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Boardman trustees move to make Applewood neighborhood apartment-free
BOARDMAN
One hundred twenty properties in Applewood Acres, a neighborhood between South Avenue and Tanglewood Drive, soon will no longer be allowed to have apartments and duplexes, according to township zoning inspector Sarah Gartland.
The board of trustees unanimously voted Monday to approve a resolution to rezone Applewood Acres from a multifamily dwelling district to a single-family dwelling district — meaning that apartments and duplexes will not be permitted on the properties included in the amendment.
“When someone invests in a neighborhood that’s single-family, we want them to be comfortable” with that investment, Gartland said, saying the reason for the change is to stabilize the neighborhood.
“The character of a neighborhood being maintained keeps it stable,” she said.
The presence of apartments and duplexes in a neighborhood that primarily has single-family houses prevents some people from buying houses in the neighborhood and negatively affects the housing market in the area, Gartland said.
The change in Applewood Acres, which includes properties on Appleridge Circle and Terraview, Appleridge, Applewood, Trailwood, Trotwood and Bristlewood drives, is the fourth and last phase in an effort to rezone neighborhoods south of Indianola and Shields roads, Gartland said.
Currently, none of the 120 properties is being used as a multifamily dwelling, but Gartland said the fact that many of the properties are larger houses means that people might try to renovate them and turn them into duplexes.
The trustees also approved a resolution to award a demolition contract worth $6,199 to C. Crump Inc. of Hubbard to demolish a house at 87 Willow Drive.
The demolition of the house is part of an ongoing effort on the part of the zoning department to demolish vacant houses in the township that have become nuisances or pose health or safety risks to the public.
“It’s been an issue with drugs and debris and deplorable conditions,” Gartland said of the Willow Drive structure.
The trustees also heard a report about the ongoing attempt to obtain road salt for the winter, which became an issue when the township decided last month to opt out of the state purchasing program because the price for this year was $146.18 per ton, up from $27.50 per ton last year.
Road Superintendent Larry Wilson said local communities recently were offered a price of $99 per ton for 20,000 tons of salt by an Indiana-based company, but that the township most likely would not accept that price.
“We’re not looking to pay that. We’re trying to get a better price,” he said. “But it may be the only game in town.”