Members Present:                                                                 Donna Conaway
                                                                                                James Bauder
                                                                                                Aletha Magyaros
                                                                                                David Benner
                                                                                                Stephen Bergman

Alternate Member:                                                                Richard Russell

Zoning Data Coordinator:                                                    Joni Poindexter

Ms. Magyaros welcomed Mr. Bergman and Mr. Russell to the zoning commission and stated that Mr. Bergman replaces Rodney Napier who served on the board for approximately ten years and did a great job.

The first matter of business was nominations for Chairman and Vice Chairman for the board.

Ms. Magyaros brought to the board’s attention that the trustees had talked about the board implementing some kind of procedure to rotate the Chairman and Vice Chairman position.

Ms. Magyaros explained the past procedure and stated if the board wanted to rotate the term then possibly the person that was serving their fifth year could be the Chairman and the fourth year person could be the Vice Chairman.  Ms. Magyaros stated that this is the only way that she knows that they could keep tract of it; otherwise, they could do what they have done in the past.

Ms. Conaway stated due the fact that most of the board is new, she thinks that they could do what has been done in the past which is taking nominations from the members and then vote.

Mr. Bauder agreed.

Mr. Benner stated that he likes Ms. Magyaros idea but it may put people on the spot that don’t want to serve as Chairman or Vice Chairman.  Mr. Benner stated that he is comfortable either way.

Mr. Bergman stated that once a Chairman and Vice Chairman are elected, in the following years the board may want to move the Vice Chairman into the Chairman’s seat and then they would only have to vote on a Vice Chairman every year.

Mr. Bauder stated that he didn’t think the board needed to make a decision at this time.

The board agreed.

Ms. Conaway nominated Ms. Magyaros to serve as Chairman for the year 2003.

There were no further nominations and Mr. Benner seconded the motion.

The vote was unanimous for Ms. Magyaros to serve as Chairman.

Mr. Bauder nominated Ms. Conaway to serve as Vice Chairman for the year 2003.

There were no further nominations and Mr. Benner seconded the motion.

The vote was unanimous for Ms. Conaway to serve as Vice Chairman.

Mr. Benner made a motion to approve the minutes from December 12, 2002.

Mr. Bauder seconded the motion.

The vote was unanimous to approve the minutes as written.

Mr. Russell, alternate member, served on the board for Amendment #523-03 due to Mr. Bauder, regular member, reclusing himself.

AMENDMENT #523-03 – Montgomery Family Trust, property owner, c/o Sarah Mansfield, 3519 Miles Ave. NW, Canton, Ohio 44718 proposes to rezone R-R (Rural Residential District) to B-1 (Suburban Office & Limited Business District) 2.920 acres on the north side of Montgomery St. approximately 181 ft. east of Dressler Rd., Sect. 25SE Jackson Twp.

Ms. Magyaros read the file application and Stark County Regional Planning’s recommendation for approval and the facts considered in their decision.

Ms. Magyaros asked who would like to speak in favor of this amendment.

Mr. Franklin Montgomery, 5859 Wales Rd. NW stated that the property would serve as a nice buffer if zoned for business because there is a greater setback and there will be trees to protect the property on both sides.

Mr. Bob Leach, 3829 Fulton Rd. NW stated that he is the developer for the subdivision to the east of the property in question.  The tree line is not there anymore but there would have to be a buffer between the properties.  Mr. Leach stated that he believes the requested zoning is the best use for the property.

Mr. Benner asked if there are any homes on the four lots that are immediately adjacent to the property in question.

Mr. Leach stated no.

Mr. Benner asked how many homes are in the development at this time.

Mr. Leach stated that there are fifteen houses sold but he is not sure how many have been started.

Mr. Bergman asked Mr. Leach if he had stated that the trees are gone because when he went by the property he thought he had seen trees.

Mr. Leach stated that the trees are located on his property but there are requirements for landscaping and buffering for a commercial piece of property.

No one else in the audience spoke in favor of this amendment and no one in the audience spoke in opposition to the amendment.
Ms. Magyaros made a motion to vote on amendment #523-03 as submitted.

Ms. Conaway seconded the motion.

