April 26, 2007
The meeting was called to order at 7:30 p.m. with the following members present: S. Klein, Mayor Poole and D. Watson. Commission members R. Nichols and J. Linberg are excused.
Also present: D. Weir – Village Administrator, T. Lee – Village Solicitor, B. Petronio – Administrative Assist., B. Provost – Village Engineer, S. Roessner – Zoning Inspector, Cheryl Wolfert, Ray Dora, Brant Zemelka, Charles Maloney, Justin Fill, Karen & Sam Morrow, Jarod & Lisa Nevison, Steven Jonath, Jennifer McKevitt – News Herald, Mike Keasler, Kevin Reed, Jim Garrett & Anthony Manfroni – Lake Communities Development, Bill & Robin Sweigert, Darrell & Karen Saliga, Mike Rizzo, Dan Gore, Ronald Laurent, Betty & Charles Ficke, Joe & Marie Dora, Mike & Yvonne Patterson, Tom Bolden, Jerry Petersen, Pam Vicich, Karl VonBusse, David Woitek, Fred Spagnolo, David Hawk, Jeff Luggie, Renee Newberry, John Borkholder, Bob Elko, Kim Kish, Paul Chase, Louis Mucci, Mike DeCaro, Dawn Schultz, Carl J. Hornung, Ann Wishart – Maple Leaf, Bill Church – Wal-Mart, Vic Sudik, and Stephen & CynthiaTempleton, Mr. & Mrs. Bob Gipson – Habitat for Humanity.
Agenda: Delete under O.B. – Comprehensive Plan, Noise Study
Delete under N.B. – Annexation request - Bonner
The minutes of the February 22, 2007 and March 22, 2007 meeting were presented for approval. No quorum; Move to May meeting.
OLD BUSINESS
Lakeview Apts. Remodeling – There was an approval previously for this renovation but due to some additional funds being provided, some minor changes are being added to the site plan. Will be replacing the indoor heating units with outdoor heat pumps in brick enclosures on the back of the units. Will be constructing covered entrances over each of the buildings and increase the size of the community building and the existing storage building. The engineer and zoning inspector have reviewed the plans that were submitted and have no comments on the plans. Poole made a motion to amend the site plan approval and to include the additional square footage as presented. Watson seconded. ROLL CALL: All yeas
Open Storage Permit – Tractor Supply – Requesting to use 1700 sq. ft. of parking spaces in the front of the store to display mowers and tractors from approximately March to August. This equipment would be up against the building. The trailers have been located in the front for many years. Some of the trailers are parked in the handicapped parking spaces. There are eight handicapped spaces on this property but not sure how many of the spaces need to be available according to ADA requirements. There are a lot of items being stored outside of the fenced in area that is only to be used for outdoor storage. Trailers are a large part of the sales at the store. All of the outdoor storage is screened from the residential area and needs to be kept in a neat and orderly fashion. The request seems to be a little excessive for the area of the business. The trailers are sold year round and the space is needed for the inventory that is kept all the time. Mowers are a seasonal item and will not be stored outdoors year round. It is contrary to the site plan to take up parking spaces and handicapped parking spaces. Should consider condensing the storage area that is currently approved. Not having Open Storage Permit – Tractor Supply (cont’d) the trailers in stock can cause a loss in revenue. People want to be able to see the equipment they are purchasing. If the site plan has been in violation for over ten years because of storage of inventory outside, this violation needs to be corrected at its approved site plan at this point with this size open storage request. If there is not enough indoor storage for everything, then the store needs to be increased. When it first obtained permission for outside storage, Tractor Supply agreed that its outdoor storage was to be fenced in. The current fenced in area is 16,000 sq. feet. Need to utilize existing storage space better. Manager needs to submit a plan showing the storage space better organized. No action was taken.
Open Storage Permit – Wal-Mart - Requesting same open storage as last year. There were no problems or complaints on the open storage in the parking lot of the store last year. Will be using the same amount of space. Zoning inspector suggested making this open storage permit a bi-annual permit. He will inspect it every year just to be sure that the storage space has not increased from the original site plan that was submitted. Poole made a motion to approve the Wal-Mart open storage permit for a period of two years. Watson seconded. ROLL CALL: All yeas.
