Zoning board approves FTMA garage at Route 30 with hedgeline buffer; vice chair recuses

The Findlay Township Zoning Hearing Board approved Feb. 18 a Use by Special Exception allowing the Findlay Township Municipal Authority to construct and operate a 1,920-square-foot municipal garage on a 3.22-acre parcel at the corner of Crescent Drive and U.S. Route 30. The board approved the special exception with a condition requiring a hedgeline planted with mulch along the outside of the perimeter fence on Route 30 and along Crescent Drive to Gate 2. The motion was moved by Patrick Cunningham and seconded by Chair Amy Kovac; the motion passed 2-0-1 with Vice-Chair Celeste Rosen recusing herself.

Assistant Township Manager and Planning Administrator Brandon J. Stanick told the board the Planning Commission had recommended approval only if a larger bufferyard (Attachment B) were installed; that recommendation included Bufferyards A, B and C and roughly 34 planting units along Route 30. Stanick said the plan submitted to the ZHB (Attachment A) is a compromise from the version the Planning Commission reviewed.

FTMA General Manager Jason Orsini said the building would be used for equipment storage, with no long-term outdoor storage or water/sewer service to the structure. Orsini told the board the trees proposed along Route 30 could not be planted outside the fence in all areas because of utility lines and suggested taller trees or pines to the north and plantings inside the fence in other locations. KLH engineer Rob Horvat said existing vegetation and added shrubs inside the fence would address the Planning Commissions concerns.

Nearby property owners raised objections focused on the fence and visibility. Mike Leber, owner of Moody Funeral Home, said the fence would not be hidden from Route 30 given the topography and submitted a letter to the board. David Kyle, an adjoining-property owner and investor in village businesses, said he had not received notice of the fence and described the fence as "unattractive," asking that shrubs be planted low enough to conceal the fence but not block views of his businesses. Mr. Stanick responded that notices were sent to adjoining property owners concerning the hearing and that the fence complies with the code.

Because of the testimony and the Planning Commissions recommendation for a larger buffer, the board required a hedgeline outside the fence along Route 30 and along Crescent Drive to Gate 2 as a condition of approval. The board entered the Special Exception application (including Attachments A, B and C), the staff review letter, revised Attachment A and a letter from Mike Leber into the record. The meeting adjourned at 8:55 p.m.