Pickerington Area Taxpayers Alliance

I see to the left here that the developers are slowly trying to get back to building like before the building slump. The proposed project to the left is for 167 homes.

I hear there is another project out on Refugee Road near Huntington Hills that has been approved by the County Planning Commission. Does anyone know about this project?

County then Township

If this is a new development,normally the developers go to the Fairfield County Regional Planning Commission first then apply to the Violet Townshp Trustees for the zoning change if necessary. The FCRPC reviews the development plan for County Subdivision Regulation compliance as well as wetland permits and compatible soil usage, transportation issues and access issues. Once they finish the review it is forwarded to the Violet Zoning commission for review.

In my experience observing this process since 1996, Often the Regional Planning Commission approves just about anything presented and then the zoning commission rejects it based on density or other issues. If a voted rejection occurs, at that time the developer must rework the plan and go to the regional planning commission again and then the zoning board....this can consume a lot of time, usually if the zoning board has problems with a plan the developer will withdraw the plan at the public hearing and rework it to avoid this time consuming issue. Then they must reapply for another zoning hearing or the board can grant a hearing continuance for another month or several months however much is needed.

There is a development that has been through the zoning process in the Huntington Hills area, I believe the density agreed on is about 1.37 per acre. This may be the plan at the FCRPC at this time as the developer is required to submit his preliminary and final plats for each section to the commisson also....and then it comes back to the zoning board again and then to the trustees.

Fortunately, there are no ''drive through'' approvals occuring in the township, the process allows a lot of public input and can be quite lengthy.

On the other hand this is still an attractive area to live and will remain so as long as the schools are good. I do not see this trend stopping, and unfortunately the only way to control the amount of homes in the township at this time is to demand low density housing. I am hopeful that perhaps other means can be legally approved and instituted, but once again, at this time, legally they cannot consider the ablility of the school system and school system taxpayers to support this growth as a consideration for approving these developments.

312 new homes

The two applications for approval before the Fairfield County Regional Planning Commission that affect Violet Township are:

A Sub-Division asking for a Preliminary Plat approval called ?“Eastern Lakes?”. This sub-division will be located on Refugee Road and it looks like it will be directing across the street from Huntington Hills. The property has 109 acres and they are asking to put in 145 residential lots. That density would be 1.33 per acre. Judging by the submitted plat plan they are offsetting the road entrance coming out on Refugee Road by a couple hundred feet from the western entrance to Huntington Hills. The applicant on record is ?“3 Pillar Homes.?”

The second sub-division asking to amend their application is Wesley Development. There existing zoning is R-2 and some zoned R-1. They are asking to go to a ?“Planned Residential District?”. This is a total of 111 acres and they are asking to put in 167 homes. The property is located along Stemen Road. The property is just Eat of the Pickerington City Limits and it is directly across the street from Grant Lane. This property is ?“L?” shaped and the rear of the property will be adjacent to Huntington Hills.

It appears our friend Lee Gray has an application in to rezone property in Walnut Township near Millersport.

Curious

Know curiosity killed the cat, but can you be more explicit as to where Mr. Gray is involved in property near Millersport.
Seems like he got ''well-to-do'' when he was Mayor, that is if he personally is requesting a re-zoning rather than being an agent.