The vote was: Mr. Russell-yes, Mr. Bergman-yes, Mr. Benner-yes, Ms. Conaway-yes, and Ms. Magyaros-yes.

Ms. Magyaros stated that the Zoning Commission has recommended approval for amendment #523-03.

AMENDMENT #524-03 – Patrick & Linda Casey, property owner, 6649 Wales Rd. NW, Massillon, Ohio 44646 propose to rezone R-R (Rural Residential District) to B-3 (Commercial Business District) 4.67 acres, also known as 6649 Wales Rd. NW, located on the west side of Wales Rd., approx. 435 ft. south of Portage St NW, Sect. 16NE Jackson Twp.

Ms. Magyaros read the file application and Stark County Regional Planning’s recommendation for denial and the facts considered in their recommendation.

Ms. Magyaros asked who would like to speak in favor of this amendment.

Mr. Fred Stergios, attorney, stated that he is helping Mr. & Mrs. Casey represent their application.  Mr. Stergios stated that he understands that the recommendation from Regional Planning is an issue; however, he takes issue with Regional Planning who he thinks sometimes operates in a vacuum.  As a county agency they are recommending denial, but on the other hand ODOT in conjunction with the county is going to make Wales Rd. five lanes at the intersection of Portage and Wales going north and south and they are going to do the same thing on Portage.  This will take parking away from the Casey family business that is on Portage.

Mr. Stergios stated that Wales Rd. from Massillon City limits to I-77 and beyond is a major thoroughfare with a lot of traffic that is going to continue to be widened and lose its appeal as residential frontage on Wales Rd.  Mr. Stergios stated that he thinks this was recognized by the trustees over one year ago when they rezoned twenty one acres directly across the street from the Casey property to B-3.

Mr. Stergios gave the board an aerial site plan prepared by Cooper & Associates, exhibit #1, showing the property in question and the surrounding properties.  Mr. Stergios stated that the blue outline is the Casey property that they are asking to be rezoned and the green outline is the Casey business, which is Countryside Furniture.  Exhibit #2 is also a plat prepared by Cooper & Associates that shows all the cross hatched areas are zoned B-3.

Mr. Stergios stated that when Portage is widened they will be losing parking on the north side of the Countryside Furniture property.  The only place that they have to expand is to the west and this is relatively limited.  The idea is that eventually they would like to use the requested area to be rezoned for expansion or parking and consulate it with the existing business.

Mr. Stergios stated that Jackson has extensive landscaping & buffer requirements to protect adjoining property owners when commercial and residential districts abut each other.

Mr. Bauder asked if there would be parking in the front yard of the Casey home.

Mr. Casey, 6649 Wales Rd. NW stated no.  They would use approximately 300 ft. off the rear property line.  Mr. Casey stated that when he moved to the property twenty some years ago there wasn’t even a red light at the intersection.  According to the county there is going to be a five lane road extending just past the neighbors driveway that is to the south of his property.

Ms. Conaway asked if there are any plans for a driveway access to the business from Wales Rd.

Mr. Casey stated no, they only plan to use the back portion of the property for the business.

Mr. Bauder stated that he understands what is being proposed and the use seems reasonable but they are only talking about using a portion of the property and the request is to rezone the entire piece of property.

Mr. Casey stated that the person from Cooper & Associates that did the work for him said that it is not favorably look upon to subdivide a piece of property like that so he suggested rezoning the whole piece.

Mr. Bergman asked if it is possible to subdivide the request where only part of the property would be rezoned.

Ms. Conaway stated that the board has done this in the past and is something that the board could consider.

Mr. Casey stated that he has no intention of selling his property and they need it to expand the business.

Ms. Conaway asked Mr. Casey if he would consider only rezoning the back portion of the land that they plan to use as B-3.

Mr. Casey stated that he would be willing to do this.

Ms. Magyaros stated that her main concern is whether there are any neighbors that are in opposition to the amendment.

Mr. Casey stated that the only neighbors in attendance are Barb and Rick Kuhn.

Ms. Magyaros asked if anyone else in the audience wanted to speak in favor of the amendment.

