Residents press council ahead of Jan. 23 public hearings on West Avenue, neighborhood overlays; councilmember hosts town hall

Residents and council members used the Jan. 9 Tallmadge City Council meeting to air questions and concerns about a package of zoning overlay ordinances covering West Avenue, Northwest Avenue and other corridor areas, and to preview a Jan. 23 public hearing where the ordinances will be considered.

Why it matters: The council considered a suite of ordinances (including proposed text and map amendments and several new overlay appendices) that would change allowable uses and height/transition standards in parts of the city. Multiple residents said the changes would affect traffic, property values and neighborhood character; planning and zoning is set to hold public hearings on Jan. 23 and council will consider votes at that time.

What residents said: Julia Lewis of 63 Nottingham Street, who testified she supports the overall overlay project, urged council to visit her home before voting, wrote that she supports the residential overlay elements and said the legislation “promotes the health, safety and welfare of the citizens.” David Jones, of 2066 West Overdale Drive, asked that the council consider vacating Garden Street to avoid creating a new traffic connection into the overlay area and expressed concern about school capacity if additional housing is built. Vincent Peturro of Northeast Avenue asked whether a market study cited by a developer exists as a public record; planning staff said any such study has not been submitted to the city and therefore is not a public record that the city can post.

Several residents asked for larger vegetative buffers between new multi‑story or mixed‑use buildings and adjacent houses; one resident requested increasing the buffer shown in the draft typology maps from 6–10 feet to 50 feet.

Town hall and council rules: Councilwoman Jessica Epstein announced she had organized a town hall for Saturday, Jan. 11, to provide additional public engagement outside the council’s two‑minute public comment window. Epstein said she mailed notices to residents adjacent to the overlay area and then realized council rule 43 required president approval for mailings of more than 10 pieces; she disclosed she had personally covered the additional 165 mailings at a cost of $120.75 and apologized for the oversight. Epstein said the town hall was intended to supplement, not replace, the Jan. 23 public hearings.

Several council members discussed whether the town hall should be moved to a larger venue and whether police or fire personnel should be present; the law director said the event is a councilmember‑sponsored meeting and that requests for public safety personnel are handled as needed. Council president announced a subcommittee will be formed to review rules of council after this disclosure.

Process and next steps: Planning and zoning chair Mary Gutman read a set of six related overlay ordinances at second reading and said public hearings and votes are scheduled for Jan. 23, 2025 (times listed in the record). Council members repeatedly encouraged residents to attend the Jan. 23 public hearing; several said the overlay items will remain at second reading pending those hearings and further discussion.

Direct quotes (from attendees’ prepared remarks): Julia Lewis: “I ask you to support these overlays. They're a great thing. They're the reasonable thing to do. They're the intelligent thing to do. They're the humane thing to do.”

Jessica Epstein: “Once I became aware of the rule, I took immediate steps to address the situation by personally covering the cost of the mailings.”

No votes on the overlay ordinances or changes to council rules occurred on Jan. 9; the items remain at second reading with public hearings scheduled for Jan. 23.