Information on setbacks to be presented to officials

The regulations would restrict development from a stream's path.
By DENISE DICK
VINDICATOR STAFF WRITER
BOARDMAN -- A representative from a community where regulations to minimize flooding have been in effect for years will present information to area officials about how they work.
Kyle Dreyfuss-Wells, director of the Chagrin River Watershed Partners, will present information about riparian setbacks at a meeting at 6 p.m. Tuesday at the Boardman Township Government Center.
"Hopefully, the elected officials, zoning officials and planning officials who attend will get a better understanding of what riparian setbacks are, how to promote smart growth and how they hopefully can alleviate flooding," said Darren Crivelli, township zoning inspector.
The setbacks are property next to a water course within which building cannot occur. They're used to protect the flood plain and lessen flooding, Crivelli said.
The meeting, organized by officials from the township, Eastgate Regional Council of Governments and the Mahoning County Engineer's office, is for public officials and residents.
Model ordinance
Late last year, a multiagency panel including Eastgate, Boardman and the engineer's office, developed a model ordinance presented to Mahoning County township officials. The ordinance establishes riparian setbacks and would limit stream bank erosion and reduce water pollution.
The setbacks would restrict development of houses, buildings and other property from a stream's path.
Building is restricted within a certain distance from a water course, such as a stream. Distance is based on the size of the watershed into which the water course drains. The smaller the watershed, the closer to a water course building may occur, and the larger the watershed, the greater the distance required.
Officials have said that the idea is for all townships to adopt the regulations, which aim to minimize flooding and enhance water quality.
Boardman tweaked the model ordinance for its own use and presented it to the Mahoning County Planning Commission for a recommendation. The commission decided to delay a decision on the township's ordinance until a meeting later this month. Members said they wanted more time to consider it.
Boardman's situation
Dreyfuss-Wells said that in communities such as Boardman where much development already has occurred, the setbacks apply in cases of redevelopment.
"It's no mystery what the future holds," she said. "For communities in Mahoning to know what their future will look like with development, they only have to look at Boardman."
The Chagrin River Watershed Partners is a coalition of cities, villages, townships, counties and park districts within the Chagrin River Watershed. The group formed in 1996.
With Boardman as built-up as it is, Crivelli acknowledges the ordinance won't affect his township the same way that it affects some less-developed communities.
But as other communities experience development, they should consider the potential impact, he said.
"What other communities do affects us," Crivelli said.
Praise for group
Boardman Trustee Kathy Miller said she thinks the Chagrin Falls group provides a good framework for Mahoning County communities to follow. She said the multiagency group that developed the model ordinance has done its "due diligence" in devising ways to minimize flooding and decrease soil erosion and enhance water quality.
"This is just an opportunity for Mahoning County to do the same thing, and particularly Boardman Township where it's been such an issue with flooding," Miller said.
She said that she was disappointed that the county planning commission postponed a vote on a recommendation on Boardman's ordinance and that she hopes some of its members attend Tuesday's meeting.
Not all communities have supported the setbacks.
Residents of Munson Township, Geauga County, rejected the regulations in November.
But Dreyfuss-Wells said she thinks that in areas where the regulations have been rejected, people's opposition was based on incorrect information.
"This isn't a property rights issue," she said. "It's just a setback like front yard setback or a side yard setback."