AMENDMENT TO DAIRY QUEEN SITE PLAN – Would like to change the lighting from the original site plan that will be in the parking lot and replacing the existing concrete patio area. Zoning inspector has reviewed and everything meets the zoning code requirements. Still waiting for the final as built drawings. The “as built” drawings that were submitted were not as complete as they should have been. Having someone else work on those. A bond has been posted that the Village can use to complete the required work if it is not completed by the builder. Have applied for a temporary occupancy that will be valid through July 1, 2007. Poole made a motion to amend the original site plan as submitted tonight. Watson seconded. ROLL CALL: All yeas.
NEW BUSINESS
GLEN VALLEY SUBDIVISION HOUSING - Jim Garrett, representative of Lake Communities Development and Anthony Manfroni, construction manager were present to introduce a new plan for subdivision housing in the existing Glen Valley Farms Subdivision. He has the opportunity to purchase three lots with the option to purchase an additional three lots in Glen Valley Farms. Geauga Communities, a division of Lake Communities and Habitat for Humanity are separate organizations with a good working relationship. The homes by Lake Communities are for moderate income households. The homebuyers must be able to afford and qualify for +$100,000 mortgage with banks. Down payments are some times provided but must be paid back through the course of the mortgage or when the house is sold the money must still be paid back. This program is advertised in newspaper and by “word of mouth”. Homes that will be built in Glen Valley will be $160,000 - $200,000 or higher if demand exists. Will follow all Middlefield zoning and code requirements in constructing these homes in Middlefield. Mr. Garrett stated that it’s his understanding that there are fifteen lots in Glen Valley that have been available for a few years. There were many residents in attendance from Glen Valley Farms to state their positions on this housing being built. Habitat for Humanity is purchasing 4 lots with an option to purchase three more lots. Mr. Garrett will accept questions from the residents present. Questions will be directed to the planning commission who will then direct the question to either Mr. Garrett or Mr. Gipson of Habitat for Humanity.
Mike DeCaro, 14801 Glen Valley – Stated that he has worked very hard for the property and home that he has. His concern is that the homes built will not be at the +$160,000 price. A lower value of home will bring all the property values down. Feels that this project is trying to be pushed through without the knowledge of the homeowners in the subdivision. He is willing to help out any neighbor no matter where they come from, but it just doesn’t seem fair that these lower valued homes are going to be built in the subdivision.
Mike Rizzo, 14696 Meadowview – Would like to defer comments to the homeowner’s association president Pam Vicich.
Pam Vicich, 14804 Glen Valley, Homeowner’s Assoc. President - Drafted a letter that she would like to read that pretty much states the feelings of all the residents in attendance tonight. “Good evening everybody here. I am Pam Vicich, a concerned resident of Glen Valley Development here tonight along with other residents to discuss the possibility of subsidized housing coming to Glen Valley Farms. We all understand that we are zoning R-1 single family homes. It is known that subsidized housing sporadically placed over large areas, example Geauga County, does not affect property values but when grouped together it has proven to increase crime rates and decrease property values. We as a community are interested in preserving the character, our home values and values to the community within our development. Specifically Mr. Page had a covenant and bylaws drawn up years ago governing certain conditions, restrictions, limitations and regulations of the lots in Glen Valley Farms. Quote from the bylaws ‘Which are for the purpose of protecting the value and desirability of the properties in Glen Valley Farms.’ In order for the developer, Tom Page, to amend these bylaws and covenant he would need 51% of the homeowners vote for approval. At this time any amendment he would impose would not, would be voted down by the homeowners. We believe that Mr. Page is trying to circumvent the bylaws he instituted. Basically what we as the homeowners are saying is that the valuation of our homes has gone up steadily and continues with Phase 4 nearing completion and with Phase 5 coming to fruition. The average market value of houses approximately in Phase 4 is $180,000. Phase 5 has one home valued at $225,000. In order to keep our valuations up, homes to be built must be $180,000 or higher. This is not about the price of homes getting out of control. This is about protecting the valuation and desirability of our houses in Glen Valley Farms.”
