GALENA — Berkshire Township will hold a special public hearing Wednesday to consider updates to its zoning resolution.
“The Berkshire Township Zoning Commission voted to initiate a proposed amendment to the Berkshire Township Resolution,” said the meeting notice from Zoning Inspector David Weade.
Several of the articles will be reviewed. The township has provided a redlined PDF of the 238-page document on its website. What is in red indicates the changes to the resolution.
Among the changes: In Article 4, Definitions, there was removal of the outdated term “Granny flat.” For Article 7, Agricultural District (A-1), Farm Labor Housing was removed from Conditional Uses. Under Article 8, Farm Residential District (FR-1), Adult Family Homes was removed from Permitted Uses. Article 15, Planned Commercial and Office District (PCD), added to the Traffic Impact Analysis for Development Plans.
Article 16, Planned Mixed Use District, had perhaps the most significant changes. Under the Permitted Uses section, Automobile Dealer was added. In the Minimum Development Standards section, there were changes to Building Height, Building Dimensions, Frontage, Lot coverage, Multi-Family Density, Open Space, Parking Spaces, Setbacks, Tract Size, and Yard Areas.
Additional steps were added to the Process for Plan Approval. At the end, a condition for approval was added, that reads: “Unless otherwise excluded by resolution approved by the Board of Trustees, no real property shall be included in an Application and Development Plan unless such property is located in a joint economic development district created under Section 715.72 of the Ohio Revised Code and in which Berkshire Township is a contracting party (a “JEDD”). The Zoning Commission shall have no authority to grant a divergence to this provision and shall not approve an Application and Development Plan unless this condition is met at the time of filing a complete Application.”
Article 17, the 36/37 Planned Mixed Use District, had some similar wording changes to those in Article 16. Article 18, Planned Industrial District (PID), had minor changes like the removal of Gasoline Stations under Permitted Uses.
Article 23, Landscaping, had changes to the Street Tree Planting Requirements section.
There are minor wording changes elsewhere.
Also under review are “any other Articles the board would like to address,” the notice said.
In regards to application 21-174
The hearing will be at 7 p.m. Aug. 25 in the township hall, 1454 Rome Corners Road, Galena. For more information, visit berkshiretwporg.
