PLANNING COMMISSION MEETING

MINUTES OF MEETING DECEMBER 3, 2007

 

CALL TO ORDER:

 

Chairman called the meeting to order at 7:00 p.m.

 

PLANNING COMMISSION MEMBERS PRESENT:

 

Don Bergwall, Ken Kraus, Pat Soller, Pete Griffin, John Cunningham, Alan Seymour, Roger Yoder

 

OTHERS PRESENT:

 

Catherine Cunningham, Timothy Hockworth, Desiree Rasmussin, Jerry Turner, Jim Schiely, Dennis Schulze, Steve Honeycutt, Kelly Dearwester, Sharon Dearwester, Sam Day, Chuck Day, Dave Cook, James Kennan, Patty Harmon, Bob Muth, Erika Gibson, Jon and Lynda Fleisker, Ryan Horns, Joseph Whinnery, Melody Whinnery, Charlie Fraas, Eric Liehorntz, Remo Williams, Larry Zimmerman, Steve and Deb Greenwalt, Don Plank, Gary Schmidt, Jim Page, Dan Fitzgerald, Sandy Leiminger, Mike Leiminger, Bill Pitt, Otto Beatty, Brian Palmer, Greg DeLong, and Tammy Penhorwood- Secretary

 

APPROVAL OF MINUTES:

 

Planning Commission Meeting- November 5, 2007- Mr. Kraus stated he met will Mrs. Penhorwood earlier today and gave her some minor changes.  Mr. Cunningham stated his is on page 11, 7th paragraph, instead of the word “what” to make it clearer, replace it with “the density”. 

 

Mr. Kraus made a motion to approve the minutes as amended.  Voice vote was unanimous.  Motion passed.

 

ADMINISTRATION COMMENTS: 

 

Mr. DeLong stated he would like to remind people that if they have questions about land use to contact the City.  Some people have been contacting the Chamber of Commerce and there has been confusion as to what is being recommended.  The Chamber is the economic development for the city, not land use.  Just to keep things consistent if you have any questions regarding land uses please contact the Engineering department or the Planning department.

 

Mr. DeLong stated the other item he had is regarding the January meeting.  That night Ohio State is playing in a national title game.  There may want to be discussion on moving the meeting to Tuesday January 8th. 

 

Mr. Bergwall made a motion to move the January meeting to Tuesday January 8th.  Voice vote was unanimous.  Motion passed.

 

Mr. Palmer stated all of the commission members should have received the e-mail regarding the flood plains.  They are having a public meeting next week regarding this matter at the Union County Commissioners office.

 

CITIZEN COMMENTS: None

 

OLD BUSINESS:

 

Approval of Sketch Plan in Principle- Cooks Crossing - filed by Patricia Harmon of Bird Houk Collaborative, Inc.- tabled from 11-5-07 meeting

 

Mrs. Catherine Cunningham stated we have been before the commission on this sketch plan on two prior meetings.  For the final submission we tried to combine the first two submittals to come up with a complete submittal that we can call the final sketch plan submittal.  What we are hoping to hear from the commission is to get an approval tonight with a concept to move forward understanding that there are refinements that will come with the preliminary development plan.  The biggest change is the articulation of the PUD objectives and how we feel we meet the objectives.  We also tried to also outline the code provisions and do a summary and direct the commission to what we believe complies with the code.  There have not been any major changes from what we have submitted before.  The most significant change is the change of the phasing plan.  It is something that can be refined as we go through the preliminary development plan.  As the commission is aware the developer has a user which is Meijer.  The concept is that the road will be developed by them immediately followed by the Meijer site.  With your wanting development within two years under your code the idea was that we would get the road in and create the service accesses which would be closely followed by the development of the Meijer site. 

 

Mr. Seymour stated the resubmittal was detailed and addressed the bullets specifically.  I am pleased with what I saw.

 

Mr. Kraus stated a minor issue on the phasing map is that everything is phase II.  Mrs. Cunningham stated yes.  Mr. Kraus stated I don’t believe that was the intent of that.  Mrs. Cunningham stated yes and no.  We have debated this.  We will be happy to have discussion on how to handle the phasing.  She stated some of it is their struggle to accommodate what your code requires and the realities of a planned development of this size.  We can identify phase I as the road as that will be the first thing to be built.  At the southwest side of the development, is the Meijer’s site.  With a planned development of this size typically what we would see is that an identified user would drive the next phase.  There is one identified user at this time.

