County planning staff, commission recommend rezones, conditional use permits and zoning text updates

County Planner Steve Josephson briefed commissioners Oct. 9 on five items that had been considered and approved by the Stark County Planning and Zoning Commission. Josephson said the planning commission and staff recommended approval for the applications, and commissioners voted to accept those recommendations.

The items included a rezoning (RZ) and a companion minor subdivision (MSP) for a five‑acre property requested by CDB Construction, south of Taylor; a conditional-use permit (CUP) for Fisher Sand & Gravel to operate a gravel pit with crushing and stockpiling; and two zoning-text amendments (ZTAs). One ZTA adds standards for banquet and reception halls to the development standards; the other amends the violations-and-penalties procedures section to clarify staff enforcement steps and penalty processes.

Josephson said applicants had reviewed and accepted recommended conditions for the Fisher Sand & Gravel CUP and that the planning commission recommended renewing conditional permits annually. Commissioners discussed enforcement language and whether daily-per‑day fines could accumulate; a commissioner noted these enforcement steps are meant as a backstop in difficult, noncompliant cases and that staff prefers to work with residents to remedy violations.

Roll-call votes were taken on each item; all passed. Josephson said staff would notify applicants of the commission’s decisions and work through the final paperwork.