Planning commission rejects a motion to deny rezoning request for 6869 Germantown Pike after residents object

The Moraine Planning Commission on Sept. 16 heard extensive public comment but voted against a motion to deny a request from property owner Jeffrey Hamilton to rezone 6869 Germantown Pike from R‑2 (single‑family) to B‑1 (neighborhood business). The motion to deny failed in a recorded roll call that showed four “no” votes and no recorded “yes” votes.

The item drew a packed public hearing in which neighbors and the applicant debated whether the 4.6293‑acre parcel should be reclassified on the city’s future land‑use map and zoning map. The commission’s staff reported that county records list a single‑family dwelling of about 1,960 square feet and an auxiliary pole barn of about 2,480 square feet on the parcel.

The rezoning applicant, Jeffrey Hamilton, told the commission he has no specific commercial tenant or site plan and is seeking “flexibility and the opportunity” to have his property zoned for business in case future uses require it. “I don’t have any plans to have anything; I want the option to have the flexibility,” Hamilton said.

Many neighbors said they opposed any B‑1 rezoning because of traffic, safety and loss of rural character. Mary Getter, a resident at 6891 Germantown Pike, said she was “against this rezoning” and warned that B‑1 zoning can allow many different commercial uses and is difficult to reverse. Other speakers cited recent crashes near the Route 4 and Union Road intersection, lighting and noise concerns, and potential effects on property values.

One written letter read into the record from Laura Berry said there had been “multiple recent accidents on and near the intersection of Route 4 and Union Road” and described a Sept. 6 motorcycle crash; the letter urged denial of rezoning on safety grounds. Several residents also said they had not received mailed notice and asked the city to broaden its outreach for rural areas.

Planning staff and the applicant discussed how the city’s comprehensive plan was prepared and how a property becomes identified for a future land‑use designation. City staff said Moraine’s comprehensive plan was updated with public meetings in 2022–23 and that American StructurePoint served as the plan contractor; staff also said public materials are posted at morainecompplan.com. Staff described the city’s public‑notice practice for rezoning as mailed notices to property lines within roughly 200 feet of the parcel plus a legal notice in the Dayton Daily News.

Commission members emphasized the absence of a concrete site plan. Commissioner Watts said the commission has not approved a zoning change without a “proper land usage” and told Hamilton he would need to bring a plan for what would occupy the site before the board could vote to approve a rezoning. “Without a proper land use of what the zoning request is for...that’s a no straight from me,” Watts said.

Staff also noted one historical EPA activity on a nearby parcel in 2018, which the applicant said he had seen in materials provided by the city but did not have full information about.

The public hearing closed at 6:54 p.m. The commission’s recorded action on the motion to deny left the matter without an approved denial; commissioners advised the applicant to develop a specific site plan and to research how properties get placed on the comprehensive plan before returning to the commission.

No formal direction to staff to forward a rezoning recommendation to city council or to initiate a comprehensive‑plan amendment was recorded during the meeting.