 

Mr. Bergwall asked why the Meijer site was not classified as phase II.  Mrs. Cunningham stated they could do that.  The concern was just the timing.  Mrs. Cunningham stated your PUD code anticipates platting along with the PUD.  The platting portion becomes problematic until you have the end user.  It is difficult to do anything other than a large plat and then subdivide the smaller groups. 

 

Mr. Bergwall stated what we are used to is residential developments where a plat has to be filed every 12 months or you have to become compliant with the most recent code.  With this development being mostly commercial office and the nature of this development, that cadence probably won’t have the same necessity as it does for a residential development.  To pull ahead I don’t think it would create a problem, it is where you start to push the development out and the site becomes dormant for a period of time. 

 

Mrs. Cunningham stated it comes back to what happens when the code changes.  When you have a PUD, as the commission has mentioned we would be writing the standards and then you would never have the issue of the time limit. 

 

Mr. Bergwall stated that is only on the things that are specified unique to the PUD.  On the things that are under the general code then there could be an influence.   

 

Mr. Kraus stated he is very satisfied with what they have submitted for sketch plan purposes.  I think it would be good to spend a few minutes talking about what we expect to see at their next submission in the different areas.  For examples in sub area A and B1, if they go back and look at the initial development text and the types of uses that were in there, I think you will see things that shouldn’t be in that area. 

 

Mr. Soller stated he would prefer to see more phases on the plan to give this area of the City more time to react to the development.  As you put a large retailer in this area and we already have traffic concerns in this area, we may have some control over the timing of the growth so it is not too quick.  I would rather see more phases on here rather than the whole development as phase II, especially to give the property to the north of this time to react to the development.  We’ve talked to about putting residential development into the northern part, if it is a phase 4 or 5, it will give the adjacent property owners time to analyze how they will develop their property.

 

Mr. Cunningham stated he is not sure where phasing has to be presented in a timeline.  If they want to come in and plat all 5 phases, I don’t think there is anything to stop them. 

 

Mr. Seymour stated in residential developments phasing is different.  In commercial there are different kinds and types of businesses that will drive what phase would be developed next.

 

Mrs. Cunningham stated the whole point of a PUD is to allow flexibility in development to combine these uses and to have flexibility in development so they can respond to the market.

 

Mr. Bergwall stated he can see how it would be difficult in predicting the phasing of this development.  He stated there are two points with the new submittal and in reflecting back to last month’s minutes and all of the discussion that took place.  One is that there was suggestion that the development Cook’s Crossing be changed to something and yet the new submittal came back with the name Cook’s Crossing.  The second item is that there was a fair amount of discussion regarding the residential sub area on the north end and the direction to downsize it and it has not been changed.  I would like to hear what your considerations were to those two items and why they were not addressed or clarified in text.

 

Mr. Schmidt stated he does not have a good answer in regards to why the name change was not addressed.  I remember it being discussed at the meeting but we have not talked about it amongst ourselves. 

 

Mrs. Cunningham stated Mr. Cook would like to have the Cook family name in the development.  Mr. Bergwall stated that is fair.

 

Mr. Kraus stated Crossing is the issue.

 

Mr. Schmidt in regards to the residential sub area, I was the one defending it.  I still don’t feel that a 30 acre residential site is too large.  I explained why at the last meeting.  This is what we are proposing and I doubt that we will ever come up with a plan that every person on this board will like every part of. 

 

Mr. Yoder stated he thinks overall all they have done a good job with meeting the intent of a PUD.  The big disappointment for me is the E1.  I am not convinced that residential should be a part of this development.  Residential is something that should be reserved for development farther north.  I asked that there be consideration to at least down size the residential area.  Nothing has been changed.  The thing that concerns me is that if residential does get approved as part of this development, it should be at a lesser density than R-5, maybe condos.

 

Mr. Cunningham stated he thinks the residential buffer is a good idea.  He stated he thinks that we are going to need that type of housing in Marysville.  It will support not only the City but the businesses that will be going into this development.  I think they have come back with a foot print of what could go in and it further convinces me that this is a good idea.

