At the February 3, 2016 public meeting of the Clark County Commissioners, the commissioners approved two rezoning requests from Arthur D. Paradise to rezone 87+ acres at the intersection of SR 235 and Dille Road in Bethel Township. The two cases covered three separate sections, which made the decision more difficult for the commissioners.
The first request to rezone 61+ acres north of Dillie asked that the Commissioners approve the division of the parcel into two sections with different zoning designations. Paradise requested that the commissioners rezone 34+ acres from A-1 Agricultural to I-1 "S" Industrial District Specific Use and 27+ acres from A-1 to R-1 Rural Residence District. The Industrial District allows for certain types of manufacturing. The rural residential district allows the parcel to be divided into two to four acre lots for custom home construction supported by wells and septic tanks.
Although both the Clark County Bethel Township Trustees and the Tecumseh School District expressed concern regarding traffic on Dillie and the intersection of SR 235, both Trustee Nancy Brown and Assistant Superintendent for the Tecumseh School District Paula Crew declared their concern regarding the type of business allowed in the requested Industrial District.
Brown said, "I attended the Rural Zoning Commission meeting. The board clearly did not want Industrial Development in this area because there are too many unanswered questions. The Bethel Township Trustees are not opposed to development of the 235 corridor. It has the highest potential area for growth. However, to rezone without restrictions is unacceptable."
Crew echoed her concerns, "We are not against development, but we do want to know what will go in the I-1 'S' area." She asked, "Can the commissioners guarantee that the businesses that are developed are lucrative and that we are safeguarding our children?"
Owner Agent Joe Roller said, "Some of the protections are already there. We can add safe guards on top of what is already in place."
Clark County Senior Planner Alan Neimayer explained, "There are restrictions based on the actual business use. If a business wants to locate there that doesn't meet the site requirements, the applicant must go through an additional hearing process to in order to locate in the area."
Brown asked, "Could the proposal be resubmitted with the exclusions better defined?"
Neimayer reported that the Rural Zoning Commission refused to table the request.
In addition, he shared the specific lists of business that the requester has agreed to disallow. which include junkyards or automobile wrecking yards, resource and mineral extraction, penal or correctional facilities, sanitary landfills, adult entertainment facilities, and a bar or tavern.
Commissioner Richard Lohnes said, "The Board recommended the rezoning with restrictions. However, the permitted uses do include industrial and manufacturing establishments, warehouses, wholesale establishments, manufacturing retail outlets, aerospace/defense, instrument controls and electronics, industrial machinery, vehicle, computer and material handling electronics and motors, medical equipment, industrial supplies technologies, agricultural and environmental technologies, internet and medical data management, financial services, medical/management services and any other use permitted in a B-4 Business district.
According to Roller, "I believe that the biggest objections to the rezoning for all three sections are based on traffic issues at the intersection of SR 235 and Dillie." He added, "Traffic control at the intersection of Dillie and SR 235 is an issue. It is a traffic bottleneck at the start and end of the school day. There is already more traffic at that time than the area can handle. It is almost impossible to make a left turn onto SR 235 from Dillie. However, the developer plans to build on the rural residential area first. The proposed lots will be from two to four acres. This will have the least impact on traffic. "
In addition, the approval comes with specifications on landscaping that a developer must follow to use the area for industrial development including the placement of deciduous and evergreen tress to provide buffering for the surrounding community. The approval also specifies sign restrictions.
Brown asked to see a plan for handling the additional traffic and questioned who would be responsible for widening Dillie.
Lohnes said, "You'll never see a plan until the zoning is in place. In addition, just because the zoning supports the proposed development does not mean it is automatically approved. No one will pay for the traffic study and land use plan until the zoning is in place. Repairs and improvements to the road are incumbent on the developer."
Commissioner John Detrick added, - "The rezoning is the first step. If we don't rezone the property, the opportunity for development is gone. Every time we bring in new development it is good for the community and good for the other property owners in the area because it reduces the existing owners' property taxes."
The commissioners approved the rezoning two to one with Commissioner David Herier opposing the rezoning.
The second case ,which was to rezone 26+ acres south of Dillie, directly behind Park Layne Elementary School, and adjacent to Park Layne, from A1- Agricultural to R-3 multifamily residential was unanimously approved by the commissioners. This zoning allows single family and two-family dwelling to be built.
