Perrysburg Township: Concerns force Belmont Place decision delay

1/11/2006

Perrysburg Township trustees have delayed making a decision on whether to allow Belmont Place, a proposed condominium development, onto Simmons Road, until late next month.

Residents packed the township hall last week to voice their concerns about the proposed development during a 1 1/2-hour public hearing.

"I think it just ruins the entire neighborhood," said Jim Murray, who lives along the northern border of the property.

He said that when he moved to the area nearly eight years ago, one of the attractions was the single-family zoning.

The trustees asked the developer to work with neighbors and the township zoning commission to try to come up with a more palatable design, and to update drawings of the project to reflect changes.

"You have an uphill battle," trustee Craig LaHote told representatives from the project.

The zoning commission will discuss the project during its meeting at 6 p.m. Feb. 13, and the trustees will consider it on Feb. 21. The public will be able to comment at both meetings.

While the Wood County Planning Commission has recommended approving a zoning change from residential to planned-unit development-residential that would allow the 28 units in seven buildings, township zoning commissioners said the area should remain single-family residential.

The township trustees need a unanimous vote to overturn the zoning commission's recommendation. Last week, they shared many of the neighbors' concerns.

"I'm going to lean pretty heavily on the planning commission and zoning commission recommendations," Trustee Gary Britten said.

Developer MDM Ltd. of Bowling Green and Feller Finch & Associates of Maumee requested that the land at 29301 Simmons Rd., on the west side of Simmons Road about a quarter mile south of Ford road, be rezoned to allow the multi-family development.

The land, 7.3 acres south of the Belmont Meadows subdivision and across the street from the Belmont Country Club, is surrounded by single-family homes and a golf course.

Trustee Bob Mack said he had concerns about putting condos in an area of single-family homes.

The Wood County Planning Commission suggested three changes when it recommended approving the plan. The developer has implemented two of them: increasing the spacing between the buildings and creating a 45-foot setback on the south side of the property.

But the commission's third suggestion, eliminating one of the buildings, is not feasible, said Greg Feller of Feller Finch.

Moving the development farther north on the property, while creating more of a buffer for neighbors to the south, was not a popular idea among some neighbors to the north, like Renisa Dorner, who said the change puts the development's roadway close to her back yard.

Like Mr. Murray, who is her next-door neighbor, she said she moved to the area because she wanted to live in a single-family environment.

"Everything that is attractive will be taken away," she said.