Mr. Rick Kuhn, 6609 Wales Rd. referred to the map and described where his home is located in conjunction with the Casey property.  Mr. Kuhn stated that he has no problem with the request.

Mr. Bauder stated that he is opposed to the request as submitted.  However, if Mr. Casey wants to rezone a portion of the property that is adjacent to the commercial area and protected by the trees then he would look at it differently.

Mr. Casey explained where the parking is located and how the delivery trucks maneuver around the property.

Mr. Benner asked how many parking spaces are on the property.

Mr. Casey stated that currently they have 161 parking spaces.  If they add 8,500 sq. ft. to their building they would need an additional 45 parking spaces.

Mr. Casey stated that they have a 10,000 sq. ft. warehouse with racks that go about 25 ft. in the air and they are out of floor space in the warehouse.  They would like to use the property in the back for expansion.

Ms. Magyaros asked Mr. Casey if he is suggesting that they would build an additional warehouse on the property.

Mr. Casey stated that they might extend the warehouse onto the property that is requested to be rezoned.  There are gas easements that are 25 ft. from the property line and they would have to stay an additional 25 ft. from the gas line.  Mr. Casey stated that the trees are about 75 ft. off of the property line.

Ms. Magyaros stated that in looking at Regional Planning’s reasons for denial, they have a comment that warehouses are not permitted uses in a B-3 district.

Mr. Casey stated that he spoke with Mr. Phillippi regarding this and the warehouse already exists on the property.

No one else in the audience spoke in favor of the proposed amendment and no one in the audience spoke in opposition to the proposed amendment.

Ms. Bauder stated that he can’t vote for the amendment as submitted although he understands what they want to do.

Ms. Magyaros asked Mr. Bauder if he is suggesting that if the amendment was amended and they sought to rezone only the back portion of the property then he would agree.

Mr. Bauder stated yes.

Ms. Conaway agreed and stated that it makes more sense and she does not see any need to rezone the whole property if it is used as residential.

Mr. Bergman agreed and stated that the back portion makes sense.

Mr. Benner stated that he is concerned about the permitted use because there is no warehouse use allowed under the B-3 zoning.

Mr. Bauder stated that they could argue that it is not really a warehouse but just a holding building of their overall sales.

Mr. Stergios stated that some of the drawings are drawn to scale and they could measure off the west end of the property and determine a square footage that could be rezoned.

Mr. Bauder stated that the application could be amended.

Ms. Magyaros stated that she is concerned about the comments that Mr. Benner made regarding the regulations.

Ms. Poindexter stated that if there is a warehouse on the property it could be expanded up to 25% of the non-conforming use and if it were more than 25% they could go to the Board of Appeals and ask for an expansion over the 25%.

Mr. Bauder suggested that they rezone to the south only to where the trees are located.

Mr. Casey stated that from the north to south the property is 230 ft. and the trees are 75 ft. from the property line.  There is a 75 ft. building setback for a B-3 property that is next to a residential property.  Mr. Casey stated that he would like to request the width of the property, which is 230 ft., by 300 ft. off the west property line.

Ms. Magyaros asked Mr. Casey to mark the area as amended on exhibit #1 and would like the amended request to be put on the record.

Mr. Stergios stated that Mr. & Mrs. Casey have agreed to amend their application to request the zone change to B-3 Commercial Business District for 300 ft. off the west property line by 230 ft. north to south.

Ms. Conaway made a motion to vote on amendment #524-03 as amended to 300 ft. off the west boundary by 230 ft. north to south.

Mr. Bauder seconded the motion.

The vote was: Mr. Bergman-yes, Mr. Benner-yes, Mr. Bauder-yes, Ms. Conaway-yes, and Ms. Magyaros-yes.

Ms. Magyaros stated that the zoning commission has recommended approval for amendment #524-03 as amended.

Ms. Conaway made a motion to adjourn the meeting.

Mr. Benner seconded the motion.

The vote was: Mr. Bergman-yes, Mr. Benner-yes, Mr. Bauder-yes, Ms. Conaway-yes, and Ms. Magyaros-yes.

Respectfully submitted,

Joni Poindexter
Zoning Data Coordinator
Clerk/Secretary