Granville Village Council adopts revised demolition code after amending application requirements

Granville Village Council adopted Ordinance 4-2025, revising Chapter 11.62 of the village code on demolition permits, after the council amended the draft to narrow required application materials. The council approved the ordinance as amended in a 5-0 roll call vote.

A resident who addressed the council during public comment urged opposition to the draft revisions and said the proposed changes were vague, inconsistent and went beyond the village’s exterior-focused authority. The resident said the draft’s definitions and applicability sections were unclear and cited concerns about an undefined 20% square-footage threshold and a new requirement for interior photographs.

The amendment the council approved shortened the required contents of an application. Under the change to section 11.62.05(a)(1), applicants must submit “a statement addressing the necessity of demolition.” Council members agreed to strike two other numbered requirements from that subsection as redundant or covered elsewhere in village processes. Planning staff and outside counsel had earlier told the council that some requested materials could be sought later or waived at staff discretion.

Planning staff…