Commission OKs plan for development

The trustees will now have the final say over the proposal.
By JEANNE STARMACK
VINDICATOR STAFF WRITER
CANFIELD -- The Canfield Township Zoning Commission approved a zone change and a preliminary plan for a controversial planned unit development in the Westbury Park subdivision off Gibson Road.
It was TC Quality Homes' second try at getting the zone change, and the plan passed 3-2. The planning commission had unanimously voted not to recommend them to the trustees in December. The trustees always have the final say. But Chris Abraham of TC Quality Homes withdrew his plan before the trustees could vote at their December meeting.
Opposition
Residents of Westbury Park who live in single-family homes are upset at the idea of an 87-unit PUD on 45 acres in the center of the subdivision. They say they were never told that PUD homes, which will be narrower and on smaller lots, would be that close to their larger homes. They said they knew there would be a condominium complex in the subdivision, but it was to be off to one side.
After Thursday's vote, they said they will not give up fighting against the proposal. They have formed a group called Citizens of Canfield for Responsible Development.
"We're gonna fight," said Grayson Drive resident Ed Lisowski. "We're not gonna stop here."
The next step, if the trustees uphold the planning commission's recommendation to pass the plan, would be for the Westbury Park neighbors to gather enough signatures to bring the issue before voters in a referendum in November.
Thursday's hearing was a continuance of one that began March 9. The zoning panel said at that time that if neighbors and their developer couldn't come up with a compromise before May 4, the issue would be decided then.
The residents had proposed allowing 22.5 acres to be zoned PUD near the original area designated for condos, and keeping 22.5 acres in the subdivision for single family homes.
TC Quality Homes cut six units from the plan it submitted March 9, and 11 altogether from its original proposal. It also increased a buffer area between homes in the development and the proposed PUD.
Zoning panel member Jeff Moliterno, who with member Jon Ulichney voted not to pass the zone change and preliminary plan, said he believed the residents made an effort to compromise with Abraham and that Abraham's newest plan didn't compromise enough.
Panel members Chuck Coleman, Ted Dunchak and Mike Lytle all voted to pass the plan.
"They've been working for a compromise for months," said Lytle. He said he doesn't believe the plan will be a detriment to property values.
"I believe that in the last two months, TC Quality demonstrated significant concern for basic issues and made a number of changes," Coleman said. "I believe he went further than the residents group did."