A Cincinnati-based company’s desire to provide high-speed internet access in Richmond received a setback May 14.
The Richmond Board of Zoning Appeals denied by a 3-1 vote Altafiber’s variance of use request to locate its central office building at 404 S. 12th St. A utility building is not a permitted use for the urban residential zoning. After the meeting, Altafiber representatives were indicating the company would continue efforts to locate a building site.
During its presentation, Altafiber, which was formerly Cincinnati Bell, showed a service area with fiber routes running through central Richmond. Joe Lockett, the director of real estate and facilities, said for “ease of our deployment and to reduce cost” Altafiber wanted to locate its office centrally, as well. The vacant South 12th lot was the best location found during about six months of searching “high and low,” Lockett said.
Altafiber is expanding outside Cincinnati. Lockett’s presentation included a photograph of the building the company installed in Xenia, Ohio.
The prefabricated building is planned to be 36 feet by 12 feet. The site would also include a generator with a diesel fuel tank so internet and voice service would continue during a power outage.
Board members questioned Lockett about the structure fitting into the residential neighborhood and the presence of the generator and diesel tank. Noise, vibration and smell from the generator concerned members. They asked about locating the generator inside the building and the use of natural gas rather than a diesel tank.
Lockett said the generator could be inside the building, but Altafiber preferred not using natural gas because it did not want to rely on another utility provider. Lockett also said the company was open to beautifying the site.
Jeff Cook, chair of the BZA, said he saw no hardship to support granting the variance and the request was based on Altafiber’s economics and profitability.
Dustin Purvis, the city’s planning director, read the staff report that recommended the board deny the petition. The report indicated that the disproportionately small building and the generator and diesel tank, which have safety concerns, would be harmful for neighbors and their property values. It also noted that 404 S. 12th St. is a buildable lot better suited to helping provide additional housing in the neighborhood.
Kelley Cruse-Nicholson supported granting the variance, while Cook, Nathan Sheets and Rob Tidrow voted against it. Altafiber withdrew two petitions requesting variances of development standards — one to permit the diesel tank and one to reduce the minimum structure size — prior to BZA votes because they were moot after the variance of use was denied.
After the Altafiber decision, the board did unanimously approve a petition to permit the 6-foot privacy fence constructed at 844 W. Main St. The fence exceeds the 4-foot maximum height for side yards, but homeowners Mark and Tammy Coyner were not aware of that standard when building the fence.
The Coyners said the fence was necessary to prevent people from cutting through their property to the alley behind their home, to stop theft from their property and to keep animals from entering their property.
A version of this article appeared in the May 21 2025 print edition of the Western Wayne News.