Back Index Home Contact Us!

Boston Heights Overlook

This is a publication of Boston Heights Overlook. Not an official public document by, of or for the Village of Boston Heights OH.

Click on items or parcels for more info.

On the agenda of the 01 September 2004 7PM meeting of the Planning Commission and Board of Zoning Appeals for the Village of Boston Heights, Ohio David Baglia Request for review of intended property usage at 6337 Chittenden Road for a daycare facility. Withdrawn; see below. Consideration of Zoning and Sign Ordinance Changes Ongoing discussions of various issues in the zoning code. Reviewed by Planning Commission; see below. Other Links: Boston Heights Zoning Code Boston Heights Business & Location List

David Baglia

Request for review of intended property usage at 6337 Chittenden Road for a daycare facility.
This 4.71 acre lot is just north of NE Auto Group and just south of the Cerny and Dunn-Rite properties. This parcel #1300349 is currently zoned LM Light Manufacturing District. It includes a ranch-style home built in 1960 and a utility shed built in 1993. It is taxed by the county as a Residential Single-Family Dwelling.
The property is owned by MDF Development Group LLC (Charter #1218299), organized by Melissa D. (Keener) Foster of Aurora OH.
It has been occupied by the Sunnywood Land Development Company Inc. (Charter #855311), headed by William Foster. Old-timers may know it as Walter Odum's place.

Note that the LM Light Manufacturing district (per Zoning Code 1161) allows any use permitted in OP Office Professional, GB General Business, or RB Retail Business districts. None of these districts specifically mention daycare centers as a permitted use, which suggests that this proposal may require a conditional use permit.

This Month
This request was withdrawn before the Planning Commission meeting.

1. sign language to cover each district - size, height, placement
2. fences - type, height, opening/no openings, post placement
3. outdoor storage for each district
4. Occupancy Permits - who provides - see CO 1375.01(C)(3)/(4) and 1147.01(B)
5. Required 5000 foot spacing between service stations, per Zoning Code 1159.04(1)(A), and unspecified spacing between self-storage facilities.

Previously, Dr. Cheung acknowledged a consensus that the village's sign regulations were too confusing. More immediately, Liberty Harley-Davidson had asked to have a larger elevated sign (along the Turnpike) than is currently permitted. Some of the current code references include:

• Signage Fees 1101.05(a)
• Home Occupation signage 1141.23
• Residential signage 1153.01(d)(3)-(4)
• Office Professional District signage 1155.08
• Service station signage 1159.04(1)(E)(6) (usually ignored!)
• Raised advertising signs 1171.13
• Illuminated sign permit: Building Code 1385.02(b)(4)
• Residential and Business sign limits: Building Code 1385.09(a)
• Sign maintenance requirements: Building Code 1385.09(b)
• Planning Commission sign review: Building Code 1385.09(c)
• Service station pricing sign regulations: Section 709
• Temporary Sign Ordinance: Section 715

The subject of fencing and outdoor storage had been discussed, without resolution, at the September 2003 and October 2003 meetings of the Planning Commission. The main fencing regulation is currently Zoning Code 1171.07(a). The main outdoor storage regulation is currently Zoning Code 11571.01(f)(1).

The question of service station spacing was raised by Omni Realty's proposal for a Sheetz gas station at the southeast corner of Hines Hill Road and Route 8 -- at the site of the derelict hotel. That site is much closer than 5000 feet to several existing stations: Boston Heights Marathon (481 ft); BP @Boston Mills (2563 ft); Starfire (3082 ft). Dr. Cheung suggested a new limit of 500 feet, measured from parcel lines.

Dr. Cheung has also suggested that a similar revision might be made to Self-Service Storage spacing, per Zoning Code 1175.02. While that section requires 1000ft spacing to certain other uses, it specifies no spacing between such facilities. Dr. Cheung suggested a minimum 1000ft spacing.

A proposal for new sign regulations was developed by a working group and briefly reviewed at the April 2004 meeting.

This Month
The Planning Commission held a brief discussion on the question of reducing the minimum service station spacing, currently defined in Zoning Code 1159.04(1)(A) as 5000ft. The Mayor had been informed that Sheetz was interested in building a service station on part of the derelict hotel site at Hines Hill and Route 8. The discussion considered the impact of the future Route 8 improvements, the future of Boston Heights Marathon, and what other locations in the Village might be effected.
It was determined that no one (including Sheetz and Omni Realty) had made a formal request for a change to the current code. The general consensus seemed to be that if anyone wanted a change to this requirement, they should request it by petition, subject to the procedures and public meetings required by Zoning Code 1143.03(a).

The Planning Commission, in consulation with the BZA, conducted a further discussion of proposed sign ordinances. Mr. Codrea proposed a modification of the language defining the purpose of the regulations. Among other considerations, it was determined that the proposed code needed to handle collective signs for commercial multi-business developments. There was also a discussion of whether tall elevated signs should be permitted anymore at all, and if so, where. The PC agreed to return to the discussion next month, after some investigation of multi-business sign regulations.