Sun staff
It was a packed house for the Miami Township Rural Zoning Commission meeting on Sept. 1.
Most attended to voice concerns about a proposed zoning change that would allow for 160 single-family homes to be built on 87 acres of existing agriculture land at the southeast corner of Branch Hill Guinea Pike and Weber Road.
“We have a big crowd tonight,” said Lasserre Bradley, chairman. “Usually, we’re not that interesting.”
After nearly four hours of presentations, public comments and deliberations, the commission voted 3-2 to approve the zone change request for a change from “A” Agricultural District to “R-1” Residence District with an “R-PUD” Residential Planned Unit Development overlay.
Lasserre, Kim Brady and John Rademacher voted to approve the request, while Mark Schulte and Jeff Baumgarth, an alternate, both voted against it.
Ed McPhillips recused himself from the vote.
The prosed subdivision will be called Willow Brook Farm and will be built by Ryan Homes on land currently owned by Randall and Paul Diekmeyer. The project is slated to have a density of 1.8 units per acre, which falls within the purview of the R-PUD.
“My grandfather bought this land in 1911, and over the years, I’ve watched as the subdivisions have moved in,” said Paul Diekmeyer, who currently farms the property. He went on to describe how his neighbors have encroached on his property, including wondering into his barn, biking down his driveway and throwing debris and trash into his yard.
“Well, the time has come for me to sell the property and move on,” he said.
Brian Elliff, planning and zoning administrator for the township, said that staff’s recommendation was to approve the zone change.
“We had to think about this case long and hard before making the recommendation,” he said. “It’s a good selection of different types of housing surrounding the property.”
Opponents of the zone change, such as Phil Tilly, president of the neighboring Tanglewood homeowners’ association, cited concerns with traffic, construction, lot size, home size and character.
“The proposed development is not consistent with existing neighborhoods; there’s nothing imaginative about the design,” Tilly said. “The lots are smaller than most surrounding uses.”
He noted, “We don’t have any families that are seeking smaller lots.”
Tilly feels that the commission’s approval of the zone change would be “settling on something less than ideal.”
Despite the urgings, the commission reminded itself that issues of traffic, amenities and architectural elements are not things they are to review when making their zoning decisions.
“We have the information we need to make a zoning decision, and we have to trust our staff will work with the applicant on additional conditions,” Rademacher said.
Elliff will follow-up with representatives from Ryan Homes on several conditions that were attached to the approval, which include plans for uniform fencing, mounding to mitigate runoff and flooding, a proposed schedule for amenities and suggested plantings throughout the development.
Now, the zoning change request must go to the township trustees for final approval; while an exact date has not yet been set, Jeff Wright, township administrator, expects the item to go before the trustees in October.