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Boston Heights Overlook

This is a publication of Boston Heights Overlook.
Not an official public document by, of or for
the Village of Boston Heights OH.
Click on items or parcels for more info.

138 E. Boston Mills Rd. 138 E. Boston Mills Rd. Liberty Harley-Davidson Liberty Harley-Davidson 7547 Olde Eight Rd. 7547 Olde Eight Rd. Omni Crossings at Boston Heights Omni Crossings at Boston Heights Omni Crossings at Boston Heights Omni Crossings at Boston Heights Fences & Storage

On the agenda of the 05 November 2003 7PM meeting of the Planning Commission and Board of Zoning Appeals for the Village of Boston Heights, Ohio

  1. Boston Heights Evangelical Friends Church
    Requesting approval of a sign at the church at 138 E. Boston Mills Road.
    Approved by Planning Commission; see below.
  2. Liberty Harley-Davidson
    Requesting approval of building-mounted signage at Hines Hill and Route 8.
    Approved by Planning Commission; see below.
  3. David Tucker
    Requesting a variance at a residence at 7547 Olde Eight Road.
    Approved by Board of Zoning Appeals; see below.
  4. Omni Realty Company Zoning Alert!
    More on the proposal for "Crossings at Boston Heights", a major mixed use development along Boston Mills Rd. and along Hines Hill Rd.
    No action by Planning Commission; see below.
  5. Engineer's Report on New Subdivisions
Boston Heights Evangelical Friends Church
The Boston Heights Evangelical Friends Church was seeking approval for a new sign at the church, at 138 E. Boston Mills Road. This is a 2.43A lot, parcel #1300593, with the church and various ancillary buildings. There is also a parking lot on the adjacent 1.42A lot, parcel #1300476. The parsonage is on a third lot at 134 E. Boston Mills Road, parcel #1300475.
A representative for the church's sign company documented an internally illuminated 5x9 foot sign with a changeable lettering area, no more than 12 feet high. This replaces an existing sign.
Resolution:
Approved by Planning Commission.
Back to the Agenda/Map
Liberty Harley-Davidson
Requesting approval of a sign for the Liberty Harley-Davidson development on Hines Hill Rd.
The developers received approval for a revised building and site plan at the March 2003 Planning Commission meeting. See also the October 2002 BZA meeting, the September 2002 PC meeting, and the August 2002 BZA meeting as well as the August 2003 PC meeting.
Click here for a rendering of the building, as originally proposed.
A representative for the company's sign company documented a set of signs to be mounted on the building itself: an H-D logo shield and two indirectly-illuminated signs.
From the audience, Mr. Ed Fetko pointed out that the building itself had an illuminated fascia with the legend "Live to Ride"; he wondered whether that too constituted a "sign". He also wondered whether the illuminated fasciae on the building violated the stricture in the Zoning Code 1171.14, in that the builder had not obtained a variance for this (just for the metallic siding material). This let to the usual meandering and unresolved discussion among the Planning Commission, with these issues left ignored.
The sign representative also noted that the company would be proposing an additional pole-mounted sign, currently expected to be in excess of the 100sq.ft. limit of Zoning Code 1171.13. He was advised to see whether that sign could be reduced to meet the code limitations, and so not require a variance, before its consideration next month.
Resolution:
Building Signs: Approved by Planning Commission.
Back to the Agenda/Map
David Tucker
Requesting a variance at the residence at 7547 Olde Eight Road. This is a 0.48A lot with a single-family dwelling, parcel #1300015, owned by David and Margeret Mary Tucker.
Mr. Tucker offered drawings and a survey map that showed a new attached garage. Zoning Inspector David Himes explained that the proposed garage would be closer to the next-door neighbor's lot than permitted by the code, at both the north side and east (rear), per Zoning Code 1153.05 or even the more relaxed requirements of Zoning Code 1171.03.
Board member Bill Hinkle asked whether Mr. Tucker would consider detaching the garage, so that it might not require a variance, per Zoning Code 1171.05. Mr. Tucker replied that he preferred not to do that, since he would only detach it by a few inches to meet the letter of the code; this would result in a much less desirable garage and not really improve anything with respect to the yard widths.
The effected neighbor, Mr. Boliantz, stated that he had no objection at all to the proposed garage's placement close to his lot lines. Given that, and the unusually narrow width and deep building line of the existing lot, the Board was inclined to grant the variance as just relief of a special condition. Resolution:
Approved by Board of Zoning Appeals.
Back to the Agenda/Map
Omni Realty Company
Omni did not appear this month, and had no update on their plans. Neither did Village Solicitor Russ Pry appear with any comments on their proposed Planned Unit Development zoning ordinance.
However, a representative of the Turnpike Commission did appear to ask whether the Village had received and understood their recent letter on this topic. After a flurry of paper, a copy of this this letter was found. After some discussion, it was determined that the Turnpike Commission wanted to convey that it would not be responsible for noise conditions at properties (especially residential properties) built alongside the existing Turnpike right-of-way.
For more on the Omni proposals, see these previous PC meetings: October 2003, September 2003 and August 2003 PC meeting.
The proposal involves four parcels:
Resolution:
No action by Planning Commission.
Back to the Agenda/Map
Engineer's Report: New Subdivisons
Village Engineer Steve Schreiber reported that two new residential subdivisions were nearing final approval. Once again he asked whether the Planning Commission (or Council) would provide further guidance, rules or regulations on specifics for approval of new subdivisions.

One new subdivision is "Annabelle Lake Estates", which received preliminary approval at the 4 Sep 2002 Planning Commission meeting; see also the 7 Aug 2002 meeting. This is a northerly extension of the Ashbrooke West development; it will have a cul-de-sac without an island.


The other new subdivision is "The Manor", née "Donley Farms", on the east side of Olde Eight Road north of the golf course. Preliminary approval for the street plan was granted at the 2 Apr 2003 Planning Commission meeting; see also the 7 May 2003 BZA meeting. This development's plan currently included an island in its cul-de-sac, which the Village's fire and road departments object to.
Mr. Schreiber also reported that the development would not have a forced sanitary sewer main after all, as originally proposed, but rather a gravity sewer main. Aside from relieving the developer of the cost of building a pump station, if a gravity sewer main was built then other property owners along its route (along Olde Eight Road) would be forced to tap into that service, at some point in the future. The developer would then receive reimbursement from the county for each tap-in. Mr. Schreiber will be consulting with Summit County to get further information on this approach. Planning Commission member Dr. Mike Cheung suggested that a public meeting or less-formal workshop might be in order, to inform effected residents along the proposed sewer main line.


In an unrelated matter: there was an inquiry from the audience about the new signage that had appeared at a lot on Chittenden Road, along with substantial backfilling. Engineer Schreiber stated that the backfilling had been halted by Village order, as no plans had been filed nor permits obtained. Zoning Inspector David Himes stated that no permit had been sought for the sign, and that he would cite the owners if the village would back him up by any legal action that might prove necessary. This led to another protracted and unresolved discussion about zoning code enforcement.
Back to the Agenda/Map
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