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POLAND ZONING MEETING: Complex decision
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Norma Hazelbaker and Steve Queen stand in the backyard of Hazelbaker's Marion Drive home in Poland Tuesday. They are opposed to a plan to build apartment buildings nearby.
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Attorney Jonathan Schoenike speaks on behalf of Poland Village residents Tuesday June 23, 2009.
By Denise Dick
VINDICATOR STAFF WRITER
The fate of a proposed apartment plan that has drawn the ire of residents of surrounding neighborhoods now rests with Poland Village Council.
The village planning commission voted 4-0 at a meeting Tuesday, with Chairman J. Michael Thompson abstaining, to recommend denial of a request by Singer Homes to change the zoning on a 2.5-acre parcel at 126 E. McKinley Way to allow the apartments.
Thompson said he abstained because the vote was clear and he worked many years ago for the attorney who represents the developer and wanted to avoid any appearance of impropriety.
The request to change the zoning from Residential 1, which allows single-family homes, to Residential 2, to permit apartments, now goes before village council. To go against the planning commission’s recommendation, though, five of the six council members must vote in support of the zone change.
To follow the recommendation, only a simple majority vote of council is required.
After the meeting, residents Stephen and Beth Queen and Norma Hazelbaker, all said they were pleased with the vote. Queen placed a sign on his van earlier Tuesday, reminding neighbors about the vote and encouraging them to attend.
Atty. Stephen Bolton, who represents Singer Homes, said they will present their case to village council, but if it’s unsuccessful, they will likely take the case to court. According to paperwork submitted to the village, Tim Clayton is a member of Singer Homes.
Roughly 60 residents attended Tuesday’s meeting, the planning commission’s third on the requested zone change.
Dan Pagan, who lives on Marion Drive, which abuts the property for which the zone change is requested, said that when he and his wife moved to the village nine years ago, they chose it over several other communities for a specific reason.
“We chose Poland because there weren’t any apartment buildings really close in the area,” he said. “If you bring in apartment buildings, you’re going to change the dynamic of Poland.”
Long-time residents may choose to move out, he contended.
Plans called for four six-plex apartment buildings and six carriage houses, or garages, between East McKinley Way and Marion Drive, with evergreen trees around the property and sidewalks connecting the buildings.
“If any of us wanted to live by apartments,” said Sherry Trolio-DiVito, another Marion resident, “we probably would have chosen to live in Boardman or Austintown, not Poland.”
Queen said that if the zone change were approved to allow the apartments, it may open the door to allow apartments in other parts of the village too.
The property owner, Tom Duncan, knew the property was zoned residential 1 when he bought it, Queen said.
Atty. Jonathan Schoenike, who represents the residents, listed the requirements that must be met for commission members to approve the zone change:
- It must conform to the comprehensive plan of the village.
- It must preserve the adjacent single-family neighborhood and be compatible with and convenient to the residents of that district.
- It must be visually compatible with the neighboring single-family neighborhoods.
- It must be conducive to and safe for a high volume of pedestrian use.
Schoenike argued that the request doesn’t meet those standards.
“No village resident has made a statement that the development would be compatible with R-1 except the petitioner,” he said.
In all of the meetings about the request, residents have voiced opposition, about 130 signed petitions indicating their opinion against the proposal and several others wrote letters opposing it, Schoenike said.
“My clients are prepared to take whatever legal action they are required to take,” the attorney said. “My clients are adamant in regards to their position.”
Bolton said that multiple-family developments are provided for in the village zoning code. Colonial Estates off South Main Street, for example, has been in the village for about 40 years. The density of the upscale apartments proposed by his client is about two-thirds that of Colonial Estates, he said.
“The village has gone to great lengths to provide for R-2 zoning, but other than Colonial Estates, there is no existing R-2,” Bolton said.
“Good,” said one of the residents who attended Tuesday’s meeting. “We like if that way.”
Some residents had previously expressed concerns about stormwater runoff and drainage issues.
“You have a safeguard here,” Bolton said.
If the request were approved, before a building permit could be issued, plans would have to be reviewed by a professional engineer and matters such as stormwater would have to be addressed, he explained.
denise_dick@vindy.com