By Patricia A. Scheyer
NKyTribune reporter
Erlanger Mayor Jessica Fette spoke to the attendees at the last Kenton County Mayors’ meeting in Taylor Mill this month, saying she wanted them to be aware that the state has changed a long standing policy on allowing curb cuts for businesses on Dixie Highway.
“When Colonial Cottage, on Dixie Highway, sold the property to another company, there were plans to put a Jimmy John’s on the property,” said Fette. “When they submitted the site plan to PDS, that’s when we realized there was a problem.”
Apparently the plans revolved around making the new business a drive through, and the owners assumed they would take over the property’s two curb cuts onto Dixie Highway.
However, two studies were performed by OKI (Ohio, Kentucky, Indiana), one in 2005 called the Dixie Highway Corridor Study, and one in 2006 called the Dixie Fix study.
The Dixie Corridor Study presented suggestions for improving traffic flow and safety where a lane addition is not an option, and for improving access management. The Dixie Fix study also focused on traffic congestion problems. It also addressed safety and access management to businesses. These were done to improve traffic on Dixie Highway, and in doing that, finding out how to deal with access management. Whenever businesses majorly change their design now, the state study requires PDS to take a look at the curb cuts and determine if they help or hinder traffic flow and safety.
Erlanger city Administrator Peter Glenn said he is fairly new to his position, and he wasn’t immediately aware of the studies which govern the curb cuts. He acknowledged that his predecessors might have had more knowledge of the studies. Nevertheless, he related that the company was working with PDS when they were informed that the proposed Jimmy Johns would only have one curb cut, and it would be a right in, right out curb cut, instead of the two curb cuts already there which are all access.
Included in their plans was a retaining wall in the rear of the restaurant, making it more difficult to design an access in the rear.
“Most of the businesses up and down Dixie Highway have retaining walls,” said Glenn. “But the plans they had were for a drive-through that would occur on a first floor level, and with that information and the retaining wall in the back, it looked like they were going to have to redesign their plans. They could technically have an entrance from the back, because the state doesn’t regulate that — it depends on the surrounding businesses agreeing.”
Colonial Cottage was a very popular restaurant in the area, opening its doors in 1933, and through the years, people from all over Northern Kentucky made the restaurant a destination for lunch or dinner, or family get-togethers for important dates. They served items like liver and onions, and more old fashioned favorites, and their customers appreciated the diversity on the menu.
A fire in the kitchen of the restaurant in May of 2021 put a sudden end to the cherished restaurant. People hoped that it would overcome the loss and rebuild, and the owners tried, but it turned out to be more of a problem than the owners could overcome, and they sold the property.
Now the problem is with the new owners of the property. The damage from the fire is extreme and has rendered the property unsafe. Homeless people have sought shelter inside the shell of a building.
“The building is not safe,” said Mayor Fette. “I have been in that building and it is compromised. There is a lot of fire damage.”
Glenn said they have had to tarp the roof, and make the building secure so that people can’t get in. He said they have put money into securing the building, and now they have filed for foreclosure because the company has not responded to them when they filed liens.
“We have tried to be lenient,” he explained. “We didn’t want to file foreclosure but they haven’t responded to anything we have sent them. The fines are accumulating. It will be up to council to take action. It’s not what we want to do.”
Mayor Fette agreed.
“We have to keep the community safe,” she said. “Until we hear from the company, and they decide what to do with the building, we have to keep it from being a danger to the community. However, at the mayors meeting I wanted the other cities to understand that curb cuts are being limited in some instances.”