 

Mr. Bergwall stated he thought the new submittal relative to support to this as a PUD were very well presented and put things in a good perspective.  These sub areas seem to be appropriate.  Some of the little details will get ironed out in the other stages.  I was one that was strongly opposed to a residential component in this development at all.  The more I have heard and the more people I have talked to from various perspectives, I have come around.  I do not want to sound contrary from my pervious questions.  The way you have defined the residential and depending on what you put in there, it can be a positive.

 

Mr. Seymour stated a lot of things that are being talked about now will be dealt with as the project moves forward.  To stay to the purpose of the sketch plan tonight, we are looking at the uses, we are noticing the intersections of streets and where they connect, so let’s stay focused on that.  If we see anything that will not work in the preliminary plat or preliminary development plan at this point, let’s cite that and move toward resolution. 

 

Mr. Kraus stated in sub areas A1, B1, and E1 have been addressed in terms of expectations for the next submittal.  I guess the question now is are there any thoughts on the areas B2, B1, or D2.  Are there any questions or concerns from the commission on the uses proposed?  The B3, has the commission accepted residential in the business residential district.  I think it is important that in all of the areas they go back in the original uses proposed and try to refine the permitted uses and maybe some conditional uses.  Try to stick with that concept that is what I would expect to see the next time through.  Also, enhance your walking trail kind of thing around the pond.  The next phase, if you just look at the code requirements, it needs to be pretty complete.  In best case it probably won’t be presented at the January meeting but more like February to give you enough time to pull all the information together. 

 

Mr. Seymour stated at the last meeting we talked about the cul-de-sac being lengthy, I think we agreed that we would be moving forward with this having an emergency access at the end.  He stated he has also heard a lot about traffic concerns.  It is a topic we will hit very hard at the preliminary plat stage.

 

Mr. Kraus stated that he assumes they have a copy of Mr. Schulze’s letter dated November 29th.  Mrs. Cunningham stated they received it tonight.  Mr. Kraus stated in terms of the uses for A and B, I think it is a good starting point.

 

Mr. Seymour asked if there were any specific objectives to this plan.

 

Mr. Yoder stated he still stands on his position about the residential.  He stated he thinks there is plenty of housing on both sides of this property.

 

Mr. Dennis Schulze stated he is representing the residents of the Clark’s Addition.  He stated as you can tell from the letter, what we are trying to do in respect to the zoning, we are trying to refine our input on this.  We are not going to get involved in anything that does not directly impact our subdivision.  What we are also doing is not to tell them what to put in, but we are letting them know what uses we feel will adversely impact our land. 

We will be addressing other issues such as traffic, noise and lights later, as well as surface run off and utilities. 

 

Mr. Dan Fitzgerald stated the zoning if you approve it for this land will allow for any type of multi family dwellings up to 12 per acre.  What guarantee do I have that it is going to be the type of housing that they are describing?  What guarantee do I have that it will not be the first person who wants to buy the land and put apartments in there?  Why this particular spot that caps this development off and stops normal development to the north?  If everyone wants this so badly, why has no one spoken in favor of this development?  He stated Mr. Bergwall spoke about neighborhood type of developments that appeal to particular neighborhood without trying to draw people from a long ways away.  What you are talking about Meijer is a type of retail store that will draw from a very large circle of miles.  I would like to at least see the traffic study that the City is supposedly in the process of developing before you approve anything.  I would like some kind of guarantee on exactly what is going to be allowed on the property to the north before I would like to see any of this.

 

Mr. Kraus stated it might be helpful to review the process and the steps with the residents, because even if it is approved in principal tonight it has a long way to go before there is any zoning approved.  The next step is more of the kinds of details that would respond to Mr. Fitzgerald’s comments. 

 

Mr. Bergwall stated the comment Mr. Fitzgerald made toward the R5 residential area, if this were a matter of taking this property and dividing it into various zoning districts, then what you said would be true.  If it was zoned R-5 then anything under the R-5 permitted uses could go in.  Under the PUD process, the R-5 designates it as residential with a general density, but through the PUD there will be additional documentation through the development that will protect that area from any and all use.  The fact that they are developing this entire property and not just selling off zoned acreage, the development will have it’s integrity such as what we talk about, what we agree to, what goes into the development plan will be imposed on the property; or they would have to come back and amend the PUD for some other use.  I would like to have verification that how I understand it is correct.

