Commission to consider N. River Road zoning change

HOWLAND -- The township zoning commission will consider a plan Tuesday to allow offices to be built on a residential section of North River Road.
The plan, already approved by the Trumbull County Planning Commission, would make both sides of North River Road, from Elm Road to Heaton North Road, an office/institutional corridor review district.
The district would continue along the north side of North River Road to the AAA Storage property.
That strip "has a lot of traffic on it and it has been very difficult for residents to sell their homes as residential," said Gordon McLean, Howland zoning inspector.
The new designation, which must be approved by township trustees, gives the township the authority to individually review plans for any office building before approving construction, McLean said.
The designation does not allow retail development.
In the last several years, trustees have rezoned two properties in the area to permit nonresidential development. McLean said there is a need for additional office space in the area.
In a mail-in survey, all but four of 24 property owners who responded said they favor the zone change. Three said they were against it and one had no opinion, McLean said.