Minutes of the Meeting of the Rootstown Township Zoning Commission
January 19, 2009

The Rootstown Township Zoning Commission held a public hearing on Monday, January 19, 2009, at 7:00 p.m. at the Rootstown Town Hall.

Present:
Paul Galido
Rob Swauger
Helen Vari
Ann Marie Mullenix
Karen Henry, alternate

Absent:
Richard Petro

Also present:
Jim Mahood, Zoning Inspector
Judy Adamson, secretary

Secretary, Judy Adamson, called the meeting to order. Everyone stood for the Pledge of Allegiance.

For the first order of business the secretary asked for nominations for the Zoning Commission Chairperson for 2009.

Paul Galido nominated Ann Marie Mullenix for Chairperson. She accepted the nomination. Helen Vari seconded the nomination. VOTING was as follows: Swauger, YES; Vari, YES; Henry, YES; Galido, YES; and Mullenix, YES.

Next, the new Chairperson Ann Marie Mullenix asked for nominations for vice-chairperson. Helen Vari nominated Rob Swauger as Vice-Chairperson. Mr. Swauger accepted the nomination. Paul Galido seconded the motion. VOTING was as follows: Henry, YES; Vari, YES; Galido, YES; Swauger, YES; and Mullenix, YES.

Trustee Dave Armentrout was present and given the floor. He first congratulated the newly appointed officers. Then he thanked the zoning commission for their service to the township in honor of Martin Luther King whose legacy was for service and everyone having a chance to serve or be whatever they want to be in this country.

Mr. Armentrout gave an overview of the way the zoning commission operates and reminded the group about following Roberts Rules of Order, how it’s the chairperson’s duty to control meetings by limiting remarks after recognized, keeping talk limited to subjects at hand, respecting each other, making sure that motions are clear and by being prepared, etc. Each member should attend training meetings when possible and notify the chairperson or secretary if you must be absent, etc.

Mr. Armentrout asked the zoning commission members to come up with a list of goals to be worked on during this calendar year. This will be given to the trustees.

The trustees are in the process of interviewing candidate volunteers to serve as potential alternates for the zoning commission and zoning board of appeals.

With Mr. Armentrout being on the Portage County Regional Planning Commission Executive Committee and also the township representative to the PCRPC, he gave a brief update on some upcoming changes. The Director, Lynne Erickson, has retired and a new person will be taking over in February. Both county and state entities are starving for money and budgets may have to be adjusted mid-year to get by.

Existing issues being worked on by the Trustees:

March 9, 2009 at 6:30 is the tentative date for the “joint” meeting with the trustees, zoning board of appeals, and zoning commission. Attendance is expected.

The issue with the water company is still not completely resolved. The repair and replacement of hydrants is the big stumbling block because contracts in years past were not renewed correctly and a judge will order soon who has the legal responsibility of them. Fire protection service in the past was a responsibility of the township. But as more hydrants were added it was unclear due to liability insurance amounts, etc. The citizens are not always informed in a clear manner and this ongoing liability issue is very confusing to many. The Environmental Protection Agency mandates that water companies must have hydrants and once the issue is resolved the contracts can be renewed correctly.

This year two Trustee positions are up for election. Both Diane Dillon and Dave Armentrout are still deciding whether they will re-run.

Agenda items will begin with last month’s tabled topic of logging operations clean-up. Portage County Regional Planning Commission had responded by informing the zoning commission that the Ohio Revised Code does not appear to allow townships the authority to regulate the production of timber, citing agriculture practices as generally accepted. Discussion followed again.

Rob Swauger made a motion to table indefinitely any logging operations regulations until and unless other recommendations are received or until the Ohio Revised Code rules may change. Paul Galido seconded the motion and the VOTING was as follows: Galido, YES; Swauger, YES; Henry, YES; Vari, YES; and Mullenix, YES. Passed 5/0

Helen Vari made a motion to approve the December 15, 2008 Zoning Commission meeting minutes as presented. Karen Henry seconded the motion and all ayes were heard.

The next proposed amendment for landscaping deadlines was up for discussion. Last month the Portage County Regional Planning Commission disapproved adding those deadlines and made some other suggestions for changes. However, the assistant prosecuting attorney, Chris Meduri, returned a response and stated that he sees no legal authority that would prevent the township from enacting the yard requirement amendments dealing with deadlines for completion of rough grading and seeding.

After much more discussion on this topic, Rob Swauger made a motion to forward the proposed amendment regarding landscaping deadlines to the trustees for their approval. This includes rough grading to be completed within 90 days of final inspection and/or occupancy and seeding completed within 150 days in Section 310.05 and Section 430.06. Karen Henry seconded the motion and VOTING was as follows: Henry, YES; Swauger, YES; Vari, YES; Galido, YES; and Mullenix, YES. – passed 5/0

Zoning Inspector, Jim Mahood, reminded the group to review the Comprehensive Land Use Plan Addendum and come up with some goals to be accomplished during 2009.

Due to the short timeline, bad weather conditions closing several businesses, and the federal MLK holiday, the proposed amendment for digital signs was not received from Regional Planning and will be held over until such time their recommendations can be received.

The next regularly scheduled Zoning Commission will be February 16, 2009.

Helen Vari made a motion to adjourn. Karen Henry seconded the motion and all ayes were heard.

__________________________________
Ann Marie Mullenix, Chairperson
Rootstown Township Zoning Commission

Judy Adamson, secretary