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December 16, 2004
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December 16, 2004 |
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Village
Council business— Village Council approved last week an ordinance rezoning a portion of the Antioch Commons as Residence A. Changing the zoning status of the land, which is owned by Antioch University, should make the land easier to sell, should the Antioch Board of Trustees decide to dispose of the property. At their meeting Dec. 6, Council members unanimously approved the second reading of an ordinance granting a request from Antioch to rezone the property, which includes the abandoned G. Stanley Hall Hall. The eight-acre parcel had been zoned Educational. Located at Corry and Allen Streets, the property is adjacent to the Antioch School, which gains access to its facility from Corry Street via a driveway that is a part of the Hall property. The elementary school does not own the driveway. During the meeting, Caroline Mullin, the president of the Antioch School board of directors, said in a prepared statement that the school hopes to purchase the Hall property from Antioch University. Mullin said that the Antioch School could not oppose the university’s rezoning request, because, should the elementary school purchase the property, the school would seek to have the property’s zoning status changed again. “Therefore we cannot oppose that which could eventually be in our own interest,” she said. Council’s decision followed the recommendation of the Village Planning Commission, which passed a motion supporting the rezoning request in October. Plan board also passed a motion recommending that if the Hall property is developed, Antioch University take into consideration the Antioch School’s need to maintain the driveway and have access to utilities, and the need to maintain a buffer between the Antioch School and development on the Hall property. In August Antioch University requested that the Village rezone the property so that it could be sold to raise funds for Antioch College. However, since that time, financial pressure on the college has lessened, Glenn Watts, the university vice chancellor and CFO, said after the meeting, thanks to nearly $9 million in gifts and bequests the college has received. The funds will be used to implement a new curriculum at the college. Watts emphasized that there are “no plans to sell” the Hall property, noting that he was only instructed by the Board of Trustees to have it rezoned. Without the financial pressure on Antioch College, Watts said, “it’s very likely there will be no further action” on the land “for the next several years.” He also said that should the property ever be sold the university is “prepared to work with the Antioch School to make sure” its needs are meet “to the best of our ability.” Peggy Erskine, a former manager of the Antioch School, said she was “really upset with the action Antioch College is taking.” She noted that the Hall property “has been seen as open space for years” and that the community, the college and the Antioch School has been under the assumption that the land “would remain open space.” The zoning district Residence A is designed for medium-density, single-family housing developments, the Village Zoning Code states. Lots in the district must have at least 75 feet of street frontage and be a minimum of 10,000 square feet. In other Council business: • Council unanimously approved a resolution agreeing to pay $6,394 to Wright State’s Center for Urban and Public Affairs to conduct a mail and phone survey, the results of which Council says it will use to create a five-year financial plan. The phone survey, which started Dec. 6 and will include 300 randomly selected households, will cost $2,616, while the mail survey, which will be sent to all households, will cost $1,616. Wright State is also charging the Village $1,000 for data analysis and report writing and $834 for what it calls indirect expenses. • Council unanimously approved a resolution accepting a health insurance proposal from Anthem Blue Cross/Blue Shield for 2005. The health plan is the same as the one the Village agreed to have in 2004, except that the cost is increasing 15 percent, Village Manager Rob Hillard reported. Village employees taking basic insurance pay a 15 percent deductible, while those who chose a “buy up” program, which includes more thorough coverage, pay a 31 percent deductible. • Council unanimously approved an emergency ordinance amending the Village personnel policy manual to formally allow the Village to purchase supplies for Village parties, upon Hillard’s approval. The ordinance also adopts a Village practice of awarding staff for long-term employment. As an emergency ordinance, the measure was approved in one reading instead of two. • Yellow Springers are invited to apply for seats on the following Village commissions: Design Advisory, Economic Development Revolving Loan Fund, Zoning Appeals, Environmental and Cable Advisory. Miami Township residents who live outside Yellow Springs may apply for one seat on the Village Planning Commission available to township residents. To apply for any of these positions send a letter of inquiry to the clerk of Council, Deborah Benning, at 100 Dayton Street or dbenning@yso.com. • During the segment of the Council meeting set aside for comments from villagers, Paul DeLaVergne complained that a group of young men has been riding skateboards “up and down” the downtown streets and onto the sidewalks, running into visitors. DeLaVergne asked Council to get the Police Department to enforce a Village ordinance that prohibits people from skateboarding or riding bicycles on downtown sidewalks. During the same part of the meeting, Lynn McCown thanked Council members for serving the community “without much gratitude.”
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