Bats No Longer a Problem in Chrysler Redevelopment

For now, Twinsburg’s bat problem is in hibernation.

At Monday night’s planning commission meeting, one of the designers working on a project to move a new company onto the former Chrysler site told the city it has figured out a new plan.

Last week the U.S. Fish & Wildlife service sent a letter to developers asking them to because it could kill the , an endangered species that may be in the area.

Matt Weber from GBC Design in Fairlawn, told the commission they decided to move the project. The new building site will be on the same parcel of land but it will be moved north to avoid clearing the trees in the area.

“There’s been some issues lately that are, frankly, driving me ‘batty,’” Weber said.

He told planning commission they moved the area slightly as to be aware of everyone’s interest. Moving the site north, just a matter of hundreds of feet, will alleviate any of the issues and allow the company to move forward.

Because of the delay, Planning Director Larry Finch said designers will probably go before the planning commission again in September, with a revised plan for preliminary and final approval. Finch said demolition could get started in a few weeks.

“They’re putting additional money into this project to accommodate this site here,” Mayor Katherine Procop said.

Procop said she was discouraged by the initial reaction from the U.S. Fish and Wildlife service for trying to halt the construction until November, which would have been a major hurdle for the project.

“Bats eat mosquitoes,” Procop said. “I’ll tell you what, there are more mosquitoes in Ohio than there are jobs.”