PUD decision will come May 4

By DENISE DICK
VINDICATOR STAFF WRITER
CANFIELD -- The fate of a controversial planned unit development in Westbury Park will be determined by May 4.
A public hearing before the township zoning commission was held Thursday and more than 30 people, most of them residents opposed to the plan, attended.
A plan by Chris Abraham of TC Quality Homes to create a 45-acre planned unit development in Westbury Park, off Gibson Road, has prompted opposition from residents of the single-family homes who live in Westbury Park. They have said that they bought their homes with the understanding that the PUD would cover only about 11 acres.
Residents have said the homes in the planned unit development will be long, narrow homes on smaller lots than those built on the perimeter, making the homes of the PUD much closer together and much less expensive.
No recommendation
Abraham had sought a zone change from agricultural to PUD to make way for the development. Last week, the Mahoning County Planning Commission unanimously decided not to recommend that change.
After much discussion Thursday that included statements by both Abraham and an attorney representing 32 Westbury Park residents that they're meeting to reach a compromise, the five-member zoning commission voted unanimously to reconvene the hearing.
Chuck Coleman, commission member, said that the panel would meet again on the proposal after receiving a signed agreement from attorneys for both the developer and the residents that they've reached a plan. If that agreement hasn't been presented by May 4, the date of the commission's regular meeting, the commission will conduct a public hearing and make a decision on the plan at that meeting.
Coleman said he doubts the parties will reach an agreement.
Atty. Robert Bouffard, who represents the residents, said he, an attorney for Abraham and Ed Lysowski, one of the residents, met Wednesday to try to hash out a compromise. He and Abraham both asked commission members to continue Thursday's hearing to allow the sides to continue their work.
"It took some time for use to get together, and we're working hard to make this work both for my development and for their neighborhood," Abraham said.
The developer said he's aware that any plan he presents to the commission must comply with township zoning regulations and that if it undergoes significant changes, he'll have to resubmit the plan.
Meeting again
Bouffard said another meeting between the two sides is set for this weekend.
Carol Potter, one of the residents, said the size of the PUD must change or the residents won't agree.
"It can't be 45 acres of a PUD," she said. "We're united behind that one tenet."
Maybe it can be larger than what residents had been told when they bought their homes, Potter said, adding, "We'll give some, too."
After the meeting, Abraham indicated he was optimistic that an agreement could be reached.
"One of the residents just came up to me and said, 'Let's prove the commission wrong,'" he said, referring to some members' contentions that a compromise won't be reached.