Lisa Nevison, 14929 Glen Valley - Stated that she does not want this developer in her neighborhood. Developer should go find another piece of property to build on. Was promised when they purchased property that it would be a family oriented neighborhood. She doesn’t want this developer on her street. She and her husband have worked very hard to make sure they pay their bills and mortgage and work hard to do better. No one handed that to them. They did it all on their own.
Paul Chase, 14883 Glen Valley – Questioned about the requirement to qualify for a mortgage of $100,000 but building homes that are $160,000 - $200,000. How do you purchase a $200,000 house with a mortgage of $100,000?
Jim Garrett responded that for $160,000 they would probably require the homebuyer to qualify for $135,000 mortgage. The down payment funds could come from this organization.
Dawn Schultz, 14832 Glen Valley – Works for a mortgage company and main concern is how exactly does is the down payment piece work that this company provides that is giving these people this opportunity. Why are they not doing 100% financing or 90%-10% or 80%-20% like the rest of us of them have done in purchasing their homes.
Jim Garrett responded that some of the more expensive homes that are built do not receive any type of assistance with down payments. The down payment funding is available on the +$160,000 if it will help get the families into a household of their own. A down payment is given only IF the family can qualify because of income, no monies are given. The down payments are actually “deferred loans” that are repaid when the home is sold.
Dawn Schultz said that if she understands Mr. Garrett’s statements correctly, he is stating that they do not have to cover their down payment until they sell their home.
Jim Garrett responded that they will have to come up with a down payment also for the home.
Dawn Schultz stated that being in this type of business she knows that most people purchase their homes with 100% financing. Basically she feels that they are allowing a lower class of people to move into the homes that can not afford them.
Jim Garrett responded that in terms of affording the house, the last thing that this non-profit organization wants is to put the client in neighborhoods or houses that they can’t afford. That’s why the banking community is behind this. There are very significant type of income housing expense ratio that is quite honestly are much tighter than the banking community. For example, the adjustable rate mortgages, the interest only loans that a lot of folks have gotten in trouble throughout our country, at all kinds of income levels. When Geauga Communities sells the houses, those types of loans are not permitted. Only fixed thirty year mortgages are allowed for exactly that reason. The organization has a lot of rules and quite honestly it is much tougher than a lot of the banks.
Rob Stanziale, 14836 Glen Valley - His question was why do these people come to Mr. Garrett’s organization instead of going the traditional route. What makes them so special to allow them into Glen Valley? What is the default rate on these loans or anything like that?
Jim Garrett responded that people come to them because they have a great deal of partners with the banking field. Have excellent relationships with the banks. They can get folks generally better loan terms than they can get on their own. That’s a big part of the equation of why they come to them. The other thing is, and he would love to show the group the houses because they are quality houses, very good houses. They used to advertise a lot, advertising less now, more word of mouth with the folks that are living in the houses that they built. Our state leads the nation in foreclosures and default rate. We have sold about 90-95 houses last ten years and have had 2 that have defaulted. A much, much lower ratio than the state quite honestly and one of the reasons is it is much tougher from Geauga Homes than many commercial lenders to get a house because they have all of these ratios and regulations and everything. For example, you can’t get, a lot of folks are defaulting because of funds and the interest rate jumping up. You can not buy one of these Geauga Communities homes without a fixed, thirty year mortgage.
Rob Stanziale asked but why do they come to you instead of regular bank?
Jim Garrett stated that if they come with us, with our partnerships, we will get better deals than they will get on their own.
Rob Stanziale asked why can’t they get traditional financing instead of through your company?
Jim Garrett said they don’t get the financing, I’m sorry if I misspoke. They don’t get the financing from us. They get the financing from the banks as an example if they go to National City Bank on their own, and walk in on the street, they are not going to get as good a deal as through Geauga Homes.
