Minutes of the Meeting of the Rootstown Township Zoning Commission
December 17, 2007

The Rootstown Township Zoning Commission held a public hearing on December 17, 2007, at 7:00 p.m. at the Rootstown Town Hall.

Present:
Bob Baumgardner
Paul Galido
Richard Petro
Robert Swauger
Helen Vari

Absent:
David Ries

Also present:
Jim Mahood, Zoning Inspector
Van-Note Black, Assistant Zoning Inspector
Judy Adamson, secretary

Chair, Bob Baumgardner, called the meeting to order. Everyone stood to recite the Pledge of Allegiance.

Helen Vari made a motion to approve the November 19, 2007 Zoning Commission minutes as presented. Paul Galido seconded the motion and all ayes were heard.

Zoning Inspector Jim Mahood reported that things are still very slow in the area of township zoning issues.

The agenda for the evening involved a proposed amendment to add regulations to the Zoning Resolution for ‘outdoor furnaces’. Portage County Regional Planning Commission was contacted for their recommendations and input to the proposed wording and text for these regulations and responded with a few minor modifications. Assistant Prosecuting Attorney, Chris Meduri, was also asked for a legal opinion on whether the regulations would meet the expected legaleze as required; however, his response was not received prior to the meeting.

The group decided to proceed with the discussion of the proposed amendment, going through each point individually to determine whether or not to adopt it as it was submitted or to accept the modifications presented by Regional Planning. The first item was the actual definition for OUTDOOR FURNACE. The Portage County Regional Planning Commission recommended a slight change in the wording and after a lengthy review the zoning commission members agreed to approve Regional Planning’s wording since it would be clearly understood. Therefore, it would become OUTDOOR FURNACE: A unit located outside of a building or structure, used to produce heat and/or hot water for the building or structure.

Next, the schedule of permitted uses chart would show that outdoor furnaces would be conditionally permitted in Open Space, R-1, and R-2 districts. Regional Planning agreed with placing outdoor furnace as #6 in the Schedule of Permitted Uses (310.03) and showing a “C” (meaning conditionally permitted) in the Open Space, R-1, and R-2 columns.

While continuing to add regulations for outdoor furnaces in the Accessory Use Regulations, it would need to be added at the end of the current listings as letter “O”, per the zoning inspector’s suggestion. This is what was submitted to Regional Planning; however their recommendation was to put it under 390.06 Supplemental Regulations for specific uses. After much deliberation and thought, the group still feels it should be listed in 310.09 as an additional letter, even though the zoning inspector always checks the supplemental regulations when a person needs a permit, which includes accessory use or specific uses. If the general public would elect to interpret the zoning resolution and misunderstand where this type of thing is located, and not realize the cross referencing of sections, it could be a cause for misinterpretation or confusion. The group agrees with Mr. Mahood and feels it should be put in 310.09.

Next, in Schedule 390.04 showing the minimum lot and yard requirements for conditional uses, a number would need to be added for outdoor furnaces and listing the requirements and setbacks as per the outlined list in the proposed regulations. Portage County Regional Planning Commission suggested the heading of “minimum lot requirements” in this schedule be revised to “minimum lot specifications” and “building setback” be changed to “setback specifications” and also add the word “specifications” to the parking setback column. The actual numbers to be put into the columns for outdoor furnace were agreed upon by Regional Planning.

In the proposed outlined outdoor furnace regulations the zoning commission stated the chimney/smokestack height shall be 12’ minimum, measured from the natural grade of the ground and Regional Planning suggested the word FINISHED be used instead of natural. This would then change the definition of GRADE, FINISHED to: the average level of the finished surface of ground adjacent to buildings and structures after final grading and normal settlement. After more discussion, the group decided to change their final wording choice to “natural and/or finished grade”.

The Regional Planning Commission included a few other considerations to be added regarding fencing of the units, etc.; however, the zoning commission reviewed those individually and feel they are not needed.

Paul Galido made a motion to continue the proposed amendment for outdoor furnace regulations until next month, since the prosecuting attorney’s input was not received in time for this meeting and therefore could not be considered in their final decisions. Rich Petro seconded the motion and all ayes were heard.

The Planned Residential Development ongoing review would be next on the agenda; however, with a new year approaching and new alternate members starting in January, a decision was made to table this item until the newly appointed members have a chance to join in the process.

The next regularly scheduled meeting will be January 21, 2008. Election of officers will take place. Also, the group will begin to work on coming up with possible changes to the restaurant definition or adding regulations to include outdoor/patio dining.

Rob Swauger made a motion to adjourn. Paul Galido seconded the motion and all ayes were heard.

_____________________________
Bob Baumgardner, Zoning Commission Chair

Judy Adamson, secretary