Business park to downsize request

The developer plans to have a buffer between homes and the park and to set aside about 50 acres for wetlands.
By IAN HILL
VINDICATOR STAFF WRITER
AUSTINTOWN -- Land at the west end of Lanterman Road here will stay zoned agricultural for at least the next three years, a Youngstown developer says.
Jonathan Levy says he won't ask township trustees to change the zoning of the land between state Route 11 and Lanterman Road to light industrial. The property is slated to become the eastern section of the Centerpointe business park.
Instead, Levy said he will ask the trustees to change the zoning for the 180 acres between state Routes 11 and 46 that are slated to be the park's west side. That land is zoned business, residential and agricultural.
Levy, the park's developer, had been expected to ask trustees to change the zoning for the entire 379-acre site for the park at a public hearing at 7 p.m. Thursday at Fitch High School. The deadline for trustees to vote on the zoning change is Nov. 19.
A unanimous vote would be needed to approve Levy's changes or turn down the project. If the vote is 2-1, the zoning for the entire 379 acres would be changed to light industrial.
Developer's intentions
Developers have said that the western side of the park could include $45 million worth of buildings for warehouses, retail businesses and offices that have $45 million in inventory. Those companies could create 1,000 to 1,500 jobs, they said.
Levy said he wants to prove to residents that the park can be a success on the west side before expanding to the east side.
He added that he thinks it will be at least three years before a business opens on the west side.
"We want to let them see what we're doing," he said. "We're putting our confidence in what we're doing" in the west side.
The east side "is essentially off the table right now," Levy said, adding that he has no immediate plans to ask Mahoning County to expand Lanterman Road through the park's east side.
Some residents said they were concerned that expanding the road could increase traffic along the park's east side.
Residents also said they were worried that the park could cause drainage problems and destroy the natural setting of the area, and that there is not enough space between their homes and the park.
Buffer
Levy noted that he's planning to have a 230-foot-wide buffer composed of 200 feet of trees and a 30-foot wide, 10-foot tall hill between the park and homes on Rutland Avenue. The original plans for the park called for a 50-foot buffer of trees.
The Austintown zoning commission revised those plans to include a 100-foot buffer of trees. About 100 residents attended the commission's September meeting to express concerns about the park.
Levy said he decided to revise the plans to include the 230-foot buffer and to wait for a zoning change for the east side of the park after meeting with residents and discussing their concerns.
Levy noted that the dimensions of the buffer will be included as a deed restriction for businesses that move into the park.
"I've listened to what the people are asking for, and we've made compromises," he added.
Some Rutland Avenue residents said they wanted a 300-foot tree buffer and a strip of land zoned for business between their homes and the park.
Wetlands
Levy added that he wants to have 50 to 60 acres on the east side of the park set aside as wetlands. That would mean that the land couldn't be developed.
Levy said he's working on the final details of the wetland proposal with the Ohio Environmental Protection Agency and the Army Corps of Engineers.
hill@vindy.com