 

Mr. Kraus stated yes, the applicant can put limitations and restrictions; it will not be a blanket R-5.  It simply starts there as a comparison base. 

 

Mr. Cunningham stated another avenue of safeguard is that any building that would want to go on the lot after the plan is approved will still have to go before Design Review. 

 

They can’t just throw anything up there, it has to be what they told us it will be or it will not be built. 

 

Mr. Bergwall made a motion to approve the sketch plan in principle for Cook’s Crossing as submitted with the addition of the map passed out tonight.

 

Mr. Cunningham    Yes    Mr. Griffin   Yes    Mr. Yoder   No    

Mr. Soller    Yes    Mr. Kraus    Yes    Mr. Bergwall          Yes    Mr. Seymour         Yes

 

Motion passed.

 

NEW BUSINESS:

 

Zoning Amendment – generally located between Mill Rd. and St. Rt. 31, north of US 33 (formally the Twigg Greenhouse) – 15 acres- zoning change from BR to B-1 - filed by Donald Plank of Plank & Braham.

 

Mr. Donald Plank stated he is the attorney for Casto which is the developer of this property.  He stated Mr. Charlie Fraas is with me tonight from our office.  We are requesting to zone approximately 15.61 acres of property from BR to B-1.  The property is north of SR 33 to the west of SR 31 and south and east of Mill Rd.  It is a portion of a 27.88 acre parcel zoned both B-1 and BR.  We are seeking to change the BR portion to B-1 for the purpose of a grocery store.  The current uses permitted in the BR include a number of things and if you put them under one roof it would be what you would find in a grocery store.  Grocery store itself is not permitted but all of its components are permitted.  The BR is a transition from residential and commercial.  The B-1 district allows for more of the service oriented businesses and doesn’t allow residential except for above businesses.  The comprehensive plan calls for this area to be commercial office property.  This is a straight zoning.  The difference between BR and B-1 in terms of impact on surrounding properties is insignificant.  The main thing that it does is that it gets rid of the residential and allows for a zoning that takes advantage of the state routes.

 

Mr. Seymour stated he wants to reemphasize that the purpose of this meeting is a request to change zoning; it is not to discuss projects.  The judgment should not be based on any project that is proposed for this land.  The best use of the land is what the rezoning is about. 

 

Mr. Kraus stated there is about 2.9 acres at the southwest corner, is there a reason it was not included in this rezoning request? 

 

Mr. Plank stated it was his recommendation.  BR is the current zoning and people are used to the BR, we can change it.

 

Mr. Kraus stated he doesn’t think it makes much sense to leave that parcel zoned BR. 

 

Mr. Griffin asked if the proposal includes the current Twigg home.  Mr. Plank stated yes.

 

Mr. Bergwall stated relative to the comment of the BR vs. B-1, while many of the components allowed in the BR are typically found in a grocery store.  The nature of the stores is different from what is found in a grocery store.  To minimize the difference is a significant departure. 

 

Mr. Fraas stated from a stand point from what they are actually selling, there is not much difference but from an operation stand point, there is a difference.  What we are trying to show is the actual impact of the use.

 

Mr. Plank stated the uses permitted in the BR would lend themselves more toward a strip center vs. free standing buildings.  We find that the grocery store is a magnet in making the development successful.

 

Mr. Charles Fraas stated when you have an anchor tenant they are usually there for the long haul.  They want to pick a location to stay at for a long time.  That then brings the other smaller retailers in.

 

Mr. DeLong stated the comp plan does define this property as office and commercial.  The other thing which I would like you to consider is our own definitions of the districts.  The BR is to be transitional, but there is nothing to transition from.  I was also questioning the remaining 2.91 acres of land.  I think it should be included in the rezoning. 

 

Mr. Fraas stated if this property were to stay BR it would allow for what we figured to be 160+ apartment units.

 

Mr. Kraus on the map with the surrounding property zonings, didn’t we change Northwood’s zoning from OR to R-2.  Commission stated yes.

