Troy Trustees Pass Zoning Amendment, Remove Permit Revocation
Residents and businesses will see some changes to zoning rules and requirements come February following discussion at the Troy Township Trustees’ Jan. 2 meeting.
Residents and businesses will see some changes to zoning rules and requirements come February following discussion at the Troy Township Trustees’ Jan. 2 meeting.
A number of clarifying amendments to a zoning resolution were added and the list of supplemental information the zoning inspector may require of an applicant was replaced with a paragraph, according to the amendment draft on the township website www.troytwpgeauga.com/zoning.
However, trustees agreed to remove proposed Section 505.1, which outlines the procedure for the zoning inspector to revoke a conditional zoning certificate without first obtaining permission from the Troy Township Board of Zoning Appeals.
The full amendment updates Article V- Conditional Uses, adding guidelines for the revocation of a conditional zoning certificate.
Per the draft, a conditional zoning permit may be revoked if the certificate was issued in error, issued based upon a false statement by the applicant or if construction has not begun within six months of issuance, among other restrictions.
A sentence at the end of section 505.1 says if a conditional zoning certificate is revoked by the zoning inspector, any construction upon or use of the area must cease until a new certificate is issued.
Trustee Donn Breckenridge suggested cutting just that sentence from the section, but the possibility of revocation still concerned Trustee Sharon Simms.
Breckenridge said parts of the procedure outlined under 505.1 already fall under what the township normally does, such as sending notice of revocation by certified mail.
“They have never revoked a home occupation certificate before,” Simms said in response, adding the amendment required more discussion.
“This is a new power given to our zoning inspector,” she said.
Trustees differed in their interpretation of 505.1.
“A big part of that discussion at the (public hearing) was that yes, he’s got this power, but nothing’s going to happen until it reaches the (BZA), correct?” Trustee Len Barcikoski said.
If Section 505.1 was approved, the inspector would not have to go through the BZA to issue and enforce the revocation, Simms said.
“He can just revoke the conditional zoning certificate. As it is now, they have to go to the BZA (first),” she explained.
Breckenridge said the right to appeal before the BZA was still included under 505.1.
“It says, ‘Such notice shall set forth the reason for the revocation of the conditional zoning certificate as well as the right of the holder of the conditional zoning certificate to appeal to the board of zoning appeals in accordance with article (nine),’” he read.
Zoning Secretary Lisa Murphy clarified the process outlined in 505.1 would apply if the zoning inspector is allowed to stop work on a project upon issuance of a revocation.
“(The applicant) would appeal if they don’t like the inspector’s decision,” she said. “They would normally go in front of the board of appeals, and then the board of appeals would make the decision if it was going to be revoked or not.”
Under 505.1, the board of appeals could still get involved, but after the revocation was put into effect, she said.
The trustees unanimously approved the amendment without section 505.1.
