Minutes of the Meeting of the Rootstown Township Zoning Commission
October 16, 2006The Rootstown Township Zoning Commission held a public hearing on October 16, 2006, at 7:00 p.m. at the Rootstown Town Hall.
Present:
Bob Baumgardner
David Benedict
Dorothy Filing
Paul Galido
Robert SwaugerAbsent:
William BillockAlso present:
Van-Note Black, Assistant Zoning Inspector
Judy Adamson, secretaryChair, Dorothy Filing, called the meeting to order. Everyone stood to recite the Pledge of Allegiance.
Bob Baumgardner made a motion to accept the September 18, 2006 Zoning Commission minutes as presented. Paul Galido seconded the motion and all ayes were heard.
Mrs. Filing thanked Bob Baumgardner for filling in as Chair while she was absent due to breaking her foot and the extended healing process.
Jim Mahood was absent and Assistant Zoning Inspector Van Black had no formal report to present. He did mention to the Zoning Commission that he feels the zoning resolution needs to have something included which requires yards to be completed within one year of building.
The agenda began with the public hearing of the proposed zoning change of two properties as advertised in the legal notice. Mr. & Mrs. Conwell approached the Zoning Commission a few months ago asking to have their property (Parcel No. 32-019-00-00-002.000) re-zoned to C-2 from G-I. After much discussion and thought, the Zoning Commission felt it would be even better to add the F.J. Navarrete property (Parcel #32-030-00-00-002.013/32-019-00-00-001) as well. The Conwell property fronts S.R. 44/Prospect Street and the Navarrete property fronts Sandy Lake Road and both are currently zoned G-I. The Zoning Commission proposed the change due to the request of the Conwells, to add more commercial property for the township making it more desirable to businesses, and also because the Comprehensive Land Use Plan Addendum lists this area should be considered for commercial zoning.
Regional Planning Commission submitted input and recommendations along with their reasons for disapproving the proposed change. They suggested a Planned Commercial Overlay District should be utilized in that area and the minimum acreage requirement could be changed to five acres. The Prosecuting Attorney’s office approved the amendment as to legal form and stated the Zoning Commission has the legal authority to recommend this change to the trustees.
Mrs. Jolan Cutright, owner of the flower shop at 4948 S. Prospect Street was in the audience and she does not oppose a change on Prospect Street, but opposes a change on Sandy Lake Road where she resides. She feels businesses are better on S.R. 44 and should not be on the rural roads. However, after explaining the differences between General-Industrial and Commercial zoning districts and what types of businesses, retail establishments, and/or factories could be built, etc. she felt better about it being commercial rather than industrial, since factories near the residences on Sandy Lake Road were her main concern.
No other neighboring property owners were present. Mr. F.L. Navarrete had called the secretary prior to the meeting to give his feelings of the re-zoning. He had no problems with it being changed and also would be fine if it is left as General-Industrial.
Much discussion followed among the zoning commission members. They reviewed Regional Planning’s report and considered the amount of commercial property that is available in the township. It was felt more commercial zoning districts should be available and that would follow the Comprehensive Land Use Plan Addendum. General-Industrial is available for the Industrial Park already.
Paul Galido made a motion to re-zone to C-2 the Conwell and Navarrete properties as follows: The proposed rezoning would begin at the M.D. or L. Conwell parcel (32-019-00-00-002.000) containing 32.8 acres with 594 feet frontage on Prospect Street bordering the BJ/DJ Davis & Rootstown Industrial Park on the north - going west until it meets the western edge of the F.J. Navarrete property containing 28.930 acres (32-030-00-00-013.000), then south 1417.20 feet south (bordering AA/DJ Ludwig property) until it meets Sandy Lake Road and then east including an additional Navarrete property containing 8.646 acres (32-019-00-00-001) to where it meets the current C-2 district at another Navarrete property containing 4.74 acres (parcel 32-019-00-00-001.004). These parcel numbers and measurements are taken from Portage County Tax Maps. Bob Baumgardner seconded the motion and the vote as follows: Rob Swauger, YES; David Benedict, YES; Bob Baumgardner, YES; Galido, YES; and Filing, YES; Billock, ABSENT. Passed 5/0
The secretary will forward the proposed amendment to the trustees for a public hearing for final approval or denial.
An informal discussion began on Section 620.09 - General Development Plan for PRD which requires approval by the zoning commission prior to county approval. This wording may be in conflict with the wording for the general subdivision approval. The Zoning Commission will check further into the way these sections could be mis-interpreted or confusing.
The Planned Residential Development regulations were next to be reviewed again.
The margin notes of Regional Planning’s Bob Harris were reviewed because some members were absent when they were presented, so the general consensus was for everyone to be on the same wave length at interpreting his suggestions. As usual the density factor was a big concern. Much discussion followed regarding the differences between cluster homes, stand-alone condos, townhouses, cluster detached single-family homes, multi-unit dwellings, row houses, etc. etc. etc. Spacing between buildings was a concern also, as well as minimum standards regarding setbacks. Many of the original proposed changes in setbacks were now questioned again. Also maximum density based on acreage was reviewed again.
Mrs. Filing had attended a zoning seminar earlier in the year and saw good examples of how she thinks the zoning commission would approve of cluster homes because they accentuated the landscape instead of deteriorating from it. It was reported in a study that this type of clustering appreciates the values faster and people really buy them faster than the standard cookie-cutter homes. Lynn Erickson spoke at this seminar in an easily understood fashion and perhaps Mrs. Filing will invite her to join the zoning commission in November to clarify some of their concerns on the major areas of density and setbacks, etc.
Because Mr. Baumgardner lives in a subdivision of condos, the group asked questions about land ownership and how his development homeowners association works. He technically owns 1/49th of the land of the development in Marsh Creek and pays taxes on that and the footprint of his dwelling. His unit is the dwelling and the land is ‘common’ ground and lawn maintenance, snow removal, road maintenance is provided by the association. Each dwelling owner has homeowner’s insurance to cover from stud-to-stud, plus the association has insurance on roofs and siding of each dwelling. This helped the group understand the way some homeowner associations work. Some others are different if they are not clustered and if dwellings have specific lots deeded to homeowners.
The next regularly scheduled meeting will be November 20, 2006.
Bob Baumgardner made a motion to adjourn. Paul Galido seconded the motion and all ayes were heard.
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Dorothy Filing, Chair
Rootstown Township Zoning CommissionJudy Adamson, Secretary