 

Mr. Timothy Hackworth stated he lives in the Northwoods subdivision.  My biggest concern is for the citizens that live on this strip.  If you rezone this for something bigger, my bedroom window will be looking right at it and I don’t want lights coming in my bedroom window.  The other item is traffic.  The interchange is crowded as it is.  The truck traffic for deliveries would rattle my windows when they would come and make deliveries.  Mill Road is a pretty crowded road itself. 

 

Mr. Seymour asked if we had a rating on Mill Road.  Mr. Palmer stated he doesn’t think that there is an official rating.  He stated with the development of this property, the intent will be between what has already been traffic studies and the Mill Rd., Echo Dr. intersection, the traffic study for the Cook property and the traffic study that the City is undergoing, this property will not have its own study, but will be expected to contribute to the improvements to the roads in this area.

 

Mr. Steve Honeycutt stated his main concern is traffic.  Mill Rd. is a main access to Mill Valley and is more heavily traveled than probably Mill Wood Blvd.  In the mornings it is very difficult for us to get out of our driveways.  I am looking at this very large development and other concerns would be light pollution, noise pollution.  There will be a large parking area here.  In my mind the difference between the BR and B-1, I don’t have a problem if someone wanted to put in a strip plaza that doesn’t involve that much traffic.  But something on this magnitude could be a traffic nightmare and it has the potential of destroying my property value. 

 

Mr. Seymour stated just to reiterate a comment that was made earlier, any project that would come to this location will have to go through the Design Review process.  He stated I can assure you that buffering, mounding, trees will certainly be a requirement of this. 

 

Mr. Yoder stated in his mind traffic is the biggest concern of all of the issues being listed.  He stated he would not want all of the truck traffic coming up and down his street if this were in his neighborhood.  My question is, is it fair to say that this project wouldn’t even begin until after the traffic study has been completed and it has been reviewed since it could impact Mill Rd. such as the width of the road and traffic flow.  Could this project start without the traffic study being completed and in hand?

 

Mr. Seymour stated he would think the follow up question to that would be is there a project study for the traffic study.

 

Mr. Palmer stated to Mr. Yoder’s direct question, I don’t think there is a way for us to prevent them from starting their project.  He stated to the other question, we have a meeting Wednesday with the consultant to find out where this is and where they are going to be headed.

 

Mr. Yoder stated his next comment would be then would it be unreasonable to make sure we have the results of the study before we allow construction of this project to begin.

 

Mr. Kraus stated once the zoning is approved I don’t think other than going through the process that there is much we can do. 

 

Mr. Seymour stated from a zoning standpoint the discussion is BR vs. B-1.  There are several other zonings possible.  We are here tonight to decide what is correct for this property.  In BR vs. B-1, both would drive parking spaces, lights of the same height, multi buildings vs. one larger building.  When you start weighting the two, the net impact has similarities.  He stated someone else alluded to a 24 hour operation vs. one that is not and my experience is that even with the 24 hour operations, in the late hours the traffic is very minimal. 

 

Mr. Leininger stated he lives on the next street back and his understanding is that the Northwoods project has been a problem since its concept.  Also, the potential for the bussing to change through the school, if the children have to walk, they will have to go out to the front.  There are no sidewalks in Northwoods.  (after the meeting, after looking a map there are sidewalks in the subdivision).  I have a concern for traffic for that reason.  The city did a good job in working with Dominion in getting green space all though they are all down by the river.  I don’t know if this group can with the zoning say they are required to put in a small park with this development.  My issue with traffic, I appreciate the studies, but have a concern with the implementation.  With McDonald’s for instance, there are semi trucks that park in the berm along SR 31 and make it difficult to see.

 

Mr. Joseph Whinnery stated he understands this is only on the zoning but what are the uses allowed in B-1 that would have a negative impact on this area. 

 

Mr. Kraus read some of the permitted uses aloud in B-1.

 

Mr. Seymour stated for comparison he read some of the permitted uses in B-R

 

Mr. Whinnery stated so zoning B-1 would allow more possible uses.  Commission stated yes.

 

Mr. Seymour stated the decision is whether or not B-1 is the most appropriate zoning. 

