Summary, Timeline to be Added to County Strategic Plan
November 5, 2020 by Ann Wishart

Claypool Objects to Plan Direction, WRLC Control of Land

The Geauga County Planning Commission will continue creating the 2020 county strategic plan following a unanimous vote Oct. 29.

The Geauga County Planning Commission will continue creating the 2020 county strategic plan following a unanimous vote Oct. 29.

The commission held an in-person special meeting at 7:30 a.m. to hear a lengthy, detailed presentation by member Skip Claypool about his concerns on the direction the plan is going.

At the Oct. 15 meeting, Claypool proposed the company researching and writing the strategic plan — the first since 2003 — be dismissed and the project restarted. He said he wanted an executive summary and a table of contents and/or timeline for the thick document before it is approved.

Last Thursday, Claypool said he supports the 5-acre-lot minimum most townships require for a home based on the need in a rural community for each home to have a well and septic system when water and sewer services are unavailable.

The sustainable development concept of having many homes on small lots surrounded by a park-like setting and close to places of work is not appropriate for Geauga County, he said.

“We’re here because we like rural, open-space communities,” Claypool said. “There is nothing wrong with a commuter county. Keep our 5-acre minimums and drive to jobs elsewhere.”

He said the commission should discuss resetting the direction, resetting the plan and replacing the consulting partner, Envision LLC.

“We have a duty to our communities to ensure we have a good plan with actionable outcomes,” he said.

Claypool also said he is very concerned about the number of farms signing up with the Western Reserve Land Conservancy that strictly limits what can be done with the property it controls.

“The only reason people put a conservation easement on their property is the money,” he said, adding they receive a “substantial tax write-off” for agreeing to keep their property unchanged.

“There are all kinds of future impacts we should be talking about,” Claypool said.

He said it is difficult to get information from the WRLC on how much land they control and he claimed the organization “destroys private property rights,” adding a property owner’s right to control his or her land should be sacrosanct.

“The best way to save a farm is to sell it to a farmer,” he said.

Claypool also criticized the survey distributed to the public, saying the nature of the questions asked were “steered” and encouraged progressive ideas such as walkable communities, high-density housing and small lot development.

GCPC Planning Director Linda Crombie said the commission wants public input.

“People are always welcome to come to our meetings,” she said.

The time allotted to creating the strategic plan process has been extended because of COVID-19, Crombie said.

Envision reviewed the 300-page document from nearly 20 years ago and, working with the commission, is creating an entirely new document.

One huge concern is that 12% or more of the property in the county is owned by tax-exempt entities such as WRLC and the City of Akron, she said.

“If you reduce the tax base … the schools suffer,” Crombie said, adding she is researching the number of acres in the county that are under conservation easements that lower the tax base.

Crombie defended the public survey used to help gather information from Geauga County residents, saying it was published county-wide for residents to fill out.

About 1,650 were returned and the input helped Envision shape the innovative plan, she said.

The survey for the 2003 plan was sent to 500 residents and only 180 responded, Crombie said.

But the nature of the county is changing and younger people with families don’t necessarily want homes on 5 or 10 acres.

“The desire for larger lots has been waning,” Crombie said.

Similarly, there are fewer farms being handed down through the generations.

“Farmland preservation is near and dear to my heart, but farming is a dying art,” Crombie said.

Future Farmers of America and 4-H groups do their best to teach young people the business of agriculture, she said, adding, “(Farming) is a valuable economic asset to any rural community.”

Crombie also said mixed use development is in demand in Geauga County and the strategic plan may recommend such developments be limited to areas where it is most appropriate such as the City of Chardon and Bainbridge Township.

Geauga County Commissioner Jim Dvorak said Envision also reached out to the county’s Amish population with the survey.

“The steering committee is doing a great job,” he said, adding its unlikely the county followed the 2003 strategic plan.

He said it is thanks to the planning commission that a new strategic plan is in the works, the county is back on track to have a new one every 10 years and he is pleased with Envision.

Planning commission Chairman Charles Stevens said he feels the commission can adjust the strategic plan, if necessary.

“Each member at every meeting has the opportunity to change or alter the direction the commission is taking,” he said.

Crombie and Envision continuously gather public comments and bring them back to the commission for consideration. Claypool presented concerns that need to be considered, especially the conservation easement situation, he said.

“We can’t ban people from doing conservation easements,” Stevens said.

However, the planning commission can help people understand the long-term impacts of placing properties in conservation or agricultural easements.

“Parks and other privately-owned, tax-exempt properties have to be part of the whole conversation. It’s our job to put it all together,” he said.

Stevens said he thinks the plan will have a timeline and he supports retaining Envision as the commission’s partner as he has found the firm to be more than responsive to the commission’s needs and questions.

When he called for the vote on stopping creation of the strategic plan because of a lack of proper direction, no one spoke up in favor of stopping the planning process.

Asked later about his vote, Claypool said he felt the agreement to have an executive summary and a framework or table of contents for the plan was sufficient so the commission can be sure they are getting what they are paying for.

It was a healthy conversation and now people are more informed, he said.

“I accomplished what I wanted to do,” Claypool said.