Playground or Pavilion Maple

February 5, 2025 by Allison Wilson

Several residents of Maple Trace, an in-progress housing development off South Street, appeared before Chardon Planning Commission Jan. 28 to express concern over the suggestion a pavilion be built in place of a playground.

The proposed pavilion would include picnic tables and bench seating, Community Development Administrator Steve Yaney said.

As a playground was in the preliminary plan the commission approved, the developer has to get approval to make that change, he explained.

“They will still meet the requirement for active recreation with the walking trails and the open fields that are still in the area around this pavilion,” he said.

The primary reason for the proposed change is liability, said Jeremy Rosen, of developer Frontier Land Group.

“The primary concern and reason why we’re requesting the amendment is liability,” he said. “Specifically, injury and potential injury to children who would be playing on the playground.”

Other concerns include increased maintenance, complexity and cost of a playground and the overall neighborhood usability, Rosen said, adding everyone can use a pavilion, but a playground is limited to children.

“Our group, land developer Frontier Land Group, Ryan Homes, the builder, and the issuing management company, APM, are all in agreement that there’s increased liability associated with a playground versus a pavilion. It’s our objective to ensure that we’re stewards of the community moving forward,” he said.

The 20-foot-by-20-foot pavilion would sit atop a concrete pad and have connectivity to the walking trails, Rosen said, adding there would be an open, grassy field to one side.

There are already existing property owners in the development, commission Chair Andrew Blackley said, asking if the homeowners association approved the change.

“I believe that we have declarant rights, so I don’t know that that’s something that needs to be approved by the homeowners association,” Rosen said. “I know that Ryan Homes, the builder, has been letting individuals know that there’s an amenity coming. They haven’t been stating one way or another what is going to be coming.”

The developer controls the homeowners association until a certain number of homes are occupied, at which point the association is turned over to the homeowners, Yaney explained in a follow-up email.

Blackley clarified there hadn’t been a homeowners association meeting yet, which Rosen confirmed. Blackley also noted once the builder was finished with the project, liability would fall on the homeowners rather than them.

“I’m a little concerned that people may have bought lots down there thinking that there was going to be a playground and now there’s not going to be a playground,” he said.

Commission member Robert Emmons asked Rosen to explain his relationship to FLG President Mark Holz, who he said had submitted a letter to the commission indicating the homeowners association would be responsible for the decision of what to install.

Blackley read the section of the letter, dated Jan. 13, 2025, aloud.

“Ultimately, it is the homeowners association who will be responsible for what our group installs and we feel that this route will help mitigate future risks while still providing a substantial amenity that can be utilized by all community members for various occasions,” he said.

This means the homeowners will be responsible for the upkeep of what is installed, Rosen added.

Vice Chair Mary Jo Stark expressed concerns about a homeowners association maintaining a playground.

Mulch has a required depth for safety and playgrounds have a lot of moving parts the average person is not aware of, she said.

“I don’t see a homeowners association ever checking these things,” she said. “That’s something that a city maintenance department checks.”

The Woods of Burlington regularly checks and replaces items on their playground, Yaney said.

Maple Trace homeowners Ryan Dudziak, Elizabeth Haygood and Emily Gallo all expressed their disappointment at the proposal.

The amenity was presented as being a potential playground, Dudziak said, adding even in the homeowners association budget, funds for a playground are listed.

“Hearing that it’s coming to council and not asking the people that live there what our opinions are, what we might want, is kind of frustrating,” he said.

Haygood raised safety concerns with a pavilion, asking about people sleeping overnight in it. She saw a greater benefit to the playground.

“If I wanna have a beer, I can do it at my house on the back porch. You can’t have an open fire in the pavilion and there’s no electricity,” she said.

Gallo, who is the parent of two young children, said the neighborhood is already very lively and kids are going back and forth across the street.

A playground would give them an area to meet, she said.

A pavilion would also have liability, she noted — kids can just as easily fall off a table and onto the cement.

The matter was tabled for further analysis.