Rob Stanziale asked again why do they come to Mr. Garrett’s organization instead of the traditional way? If they have some background or something that is not what they can go to a regular bank and get? That’s what he is getting at. Is there some reason they come to Mr. Garrett instead of going the normal route. Why do they come to him?
Jim Garrett stated that the process that they will go through is they will have open houses at their houses when they build them. Why do people come to them? They come to an open house and they fill out an application with them. They will look at the applicant’s situation and 9 times out of 10 they can’t afford a loan and what they do is try to help them out. One out of ten will be shipped to the bank.
Kathy Viezer, 14905 Glen Valley – Been there eleven years, six houses on the right. Stated that Mr. Garrett is a very brave man for coming to the meeting tonight, sir. We are a very proud community. They love their street, love their neighbors, like it to be safe. She is a social worker and been a social worker in this county for twelve years. She can appreciate what he is trying to do. It is not going to work. It is not going to work. She has been in the trenches, she sees what happens whether it is subsidize housing, public housing. She commends all that Mr. Garrett is trying to do but it’s not going to work. She asked if they get any grants and if so, from who and how much?
Jim Garrett stated that they get a lot of grants. There are no grants for these six homes here. They have various foundations…. Someone said they thought it was only three houses. There are three and an option for another three. The grants they get are from a variety of sources. Would be happy to provide a list. United Way, many others, banks such as National City, 5/3 Bank, Dollar Bank….Someone asked if these banks are all located in Lake County. No most of them are throughout the state. He would be more than happy to get them a list.
Kathy Viezer also stated that she is on the Geauga County Housing Coalition, so she would like Mr. Garrett to come to meet with them.
Jim Garrett stated that he has already met with them, that they have been nice enough to invite him.
Planning Commission Chair, Scott Klein addressed the audience by saying that Mr. Garrett will be more than happy to answer the questions, but if the audience could please direct the questions to the commission and then they will decipher who will answer it and again it most likely be Mr. Garrett.
Gary Pryor, 16210 Brian Ct. - He was concerned that this meeting happened and they were not informed but had to inform each other. Could they have a meeting?
Scott Klein stated he would like to address that question. He received a call from a concerned homeowner and kinda gave them an idea that they could come to Planning and Zoning so the Village kind of set this up for the residents.
Gary Pryor stated that he was concerned that maybe they were trying to bypass the residents.
Jim Garrett stated he was concerned about that also and was frankly embarrassed because the goal was to, he didn’t even know the meeting coming up but the Village of Middlefield folks were kind enough to tell me about this meeting cause it sounds like things got out of hand following the meeting with Habitat for Humanity, and then to have a couple meetings this week with a little bit smaller group and then after that get the advice from the smaller group on what is the best avenue for future meetings whether it is with Glen Valley Homeowners Association or maybe here. This caught him by surprise too.
Tom Lee, solicitor stated that the Planning Commission approves subdivisions, approves zoning restrictions and approves zoning variances for people coming in asking for modification of what the zoning requires. As he understands, the homes that this meeting is all about are going to comply fully with the Village requirements. The issues tonight relate to whether they comply with the subdivision by laws and restrictions, which are, individual contracts. None of these issues are something that the Village controls. The reason this meeting happened was because of a flyer that was distributed in Glen Valley that advised residents to come to this meeting. Lake Communities Development was not coming to this meeting except to provide information to the Planning Commission, because they are planning on developing homes but, there have been no requests for any changes of anything that the Village requires. In other words, every zoning code that the existing homes had to meet are going to be met by these homes when they are constructed. So this is really an informational meeting a number of people were concerned about this project and, the Village Administrator called a number of people who came here who were on the agenda and asked if they would mind deferring till next month so that this meeting could happen.
Tom Bolden, 14798 Glen Valley - Has some information he would like to pass out to everyone so that they can review it. Mr. Bolden would like to go through the data that he gathered and ask Mr. Garrett a few questions.
