(PHOTO BY BRIANNA BALOGH / THE VILLAGE REPORTER)
ZONING WORK … From left, Mayor Pamela Clark, Village Administrator Blair Campbell, council member Beau Zuver, and council member Shawn Clark pored over the Holiday City Zoning map, actively discussing multiple zoning questions.
By: Brianna Balogh
THE VILLAGE REPORTER
publisher@thevillagereporter.com
Holiday City continued the preliminary zoning steps during the planning commission meeting on June 19 at 5:30 p.m.
Members attending were Village Administrator Blair Campbell, Mayor Pamela Clark, and council member Shawn Clark. Council member Beau Zuver joined later in the meeting, and council member Jarrett Funk arrived around 6:20 p.m.
Questions were the main topic of the planning commission. Mayor Clark explained that they were in the very basic stages and had a book to help guide their decisions. While the book provided a lot of vital information, it still left a few topics unclear.
The first question arose when the discussion turned to a property recently acquired by the Weiland Chase company that currently has residential houses.
The first question was, can a parcel be split and zoned in two separate ways? The idea would be to zone the current area with homes as residential and zone the remaining property as industrial to allow Weiland Chase to use it as they see fit.
Zuver suggested asking Weiland Chase if they had future plans for the property, just to get an idea.
While discussing the property above, it was noted that the current map being used was not ideal for the smaller parcels that may need to be divided.
All members agreed that having two expanded maps, one for the area south of the turnpike and one for the area north of the turnpike, would make planning significantly easier. The request would be put into the county engineer’s office, which provided the current map being worked with.
The council addressed concerns regarding a Menards-owned property on Traxler Road, specifically questioning potential dual zoning.
The discussion also clarified the difference between R1 residential zoning, which requires a well and septic, and R2 residential zoning, which uses village water and sewer services.
Several members questioned introducing an agricultural zone. This could clear up some areas in question but also provides a new zone definition that could be used in dual zoning as well. With no clarification in the book provided, Mayor Clark suggested consulting legal.
Also, in an attempt to answer some questions, Mayor Clark suggested inviting Tod Burkholder back. Burkholder is a zoning inspector for several townships and has extensive knowledge in the field.
All members agreed, and Administrator Campbell said he would contact Burkholder to invite him back for the next meeting.
While on the subject, members decided on the dates for the next two meetings. Normally spaced apart by a week, the next meeting will take place on July 10, a week longer than normal due to the upcoming holiday.
The second meeting was set for July 17 in accordance with the Village Council meeting taking place that day at 7:00 p.m. Legal will be invited to the second meeting. Both meetings will start at 5:30 p.m.
Final questions raised by the commission again deal with dual zoning regarding two parcels owned by the railroad along the turnpike.
Without knowing if any of these parcels can be dual zoned or split, the map was marked with questions and would be awaiting answers, hopefully provided at the next meeting.
One last question regarded several residential houses that are not part of the village corporation but would be affected by zoning decisions.
Zuver suggested a notice be made to these residents about the changes and what their options are. Mayor Clark agreed, stating that the commission would inform village residents of the updates or changes in person, and that non-village residents would be notified in the same manner, either at that time or later.
Non-village residents could have the option of annexation and then would be able to have more of a say in what happens.
The planning commission adjourned at 6:36 p.m., with a motion made by Zuver.