Delaware’s Regional Planning Commission approved The District at Berkshire, a 300-unit development, on Jan. 26.
Courtesy | RPC
SUNBURY — Before a plan for a new subdivision comes before a township, it needs to be approved by the Delaware County Regional Planning Commission (also known as the DCRPC or RPC).
Created in 1961, the RPC “was established to provide growth management systems, planning services and general information to all governmental entities in Delaware County, Ohio, relating to land use planning and coordination for activities of regional significance,” said the Delaware County website. The commission’s staff of planners help townships with their zoning resolutions and comprehensive plans. They also hear developers’ requests for extensions on building.
The RPC meets monthly with a five-person executive committee, and representatives from the county, municipalities, and townships. Alternates from each jurisdiction are also chosen in the event the representative can’t make a meeting. In addition to administrative business, the members vote on zoning map/text amendments and subdivision projects. The RPC staff prepares a report and staff recommendations on each applicant’s request. In some cases, the developer is on hand to answer any questions the representatives have.
Typically, requests are given conditional approval by the representatives, with the member from the jurisdiction the project is based in abstaining from voting.
The RPC first met this year on Jan. 26 and approved the following:
• Zoning for The Estates at Duncan Run, a 26-lot conservation subdivision in Harlem Township.
• Zoning for The Residences at Berlin Township, a 368-apartment complex in Berlin Township.
• An update to the Delaware Township Zoning Commission’s Zoning Resolution.
• The District at Berkshire, a 300-apartment subdivision in Berkshire Township.
• Berlin Mixed Use Development (multi-family residential and industrial) on four lots in Berlin Township.
• Clarkshaw Crossing, a subdivision with 254 single-family lots and 136 condominiums) in Liberty Township.
• Azar Village, a 10-lot single-family residential subdivision in Orange Township.
Prior to the RPC meeting, a couple of those subdivision applications — Berkshire, Berlin, Liberty, Orange — had gone before the DCRPC’s Technical Review Committee on Jan. 17. The TRC consists of county staff members, township zoning officer and fire chief, school district representatives, utility companies, and the applicants and their consultants.
“Notes taken at TRC meetings shall serve as the basis for the staff comments for the Regional Planning Commission Preliminary Plan hearing and a preliminary checklist for final plat approval,” said the TRC memo for that meeting.
Assistant Editor Gary Budzak covers the eastern half of Delaware County and surrounding areas. He may be reached at [email protected].
