Village people

Bruce blog interviews local builder Charles Chudakoff about his impending Ohio Supreme Court case versus the Village of Moreland Hills.

By Marc Lefkowitz

Can you explain in your words what led to this fight between you and the Village of Moreland Hills?

The land became available and was brought to my attention by Mark Millstein. There are some unclear issues in Moreland Hills. [Millstein] showed me the zoning book which calls for 2-acre minimum except on Berkley, Ellendale, and Wilshire roads where properties range between 1/4 acre and 5 acres per lot. Percentage of land use there would permit for higher density. That’s when we figured we could move forward.

I got involved with (now former) city engineer for information on the property. The downfalls were mostly geotechnical and environmental, so we talked about what we could do to keep in harmony with the neighborhood. We did all the studies and exceeded regulations. I paid $1.2 million for the land, and was prepared to spend half a million dollars to run in sewer lines. It came down to the village building its case on, ‘We’re a two-acre community.’

Has any developer been granted a variance
on the village’s 2-acre minimum zoning?

Several years ago Moreland Hills was in a similar situation with Henry Myers & Associates. They settled out of court and built 17 units on just a little over 6 acres a mile up the road from us. The reason we took it to court is because, in their charter, Moreland Hills isn’t in a position to grant a variance. So, what will make someone invest in developed areas? In Moreland Hills, there are 50 building sites. If we can’t make what land’s left viable, we’ll keep sprawling further out.

Observers are saying your case threatens the very underpinnings of state enabling legislation that created zoning…

If the village prevails, then landowners in Ohio will be denied from ever asking a court to do something on their property. Ohio law says if a landowner comes with a proposed use that’s what should be scrutinized, not the zoning. I am not challenging Moreland Hills’ two-acre zoning; we’re only questioning their zoning for this particular piece of property because the purpose of zoning is to make what’s harmonious. Their zoning is from the 1950s, and it had nothing to do with environmental concerns. It was done to keep out the poor.

What do you say to your critics who charge that you’re a developer and by definition that means you’re just trying to maximize your profit here?

When I look at this project start to finish this is a $20 million project—this creates jobs and sells lots of supply. Is there more money to make building $700K homes versus building nine $3 million dollar homes? That’s a strong debate, but we have to make this land productive. Building 29 homes you could say, ‘he’s being greedy.’ I consider myself a hardworking guy. I’m trying to make a living at somewhere between 12 and 15 percent of cost. I don’t expect my homes to be the bells and whistles type. My wife used to build $2 million homes with all the special finishes. But, as the cost of a project goes up, my take goes down. We’re building what the market wants.

Did you offer the city something, an impact fee or higher tap-in fees in exchange for a higher density bonus?

The village will not even talk to us. When we first went in and did our presentation—those who witnessed it were concerned. We did the court-ordered mediation at the appeals court level. It was for one hour and the mayor came in a half-hour late. We said, ‘Obviously, this is a problem for village, can we discuss this?’

Mayor DeGross is a very persuasive man, but we have an attitude problem. He’s not willing to cooperate. My answer is, yes, I’ve been trying. Win or lose I don’t think it’s in the best interest for any of us. Lose and it will be a tough day for Ohio. But if I win it’s not good for the village. I’ve found out no one walks away from settlement table happy but a Supreme Court case is not necessarily better.