Planning commission approves Concord Commons rezoning with density limits and buffer conditions

The Beavercreek Planning Commission approved a rezoning request for a 22.4‑acre parcel at 3870 Indian Ripple Road, advancing the Concord Commons mixed‑use project to city council. The commission voted 4–0 to recommend an MXPUD rezoning with 17 conditions as amended.

Developer Jake Shields of Gray Fox R.E., LLC described the proposal as a mixed‑use neighborhood consistent with the city’s newly adopted future land‑use plan and said the team is proposing roughly 116 residential units — about half of the theoretical maximum allowed by the plan. “We really like to work with communities, and we’re very flexible in what we end up building,” Shields said, adding the developer expects the commercial frontage to remain along Indian Ripple and that the site would include open space and buffers to neighboring houses.

City staff explained the PUD is a two‑step process (rezoning followed by a specific site plan) and recommended conditions to translate the land‑use plan’s guidance into enforceable standards. Staff said the package includes a 50‑foot buffer along the north and east perimeters where the project abuts existing single‑family homes, limits on building sizes in residential subareas, a two‑story/35‑foot cap in residential areas and an overall cap of 116 units to keep density toward the lower end of the 5–10 units/acre range in the city’s land‑use guidance.

Neighbors who live adjacent to the site urged larger buffers and stricter use limits. Mary Anne Sheritz, whose property backs onto the site, asked for a wider buffer and said she preferred privately owned homes over rental buildings. “I am positive I do not want businesses behind me,” she told the commission. Patrick Savory raised concerns about past dumping and requested soil testing; staff said Ohio EPA rules and engineering standards would apply at the site plan and permitting stages.

Commissioners questioned how the 116‑unit cap was determined and whether traffic and site design elements would be studied; staff said traffic studies and detailed roadway or drainage improvements would be part of the site‑plan phase and any council review. At the request of commissioners, the panel voted to remove “hospitals” from the list of permitted commercial uses in the PUD and to amend a condition (Condition 4) to preserve a single family house and its associated 0.4‑acre area on Grange Hall Road as conforming and excluded from density calculations.

With those amendments, Commissioner [last names recorded during roll call as] Palumbo, Fountain, Meyer and Self voted yes on the rezoning recommendation; the motion carried 4–0. Staff said the ordinance will go to City Council for first reading the Tuesday after Memorial Day, where the conditions would be incorporated into the final ordinance if council approves it.