 

Mr. Bergwall stated he knows the primary focus needs to be what is the right use by zoning for this parcel of property.  I don’t think that the overall plan was laid out by accident with the initial zoning.  So to change that I have a difficult time saying it is okay to migrate to B-1 not understanding what else is going to be done in terms of infrastructure improvement to make it suitable for the higher traffic more intense use.  If all we are going to do is approve B-1 and then say we’ll take what comes with the road improvements, then I would intend to vote no.  If I could better comprehend how the problems for the surrounding properties and the potential is going be achieved in the course of this development, as a B-1 I could be more comfortable.  In your own words you stated it would not substantially diminish or impair property values. 

 

Mr. Plank stated the property is zoned BR now.  With the uses that are permitted in BR now, it could affect property values as well.  When we met with the City early on, we were assured that a traffic study was being done and that we would be expected to participate in some regard.  We are going to have to do an access study to show how the access is going to affect Mill Rd.  I can’t imagine that Mill Rd. will stay in the configuration that it is in today.  The problems that you are now seeing on Mill Rd. will change.  Typically when development like this occurs improvements are made to increase the flow of traffic. 

 

Mr. Bergwall stated yet in the proposal for B-1 you have not given any explanation or documentation as to what you are going to do to enhance the site for it to be B-1.

 

Mr. Fraas stated what they were thinking was because this was straight zoning that we would have to come back and deal with more of the project issues.  One of the reasons we feel that this is a better deal than leaving it BR is that you will probably find that with BR it would probably be split off to multi owners and users and it would not be a cohesive project.  We are trying to develop it all and plan it all at one time.  When we come back we will have to show how that will work with buffering, lighting and such.  Clearly we know that you have certain codes and expectations that we will have to meet. 

 

Mr. Plank stated we took the opportunity ourselves to send out letters to the immediately adjacent property owners.  We are looking for a spokesperson and to be able to talk to them to work out problems.

 

Mr. Fraas stated we sent out letters to everyone to see if there would be a time to have a meeting so that we can get a cohesive project going that will be agreeable to the neighbors. 

 

Mr. Seymour stated with regard to development the message needs to be clear that whatever goes in here, the infrastructure will have to be adequate.  This project will have to go before the Design Review Board.

 

Mr. Plank stated we are aware of this.  We have met with the City up front because we have the same concerns. 

 

Mr. Kraus asked if any consideration was given to the NC neighborhood commercial zoning.  It has a much more limited use list.  One of the permitted uses is a grocery store. 

 

Mr. Cunningham stated but you have to look at letter h under NC.

 

Mr. Kraus stated there is a maximum floor size of 20,000 s.f.

 

Mr. Plank stated that wouldn’t work.

 

Mr. Bergwall asked what size store they are looking at putting in.

 

Someone from the audience stated the new store would be approximately 90,000. 

 

Mr. Bergwall stated he is not sure the question was answered as to what you are offering to do for the intersection and Mill Rd. 

 

Mr. Plank stated we would not know that until the traffic study is done. 

 

Mr. Bergwall stated we should have a pretty good idea that the traffic is going to increase and it is of concern to the residents that live in that area.  

 

Mr. Plank told the commission how traffic studies work.

 

Mr. Bergwall stated in the past we have had concerns about traffic and developers would be responsible for putting in “x” amount of dollars into a fund for future improvements.

 

Mr. Fraas stated the traffic study is what will tell us what will need to be done; we can’t do that until we get through the traffic study. 

 

Mr. Bergwall stated in this case I don’t think it would be acceptable to say that the grocery will take up 40% of what will need to done and the improvements then  could not be done until the rest of the property developed and by then it would be a mess.

 

Mr. Seymour stated these points are good infrastructure issues.

 

Mr. Bergwall stated he feels this is relevant to the issue of whether or not this should be zoned B-1.

 

Mr. Cunningham stated infrastructure is not part of the zoning.

 

Mr. Fraas stated if it is zoned BR, when the traffic study is done it will show at a maximum of what can go on the property and the study will be based off of that.  If we were not here today, it would be based off of if this land is zoned what it is today, what is the maximum that could go on this property and base on all off of that.  That is what they would do for this property whether we were here or not.

