Miami Township business—
Trustees to consider zoning change

Township Zoning Inspector Richard Zopf reported last week that the Township Zoning Commission voted unanimously to recommend a zoning change requested by Roger and Peggy Pitstick for almost eight acres of their property on East Enon Road.

The request now goes before the Miami Township trustees. The Pitsticks want the parcel rezoned from industrial to agricultural to allow their daughter Kathy Sanders to build a residence on the northern part of the property. There was no public comment at the commission’s meeting, Zopf told trustees at their meeting Feb. 3.

The Zoning Commission made the decision partially based on a recommendation in January from the Greene County Regional Planning Commission that the zoning request be granted. Last week, trustee president Chris Mucher, who is the Township’s representative on the regional plan board, said that the decision was based on partially inaccurate information.

The Regional Planning Commission referred to maps and text from Greene County’s long-range plan and from the Village’s Comprehensive Plan, both of which show the area as zoned agricultural. It has been zoned industrial for almost 40 years. Trustees submitted various technical changes in 2000 to Greene County that were never incorporated into the County’s plan, Mucher said.

Because the Township has never granted a zoning change requested by an individual before, trustees are proceeding carefully, Mucher said.

He also said that the trustees must consider a number of factors, including how many parties will benefit economically from the change and what kind of precedent the change sets.

The land to be rezoned is part of an area targeted for potential business development under the Cooperative Economic Development Agreement, or CEDA. Signed by Village Council and the trustees, the CEDA allows both governments to work together to promote commercial development here.

The trustees will hold a public hearing on the zoning change at their meeting March 3. The trustees then have 30 days to make a final decision to grant, deny or alter the request.

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In other Township business:

• Miami Township Fire Chief Colin Altman presented a vehicle replacement schedule that included two vehicles this year and three more large equipment trucks in the next 5 to 15 years. This year the equipment capital fund has $156,000 for a new air truck and a new pickup truck for the fire chief. The current air truck is 30 years old and a replacement will cost approximately $120,000. The current pickup truck is 12 years old and its replacement will cost $27,000.

Altman estimated that the department will have to replace its 1969 water tanker by 2008 for an estimated $200,000. The township’s ambulance will be 19 years old in 2010, when it will need to be replaced for around $110,000. Fire-Rescue will have to replace the 1974 American LaFrance fire engine around 2015 for an estimated $300,000.

Trustees currently add $50,000 to the Township’s vehicle replacement fund each year. Trustees said that the fire levy will need to be renewed at its current millage in order to meet future equipment needs.

• Altman also reported that the fire department will offer an intermediate Emergency Medical Training course from March through April this spring. The course offers training in basic EMT procedure, including starting IV’s, cardiac resuscitation and administering diabetes, seizure and pain medications. The session is taught at Miami Career Technology School and it costs $350 for non-township residents. Miami Township will cover the cost of the course for volunteers in exchange for one year of service on the fire squad.

—Lauren Heaton