Boardman aiming to preserve single-family neighborhoods

BOARDMAN

New duplexes and apartments soon will not be permitted in one township neighborhood, as the township administration continues its efforts to “stabilize neighborhoods,” as Zoning Inspector Sarah Gartland puts it.

The board of trustees voted Jan. 12 to rezone more than 100 properties in one neighborhood, and Gartland says there are many more changes to come within the next couple of years.

The issue, she says, is that though most residences in the township are single-family homes, the neighborhoods often are zoned for multi-family dwellings — and, there are many vacant properties throughout the township that could be converted to multi-family.

Since late 2013, her department has been working to rezone about half of the township’s 10,000 single-family residences so that their zoning district matches what they actually are.

“It’s a standard of living, cultural, neighborhood-character issue,” she said. “It’s an idea to preserve the character of our single-family neighborhoods.”

Read more about the issue in Sunday's Vindicator or on Vindy.com.