 

Mr. Seymour stated if the property owner came to us with no development in mind asking to rezone from BR to B-1 with the potential of nothing happening for the next 15- 20 years, the question still remains as to is this the best zoning for the property.  It is not how it will be corrected today, it is on the appropriateness. 

 

Mr. Plank stated having BR on a property that is along two major highways, it not the best use for the property.  This is typically where you see your higher uses.

 

Mr. Fraas stated one thing he noticed on the comp plan north of US 33 besides this property is that it calls for residential.  This property would be the service for all of the residential.

 

Mr. Kraus stated he just wants to remind who ever makes the motion that we need to include the 2.91 acre parcel as the applicant has agreed. 

 

Mr. Fraas stated they would be happy to include the 2.91 acres to this application.

 

Mr. Kraus made a motion regarding the zoning amendment for the 15± acres to be changed from BR to B-1 be amended to include the additional 2.91 acres to the southwest and that a recommendation to City Council be that the application be approved.

 

Mr. Griffin   No     Mr. Yoder   Yes    Mr. Soller    Yes    Mr. Kraus    No

Mr. Bergwall          No     Mr. Seymour         Yes    Mr. Cunningham    Yes   

 

Motion passed.

 

DISCUSSION ITEMS:

 

Potential Rezoning of multiple properties within the City to GOV zoning. 

 

Mr. DeLong stated what the commission has in front of them tonight are letters from Mr. Zimmerman, representing the schools, Mrs. House, City Administrator, comments from Mr. Stolte, County Engineer and Mrs. Penhorwood is passing out a letter she received today regarding the OSU vet clinic property.  These are all comments regarding your proposal of rezoning their property to the GOV district. 

 

Mr. Kraus stated GOV first started because we have some property north on SR 4 that still has township zoning.  The majority of the uses are governmental entities.  We had a request from a county commissioner that would keep the property to a government use.  That way if they ever wanted to change that they would have to go through a rezoning process.  This is where it all started.  It then developed into something where why shouldn’t at least the larger governmentally owned properties in the city be under the same zoning.  The City’s current wastewater treatment plant is currently under M-2.  This city will probably abandon that plant when the new plant comes online.  Heavy manufacturing does not make sense in this location.  The whole idea was if the government use was to discontinue, it doesn’t prevent it from going into the private sector, it doesn’t prevent it from someone coming in and asking for a rezoning, it just puts it in front of the public for a due process.  Mr. Zimmerman is not going to tear down the high school that he is currently adding on to, but if he did, that land is zoned R-5 which doesn’t make a lot of sense.  The two that are the biggest concerns is the county property to the north and the school property on SR 4 S.  Both of those are under township zoning and need to have some type of City zoning. 

 

Mr. DeLong stated there are two uses that are currently on the SR 4N property that are not listed under the GOV district.  They are the Humane Society and the OSU vet clinic.  If the zoning was changed to GOV they would be legal non-conforming uses. 

 

Mr. Zimmerman stated his biggest question was why does the rezoning only include part of the schools.  For example Edgewood is not included in this rezoning.  Mr. Zimmerman stated they have way more than two acres of land.

 

Mr. Griffin stated the thought process was that some of the schools are already in residential districts and if the school was to disappear it would not impact anything.  We are trying to see that if something were to go away it wouldn’t negatively impact the area. 

 

Mr. Seymour asked Mr. Zimmerman if there were any other properties that he thought should be included.

 

Mr. Zimmerman stated Northwood Elementary is 17 acres, but in a residential area.  He stated the site right beside the high school was bought from a developer.  What is the zoning on that?

 

Mr. Kraus stated he believes it is R-2. 

 

Mr. Zimmerman stated if the school properties fall best under the GOV district then we would have no problem with that.

 

Mr. Otto Beatty stated he is representing the Ohio State University.  He stated all of you are probably aware of the very unique position that the vet clinic is in.  Although it is owned by OSU, there are vets that may run their private practice out of the facility.  How this facility is run, does not fall within any of the permitted or conditional uses allowed under the GOV.  Ohio State University is neither a governmental entity nor a quasi governmental entity.  Although it is funded through general revenue funds through the State of Ohio it is not a governmental entity.  We have a very unique position and are concerned about being placed in the Government district as it is currently defined.

