March 17, 2005

Neighbors express concern for development of Birch III

By Lauren Heaton

A group of nearly 70 property owners, Antioch alumni, concerned residents and neighbors of the Birch III property packed the Bryan Community Center meeting rooms as the Village Planning Commission considered a proposal to develop the 20.5-acre parcel.

After an hour of explanation from the developer, Doug Eastham of Purple Sage, LLC, and Village engineers and attorneys, and an hour of citizen response, the Planning Commission did not vote on Eastham’s application for a preliminary plat.

Instead, the plan board agreed to continue its discussion on the proposal at its next meeting, on Monday, April 11, at 7 p.m., in the Bryan Center. Unless Purple Sage withdraws its application and submits a new one, the commission will decide whether to approve the plat design at the April meeting.

If the Planning Commission approves the proposal, the board will hold a second public hearing to evaluate Purple Sage’s final plat application before making a recommendation to Village Council, which has final say over new subdivision plans.

Eastham plans to build 40 homes in Birch III, which is owned by Antioch University. The homes could be at least 1,600 square feet on a third of an acre to one-acre lots and could sell for an average of $250,000 to $275,000, he said.

He plans to purchase from Antioch both Birch III and an additional five-acre parcel off Hyde Road, on which he will build a retention basin for the development.

The sale is set to close this spring and is contingent on the Village’s approval of the plat design, Eastham said during the meeting.

Local residents were not shy about voicing opposition to Eastham’s development plan, including the proposal to build the retention basin on land that some consider to be part of Glen Helen.

Perry Stewart spoke first on behalf of Ruth Aschbacher, president of the Vernay Foundation, the organization that purchased the five-acre parcel, placed a conservation easement on it in 1964 and donated it to Antioch College. A letter from the foundation states that the parcel “upon acquisition by the College shall become a part of Glen Helen and shall be administered by the director of the Glen Helen Department of the College.”

Antioch cannot allow infrastructure for development to be built on Glen property, Stewart said, adding that the plan board should recommend that the developer relocate the retention basin inside the development plat.

Dagmar Smith, Meg Gregory and Kate LeVesconte said that Yellow Springs does not need more high-cost, low-density housing, suggesting that Eastham instead add moderately priced houses and more green space into his plan.

“It is not very socially minded to add to suburbia, and this does not reflect the philosophy of most people in the village,” Smith said.

Gregory, an Antioch alumna who teaches at Nightingale Montessori and lives on Orton Road, said after the meeting that Nightingale Montessori has tried to acquire Birch III from Antioch for a permaculture development and Montessori school, but the college rejected the offer.

“It is positively immoral to be selling this land if it was deeded to the Glen,” she said during the meeting, referring to the additional five-acre parcel. “This land could be used for a greater purpose, but the college is not acting in an upstanding fashion. If the Village and Planning Commission support this plan…you’re not serving us any better than the college.”

Others in the audience urged the commission to consider the development in the context of the surrounding neighborhood and the entire village.

Alan Brunsman, who lives to the west of the proposed development, said drainage issues on his property will be exacerbated by the addition of new structures.

Neighbors Larry Abrams, JoAnne Mahle, Luisa Lang Owen and David Miller also expressed doubt that the retention basin and the plat’s stormwater system could adequately handle groundwater and stormwater drainage.

“It’s already a wetland. When there’s a huge rain I sink into the mud in back of my house,” Owen said. “If we add more, we’ll be swimming out of our homes.”

Several neighbors voiced concern for traffic that they said would occur from additional vehicles in the neighborhood. Glenview Drive resident Jerry Sutton said streets such as President and Corry, which will most likely be used for ingress and egress of the neighborhood, should be widened and improved.

Accessibility for emergency vehicles and through traffic also seemed to be a concern of the neighbors.

Planning Commission members’ concerns echoed issues villagers raised about sufficient water management, green space and the terms of the conservation easement on the additional five-acre parcel. They had additional concerns about how 20-foot conservation easements along the back of each property line were to be maintained and enforced, and if the water system would meet current standards, as well as details about rights of way, street lighting and property setbacks, which will be addressed in the final plat application.

At the end of the public hearing Eastham said he was not aware that the easement on the five-acre parcel might prohibit the construction of a retention basin necessary for the development.

Planning Commission member Steve Deal recommended that the Village give Eastham time to consider the input from the meeting and update the board about the deed restriction at its next meeting.

The plan board chairman, Bruce Rickenbach, agreed, saying that because the proposed use of the five acres was integral to the development of Birch III, some of the issues surrounding it needed to be clarified before the commission can make a decision.

In other plan board business:

• The Planning Commission approved a conditional use application from Todd Fritschie, the owner of Village Automotive, to expand his business into the former bowling alley building. A complete report on the decision will be published in next week’s News.