Proposed Bill Would Eliminate Township Zoning
Township residents who want to keep their zoning resolutions and departments should let their state representative know, said Munson Township Trustee Nate McDonald at the March 26 trustees meeting.
Township residents who want to keep their zoning resolutions and departments should let their state representative know, said Munson Township Trustee Nate McDonald at the March 26 trustees meeting.
A bill still in committee, based on a white paper from the Building Industry Association of Central Ohio, would establish state-wide zoning regulations that county governments would execute, according to a Jan. 31 article in the Columbus Dispatch titled, “Ending Referendums and Township Zoning Pitched as a Solution to Columbus Housing Crisis.”
None of Munson trustees supported the bill.
“Munson has been a leader in zoning in a variety of ways,” McDonald said. “It is important. It’s something people might want to pay attention to.”
The Ohio Township Association is opposed to the proposed legislation and has published information on its website about the elimination of township zoning, he said.
“They are looking for the public to weigh in,” McDonald said, adding the OTA recommends contacting Rep. Sarah Fowler Arthur or Sen. Sandra O’Brien.
Munson Township has a long history of zoning, said Trustee Andy Bushman.
“Munson was the first township to have zoning,” he said, adding it was adopted in 1948. “It was 12 pages.”
“It still has to go through the House and the Senate. I haven’t heard where (Gov. Mike) DeWine stands on it,” Trustee Jim McCaskey said.
Montrose Group LLC, a Columbus-based economic development and lobbying organization, claims Ohio needs 18,000 new homes or apartments built in a year to keep up with demand and about 13,000 permits are issued a year, according to the Dispatch article.
Removing township zoning limits would allow developers to build more homes without having to work through time-wasting zoning processes, the article said.
While individual residential lots in most townships are large, developments are permitted to have numerous homes on an acre if approved by the county planning commission and the township.
“Munson has quite a bit of planned development harmonious with its zoning,” McDonald said.
In a Viewpoint article published March 21 in the Geauga County Maple Leaf, writer Chris Alusheff, zoning inspector for Claridon and Chester townships, explained zoning and the effect the proposed bill would have on county residents.
As currently written, it would greatly reduce the required size of a residential building lot and eliminate local zoning control now in the hands of boards of zoning appeals, zoning commissions, zoning inspectors and trustees, he said.
All would be executed through county offices.
He listed the following legislators’ contact information: Fowler Arthur (Dist. 99) 614-466-1405, Rep99@ohiohouse.gov; Rep. Steve Demetriou (Dist. 35) 614-466-5088, Rep35@ohiohouse.gov; O’Brien (Dist. 32) 614-466-7182, obrien@ohiosenate.gov; and Sen. Vernon Sykes (Dist. 28) 614-466-7041, sykes@ohiosenate.gov.
Due to the reception of incorrect information, the story that appeared in the Maple Leaf on April 4 incorrectly identified the proposed legislation as a bill. As of April 11 it had not yet passed out of committee.
