A boom in Beaver Township

By DENISE DICK
VINDICATOR STAFF WRITER
NORTH LIMA -- Sunlight glistens off the crystalline surface of Pine Lake, resembling a picture postcard. "You should see it about 5 p.m. when the sun starts to set," said Jack Waddington. "It's really something."
He and his wife, Dorothy, moved into their new home in Pine Lake Reserve, a development of upscale houses, villas and condominiums off of Market Street in Beaver Township, in March. The development will include more than 300 units upon completion.
It's an example of the burgeoning growth in the township which started in 2000. That year, the township issued 46 permits for single-family homes.
A review of permits issued shows single-family numbers hovering between 23 permits and 46 permits in subsequent years.
The lakefront view combined with quality home construction sold the couple on Pine Lake Reserve as the place to make their new home.
"This was what did it," said Dorothy, stepping out on the rear deck and pointing to the lake.
The Waddingtons moved from Waynesville, N.C., a small community near Asheville. A Struthers native who left the area 30 years ago, Dorothy always planned to return home.
Her siblings remain in the area and Dorothy's son and Jack's children all live near Cleveland.
Looked around
While visiting relatives in the area, the couple looked in Poland, Canfield and Boardman, checking out available housing, they thought, for future reference. Nothing caught their eye.
"We were just going to wait a couple years," Dorothy Waddington said. "Then my brother-in-law said he wanted to show us one more place. We pulled in here and that was it."
They enjoy the proximity of their new home to shopping centers, the turnpike and Pittsburgh International Airport.
Pine Lake Reserve is a bit of an exception, as growth primarily centers in the township's northeast quadrant.
The latest area to realize development is Sharrott Road, where the installation of sewer lines in 2000 precipitated the increase.
"Within a year, people were knocking on my door," said Michele Swope, township zoning inspector.
She said that a comprehensive plan enacted by the township in 2003 steers growth to the northeast quadrant. The plan calls for limiting water and sanitary sewer service extensions and thereby the growth to that section, east of Mill Creek and north of state Route 165.
The rural and agricultural character of the township remains under that plan.
An example
John and Judy Armeni are an example of the people moving to that area.
He is a residential contractor and while working on The Lakes at Sharrott Hill development, one of the housing developments cropping up along Sharrott Road, decided to build his own house there.
Armeni said the development itself and his wife's roots in Beaver prompted the decision. The couple lives in Boardman and hope to move into the new house by late fall.
"We liked the development and it's still close to Boardman and because of my business, I need a central location," Armeni said.
Other developments along Sharrott include The Cedars, a 21-lot development, and The Landings, a mix of single-family homes and villas, and Stonegate, a development of condos and four-plexes.
Larry Wehr, Beaver Township trustees chairman and a 40-year township resident, said the increase in residents isn't because of any township plan to promote it.
The township isn't against growth, but nobody asked for it either, he said.
The comprehensive plan provides a way to control and manage it.
With more people come more calls for emergency service and more traffic.
The township has requested through state officials another exit off of Interstate 680 between Western Reserve Road and the Ohio Turnpike to reduce the traffic coming onto Western Reserve.
Quality of schools
The quality of South Range schools, which have earned high marks on state report cards for the last several years, also may play a role in township growth. The district educates children from parts of Beaver and Green townships.
In fact, Armeni, whose children are grown, said resale value influenced by the school district, was one of his considerations in building a home here.
The seams of the district have begun to stretch under the additional student population.
"We're not at a point now where we're beyond what we can handle, but we're reaching that point," said school Superintendent James Hall.
Two trailers sit behind the middle school to accommodate pupils, there's no spare room at the high school and at the elementary school, there's the possibility of creating an additional classroom or two by remodeling one room, but that's it, Hall said.
"We're heading into the crunch here," he said.
Reported in study
A recent study reported an increase of more than 100 pupils between the 1996 to 1997 school year and this year.
"They're projecting continued growth over the next decade," the superintendent said.
The district has asked the Ohio Schools Facilities Commission to assess its buildings and based on that assessment will go to the citizens asking them how to deal with increased enrollment, Hall said.
Back at Pine Lake, the Waddingtons believe they picked the right spot for their new home.
They appreciate the low cost of living and their fellow residents.
"People are very friendly," Jack Waddington said.
"Especially in this area out here," Dorothy added.