LORDSTOWN Zoning proposal curbs the need for variances

The change would base building height on lot size.
By DENISE DICK
VINDICATOR TRUMBULL STAFF
LORDSTOWN -- A proposed change in the village zoning code would eliminate the need for the most popular type of variance.
The village's current zoning law limits an auxiliary building on property, such as a shed or garage, to 16 feet, 6 inches high, regardless of the lot size.
"The reason it was put in that way was because if someone has a smaller lot, you don't want a two-story barn sitting in the middle of it," Mayor Arno Hill said. "But probably if you have 20 acres and you put up a 20-foot barn, nobody would have a problem with it.
"That can be a problem for a very rural municipality, trying to strike a happy medium," Hill said.
A public hearing at 5:30 p.m. Monday covers a proposed change that would use lot size as the criterion for limits on auxiliary buildings' heights.
Common request: "We don't have that many requests for zoning variances, and when we do, it seems to be a variance for the height of an auxiliary building," Hill said. Most of the time, such variances are granted.
Councilman Jim London, who served on the village's board of zoning appeals, recommended a change to the planning commission.
London started on the board in October 1999. He noticed a pattern of the board hearing and granting appeals regarding barn heights.
Cost: "My idea was to save village residents some money," he said.
Each person who files an appeal must pay a $200 deposit to the zoning office. That covers legal advertising, court reporter fees and postage costs. If any money is left over after those costs are paid, it's refunded to the person who filed the appeal.
"That's basically what spurred it, and some other people thought it was a good idea," London said.
The change would just eliminate the need for a property owner to go through the steps to get a variance.
"We figured, if they're going to be granted, why not put some more common sense into the zoning?" the mayor said.
Ron Barnhart said his office conducted a review of zoning appeals considered for building height over the last several years. It found 13 appeals considered and 10 granted.