Austintown trustees to consider recommendation on zoning

AUSTINTOWN -- Township trustees are set to consider a recommendation to keep 42 acres of property near Ohltown Road zoned for agricultural and residential uses.
The township zoning commission voted unanimously Thursday night to recommend that the trustees don't grant a request to rezone the property for industrial uses, Zoning Inspector Michael Kurilla Jr. said. Trustees most likely will hold a public hearing to consider the commission's recommendation Aug. 23, he said.
Under state law, trustees would be able to overturn the commission's recommendations only with a unanimous vote.
The property is along Ohltown Road southwest of the Interstate 80 overpass and has been used for truck storage by Sebastiani Trucking Inc. of Ohltown Road. Kurilla said his office previously cited Sebastiani because the company is not allowed to store trucks on land zoned for agricultural and residential uses.
The citation led Sebastiani to seek the zoning change, Kurilla said.
He said about 15 area residents attended Thursday's commission meeting about the request and expressed concerns about noise and pollution from Sebastiani's trucks. Some residents also said they believed a truck storage area would not be compatible with any residential development built in the area near the property.
The zoning commission based its decision on the residents' concerns, Kurilla said.