Neighborhood plan for N. Lima proceeds

The plan would pinpoint a particular neighborhood for improvement.
By VIRGINIA ROSS
VINDICATOR CORRESPONDENT
NORTH LIMA -- Beaver Township is moving closer toward instituting a neighborhood plan for the North Lima area.
Township trustees appropriated $15,000 last week for the development of the plan, which is expected to cost $14,700. Michele Swope, township zoning inspector, said the neighborhood design will supplement the township's comprehensive land-use plan adopted in 2003.
In February, the township zoning commission voted to make a recommendation to the township trustees to hire Herbert, Rowland and Grubic Inc., based in Harrisburg, Pa., to prepare the plan. Christopher Kogelnik of HRG said he will work closely with township officials and residents to develop the plan.
Earlier this year, Kogelnik, an area resident, presented an outline of the proposed plan to the zoning commission. Swope said the HRG's draft is in the Mahoning County Prosecutor's office, but she expects that office to send her word of its final approval of the document within the next week.
The purpose of a neighborhood plan is to take a specific area of a community, rather than the community at large, and focus on ways to improve that area. Officials have said much of the work would include beautification efforts such as streetscaping.
Committees to be formed
The township has explored the concept of developing a neighborhood plan for North Lima for the past few years. Swope said township officials will soon meet with HRG representatives and then committees will be established to study and make recommendations that would assist HRG in plan development.
Kogelnik works out of the company's Hermitage, Pa., branch, where the North Lima plan would be developed.
"We'll be letting the residents and general public know about meetings and work sessions we're going to schedule," Swope said. "And we want to encourage our residents and business owners to participate in this effort. So far we've gotten a lot of positive feedback, and the plan has generated a lot of excitement. It's a way to improve what we already have. But we need people to get involved in the process early."