeting, planning director Matt Springer said the new plans for the proposed development were submitted to his office for review. Walmart's plan is to relocate from Fairlawn's Rosemont Commons to Copley. "Development of a 40-acre commercially zoned parcel on Rothrock Road has spurred controversy and spawned numerous lawsuits, including a yet unresolved dispute over closing Rothrock Road to through traffic," according to the West Side Leader. Summit County Court of Common Pleas Judge Alison McCarty has not yet ruled on …
Wednesday, February 6, 2013
Fairlawn City Council passes new law aimed at short-cutting motorists
Fairlawn City Council gave police the go-ahead Monday to start citing drivers who go around or through the gates at Rosemont Boulevard. Council added a section to the city's traffic code that specifically addresses motorists who go through a gated road or slip around the barriers. "We've never blocked off streets in the past, so we didn't have any tools for the police to enforce it," Council President Russ Sharnsky said. For now, the new law will apply to the gates on Rosemont, but could eventually also be used to enforce barriers at Rothrock Road, if the judge rules in Fairlawn's favor in an ongoing court battle. Mayor William Roth has said people have already tried to drive around the concrete barricades and gates at Rosemont Boulevard…
Saturday, January 19, 2013
If the judge decides in favor of Fairlawn to close Rothrock Road, drivers will be cited for driving around that barrier too.
Tuesday, January 15, 2013
If the judge decides in Fairlawn's favor, police will fine drivers who go around Rothrock Road barriers as well.
Fairlawn City Council is looking to approve legislation that will allow police officers to fine drivers who go around or through the gates at Rosemont Boulevard. City Law Director Ed Riegler said police Chief Kenneth Walsh wants to add a new section to the traffic code that will allow officers to enforce the gates and, if the judge rules in Fairlawn's favor, the barriers at Rothrock Road. "It will say that a motorist cannot drive within 25 feet of the barricades," Riegler said. "We can get the code into place now, but we cannot enforce it on Rothrock Road until the judge makes a decision." Mayor William Roth said people have already tried to drive around the concrete barricades and gates at Rosemont Boulevard. "People try to drive around …
Monday, December 31, 2012
In the next few days we'll look at three important news topics for Fairlawn and Bath Township in 2012. Here's the second installment.
There's a lot happening in Fairlawn and Bath at any one time, but there are three topics that people buzzed about most this year: panhandling, Rothrock Road and crime. In this three-part series, we'll break down these three topics. Next up is the infamous Rothrock Road trial that took place this summer. Check back for the third part of our series on Tuesday. Rothrock Road Before we dive into this recap, let me start by saying that Summit County Common Pleas Judge Allison McCarty still has not made a decision in this trial. On June 1, Copley Township and Fairlawn went to court in the battle over the closure of Rothrock Road. The conflict began in 2011 when Walmart announced it wanted to move into Copley Township. Mayor William Roth made the…
Wednesday, October 17, 2012
The gates are in the lifted position, and are not yet functional.
The emergency access gates at Rosemont Boulevard are now fully installed, but not yet functional, said Fairlawn Deputy Service Director Ernie Staten. The gate's purpose is to prevent through traffic from using Rosemont Boulevard as an easy access to a future Walmart/Sam's Club development on Rothrock Road. Read more about how the gates work here, and check back with Fairlawn-Bath Patch in the coming weeks to find out when Staten plans to activate the gates.
Saturday, October 6, 2012
The Akron Beacon Journal reports the land was sold to Walmart in September and now someone is suing Copley over it.
It looks like plans to build a proposed Walmart and Sam's Club on Rothrock Road in Copley Township are moving forward. The Akron Beacon Journal reports that on Sept. 20, Larry Levey, of LRC Development Co., sold the property to Walmart for $480,000. As a result of the sale, the owner of Fairway Park Apartments is suing Copley Township. Read more from the Beacon here.
Thursday, September 13, 2012
Fairlawn is installing the gate to stop through traffic from using the neighborhood to get to future Walmart development on Rothrock Road.
In a couple weeks, emergency vehicles and buses will use a microphone system to get into the back end of Rosemont Commons from Rosemont Boulevard. Fairlawn officials are installing a lift gate at the intersection of Rothrock Road and Rosemont Boulevard to stop traffic from using the neighborhood as a through-way when Walmart builds on Rothrock Road. The gate will lift when emergency officials or school bus drivers "click the microphone" on their radios. It uses a certain frequency and opens in less than 7 seconds, said Fairlawn Deputy Service Director Ernie Staten. The gate has several fail-safes, as well. The gate is counter-balanced and can be easily lifted in case of a total power failure, which is unlikely, Staten said. When power to …
Wednesday, July 18, 2012
Decision not likely this week, lawyer says.
When it comes to the Copley vs. Fairlawn suit over the closing of Rothrock Road, no news is news: No decision has come yet regarding the suit closing Rothrock to public traffic in response to Walmart's plans to move about a mile down the road into Copley Township. Copley Township attorney Irv Sugerman said he doesn't expect a decision to be made this week. We'll keep you posted.
Sunday, July 15, 2012
We know it's up to a judge, but we want to know what you think. Vote in our poll and tell us why in the comments.
Wilson Miller
1:53 pm on Wednesday, January 16, 2013
As someone that only visits your area once a year, I find it amazing that first of all, the judge in this case has still not rendered a verdict. I know the Ohio elections are over and I do not know if this judge was reelected or not. I have read where Walmart has completed the purchase of the land on Rothrock and I will be interested to see if anything has happened when we are up there this … more ›