Residents of the Akron neighborhood that will be home to a new waste transfer station will have a chance to weigh in this week on a city proposal that could lead to more investment in their area.
Akron City Council will hold a public hearing today at 5 p.m. for the Archwood Redevelopment Plan, a bare-bones framework that, if approved, will help prepare the city to increase infrastructure spending in part of East Akron.
The spending, though, could be years away.
The plan targets the area around where WM plans to build a waste transfer station at 1400 E. Archwood Ave. The station was approved by Akron City Council in October of 2024; a settlement (see document below) was reached last month after several businesses and residents sued to stop the construction.
The Archwood Redevelopment Plan will be discussed at a public hearing at 5 p.m. Monday, Jan. 12 in Akron City Council chambers, 166 S. High St., 3rd floor. Watch the livestream here.
As plans for the proposed waste transfer station move forward, Akron officials are trying to learn from decades of issues that stemmed from the existing waste transfer facility, at 389 Fountain St. in Middlebury. The current facility, which is used to receive, store, process and move waste material in urban settings, is close to residents’ homes and was often a source of frustration for neighbors.
To that end, city officials are considering diverting tax money that comes from increased property values after the new transfer station is built on now-vacant land, essentially using the increased tax money the project brings in once it’s done, to help fund improvements laid out in the proposed redevelopment plan.
What those specific improvements will be has not yet been determined, city officials said Friday. But they are talking to members of organizations who live or work near both the Archwood and Fountain Street facilities to get their feedback about what should be done.
Using increased tax dollars to invest in redevelopment
For now, the creation of a redevelopment plan is one of the steps the city must take to position itself to use tax increment financing — the diversion of some tax money once the facility is built — to bring more investment to public infrastructure in the surrounding area. While some TIFs, as tax increment financing is known, are used to incentivize companies to build projects, that is not the case with this proposal.
Instead, after the transfer station is built, the city hopes to give itself the flexibility to invest in improvements that could include roads, water and sewer, public parks or other infrastructure, said Stephanie Marsh, a spokesperson for the city.
City Council has already approved another step, allowing Akron to appear in the chain of title to the WM-owned property the station will be built on. The land will be transferred to the city, then transferred back to WM, without the city paying to purchase the property.
But the city wouldn’t apply for the TIF until the year after the construction is completed, said Sean Vollman, Akron’s deputy economic development director, and it could be two or more years after that until the state approves the TIF and forwards money to the city. These steps are just the precursor to the plan.
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“We’ve got to get it in place before they start building,” Vollman said. “We need to get the redevelopment plan in place before they start construction.”
The 25-page plan defines the 176-acre area as bounded by Joy Park and East Archwood Avenue to the north, Joy Park and Kelly Avenue to the west, Landon Street and a railroad right-of-way to the east and Triplett Boulevard to the south. It says WM’s investment in the area is expected to be $16 million.
The plan’s goal, it says, is to promote redevelopment consistent with the commercial and industrial nature of the area and the creation of employment opportunities.
“We are setting up options so down the road we have options,” said Casey Shevlin, the director of sustainability and resiliency for the city.
Conversation ‘the beginning of doing better’
Options for what, exactly? Shevlin said she’s been in touch with local residents near both the planned Archwood Avenue site and the existing Fountain Street facility to understand their priorities — what the issues are at the current transfer station and what they might want to see at the new one.
Those priorities include accountability measures for WM, operational controls, solutions for litter and dumping and opportunities for both jobs and youth in the area, Shevlin said.
“We’re gathering information ahead of time to advocate for what the community wants,” she said. “We don’t want to miss the window.”
Her work engaging the community and Vollman’s work on the TIF plan are running on parallel tracks, Shevlin said.
A spokesperson for WM said in an email that she couldn’t comment on business or legal discussions regarding the plans.
As a member of Families Against City Transfer Stations, Carolyn Behrman said she’s relieved to see details that had been discussed with the city put into writing with the plan. Behrman called the creation of a redevelopment plan “an incredibly good development” considering issues residents near Fountain Street complained about for decades.
Most importantly, she said, ongoing engagement with the community should be a focus. After all, it’s impossible to know what issues will come up for the residents and businesses near the Archwood facility.
“This conversation is the beginning of doing better,” Behrman said. “I’m a trust-and-verify type. It’s really about vigilance and communication.”
She added that FACTS members are remaining engaged because they want to see improvements to their area after the Fountain Street facility is closed, but also because they want to share lessons from their experiences with new people who might be affected.
Hoping for more community benefits
Some of those new people are represented by Marc Tibbs with Akron Community Action Network. Tibbs is also the pastor at Centenary United Methodist Church in Sherbondy Hill.
The plan, he said, seems to see the area as a development zone — making it easier for both WM and the city. Tibbs said residents aren’t opposed to that, but they want to see tools that will benefit more than just WM.
To that end, he said, he’d like to see a community benefits agreement with the company that adds environmental protections and monitoring and benefits like property value protection for residents who live near the new Archwood facility.
Such proposals, in a neighborhood that has long been a dumping ground, “ought to be par for the course,” Tibbs said.
The Dec. 5 legal settlement, with nearly a dozen neighboring businesses, people and Zion Temple Baptist Church, ensures WM won’t turn the Archwood site into a trash hauling business. It limits the size of the facility and hours of operation, calls for trees to be planted in a buffer, a fence to be erected and requires an odor suppression system.
It also gives J.W. Didado, a nearby business, the option to purchase the buffer area at a discount and requires WM to purchase the property of a nearby resident for $200,000. And it lays out a $40,000 annual fee WM will pay for the duration of the waste transfer station’s operation, with the funds going toward improving the Joy Park neighborhood and encouraging families to live in, and businesses to invest in, the area.
Tibbs’ group, Akron CAN, was not party to the settlement, nor was FACTS. But Behrman said she hopes affected residents will continue to make their demands clear.
‘This is a marathon’
Shevlin, with the city, said she continues to gather information so she and others can advocate for what the community wants. The city is not yet at the point where it is discussing any community benefits agreements, Marsh said.
While some development agreements have had tradeoffs built into the agreements themselves, like a White Pond project that required a certain amount of money to be given to the city tree fund, Vollman said the city has not historically had community benefits documents.
The closure of the Fountain Street facility, he said, will be a “huge community benefit.”
But Tibbs is hoping for more than that.
The city is aware of the issues residents near Fountain Street faced, Marsh said, and wants to make sure they do right it this time. So far, Shevlin said, she’s hearing cautious optimism from residents who have historically been distrustful.
Shevlin said she doesn’t want to get too far ahead of the process, but she hopes the city’s efforts will lead to good results for residents.
“This isn’t something that’s going away tomorrow,” she said. “This is a marathon.”