 

Mr. Bergwall stated he would like to get clarification in the GOV district that would allow for this type of application.  To say they shouldn’t be in the governmental district.  I am not inclined to go that direction.  If for some reason OSU would move and they want to sell the land, someone who is not compatible with the surroundings may want to go in there.  The legal hang up about OSU not being a governmental organization to me is different than protecting the intended use of that property.

 

The OSU vet clinic is willing to work with you so that there is a winning situation for everyone.  What they are concerned about is how the definition is tonight; they would not be in compliance. 

 

Mr. Bergwall stated we should be able to find a way to make them conforming. 

 

Mr. DeLong stated there are two options.  One is to try and change the uses permitted under the GOV district.  Two is to put the vet clinic under some other city zoning. 

 

Mr. Beatty stated that OSU wants to maintain their flexibility. 

 

Mr. Bergwall stated what do you mean by flexibility.

 

Mr. Beatty stated we don’t want to be stuck at a particular square footage.  We may want to build a small office building for additional personal. 

 

Mr. Kraus stated he is not sure how the OSU would be defined.  We need some help as to how to accurately describe their current and reasonable future expectations.

 

Mr. DeLong stated as we see OSU vet clinic it would be a conditional use under AR, and a permitted use under B-1, TOC and SD-1.  Next door we have the humane society which is not being addressed.  The only district where both of these uses fall would be under AR. 

 

Mr. Bergwall stated the property is owned by OSU.

 

Mr. Beatty stated yes.

 

Mr. Bergwall stated from a legal standpoint isn’t Ohio State a state organization.

 

Mr. Beatty stated it is a state charted university, but is not a governmental entity. 

 

Mr. Kraus stated ownership doesn’t matter; the zoning is based on the land use.

 

Mr. Soller stated the intent of the area is not to focus on what the current uses are.  We want to preserve the area for future government use.  Part of the economic development plan is to include agricultural uses. 

 

Mr. Seymour stated the other letter we have is from Kathy House, can anyone speak on behalf of this. 

 

Mr. DeLong stated the only information he is familiar with is what is in the letter.  He stated she is at a conference and that is why she would not be able to be here tonight.

 

Mr. Cunningham asked if anyone explained to her that this was done on purpose and that it would affect the future sale of the property but it would give us more time to be more deliberate to determine the zoning.

 

Mr. DeLong stated she is aware of all of that but their thing is the future use of the properties and putting limitations on them.

 

Mr. Kraus stated M-2 is not the proper zoning for the waste water treatment plant or the water plant. 

 

Mr. DeLong stated he thinks there has been discussion on the two most important properties in the city.  If there are hang ups on the inner city zonings, we can deal with them later.

 

Mr. Bergwall stated he takes exception to this approach.  The idea of classifying them GOV is to make sure there is one more step in the process.  To make sure there is due consideration before the property gets sold off and used for a different purpose. 

 

Mr. DeLong stated there are many ways to look at this and the property to the north has been in the city for several years and has never had city zoning.  It remains out of our control.  I am not here to speak on behalf of Mrs. House. 

 

Mr. Kraus stated he would like to deal with the properties that we know we can do.  We have time to assess the others. 

 

Mr. Seymour stated there is another letter from Mr. Stolte and it asks if 435 N. Maple and at 6400 Co. Home Rd would be part of it. 

 

Mr. Kraus stated both of the properties were included in the original assessment of properties.

 

Mr. Bergwall stated he thinks the limitations of the GOV district should be expanded.  Such as building height and so on.

 

Discussion held on limits in GOV

 

Potential Rezoning of property on N. Maple Street- currently split zoning to single zoning

 

Mr. DeLong stated he has not heard anything from the property owner.

 

Mr. Kraus stated it should be put on the agenda to rezone the entire property to R-5.

 

INDIVIDUAL COMMISSIONERS COMMENTS:

 

Don Bergwall- None

Pete Griffin- None

Roger Yoder- None

John Cunningham - None

Alan Seymour - None

Pat Soller- None

Ken Kraus-None

 

ADJOURNMENT:      

 

Meeting was adjourned at 9:48 p.m.