Tom Bolden – Moved here 2 ˝ years ago with two main purposes. One being as an investment, not only financial but even bigger, family investment. Have three young children and saw Glen Valley as a huge opportunity to raise their family here in a nice, clean environment. So with that in mind, with everything that is going on, he appreciates what this organization does and Habitat for Humanity does. Thinks it is a good thing when done properly. Checked out information at the Geauga Auditor’s website and started pulling data to find out the average market value for homes in Phase 4 which was $174,000. The average square footage of a home in Phase 4 is 1641. That is pretty impressive but as you come down the street to the cul-de-sac the homes do get larger. The ten most recently built homes market value jumped to $204,000 with 2200 square feet. That is a real asset to the homes in Glen Valley Farms. That homeowner probably built in that area for the same reason that he did as an investment. The subdivision’s covenants and bylaws states very clearly that the purpose is to protect the value and desirability of the property in Glen Valley Farms. In summary in order to meet the criteria of the declaration of covenants which protects the value of the existing homes of Glen Valley Farms, the value must be in direct relation to the highest valued home in order to protect the value. So those ten residents who own 2200 sq. ft. homes who paid over $200,000, if anything is built less than that, the contract is being breached. So if there are any new homes developed on that street they need to be 2200 sq. ft. or more or a value of +$200,000.
Jim Garrett stated that the first home planned to be built by Geauga Communities Homes will be 1700 sq. ft. and the Progress Homes will be 2300 sq. ft. The information presented by Mr. Bolden is very interesting and he will pass it on. The mortgage on the 2300 sq. ft. will be what ever the market value is and is up to Progress Homes. The 1700 sq. ft. house will probably be in the +$160,000.
Tom Bolden stated that he feels Habitat for Humanity is a great concept, helped construct a house about ten years, there are two Habitat homes in Glen Valley, one is 1056 sq. ft. and the other is 1300 sq. ft. These homes do not add value to the development of Glen Valley. These homes were recently built. Asked Mr. Garrett the square footage of the two home designs presented tonight and do they have basements.
Jim Garrett stated that one of the homes will have a basement, the other will not.
Mr. Bolden stated that these example homes are located on Chester St. in Painesville. How close are they to the STP Oil of Painesville?
Garrett replied about a mile or so. Bolden – You can’t hit golf balls off the front yards and hit the building? Garrett – No, not really. Bolden – I would encourage people to go and look at these homes. Garrett – The homes built on Chester St. are not nearly as nice as the homes to be built in Glen Valley. Bolden – If you are going to build a home, you better not let those ten people at the end of our street down, let alone us.
Kim Davison, 14845 Lantern Ct - First of all, the two structures that were presented in the photos do not even comply with the integrity of the homes that are going to setting in front of them as far as size, architecture, anything in that regard. She would hate to look beyond a property on Glen Valley, look out her back door and see a home that is twice as small as what she is paying taxes on. She asked if these new homeowners would be paying the association fee.
Garrett replied that folks who purchase these homes pay all the expenses of the home which include association fees, taxes, utilities, etc. He has some developments that they have built that have association fees.
Betty Ficke, 14782 Glen Valley - Chose their home because of the area, the people and the home itself. Did not want to live in Mentor with all of the traffic, moved back from Arizona to be by family and wanted to live in Glen Valley. That is their reason for moving back. She wanted to know why this developer chose Glen Valley, why Middlefield and are other agencies such as Habitat going to moving in the same area.
Garrett stated that they chose Glen Valley because there are fifteen lots currently for sale there and they have been for sale for quite some time. That’s what they are looking at. They are looking at those kinds of lots very closely. Habitat may also be building on three lots with the possibility of four. Would not be going in to the neighborhood to build with the intention of hurting valuations. Right now they are building beautiful homes.
Betty Ficke – Checked on home prices in Middlefield and the medium home is $149,000. They are in the $200,000 price bracket in their home. They wanted this type of home even though they are both retired. If this type of development comes in to Middlefield, just think what it will do to the values and therefore it will affect Middlefield’s taxes.
Dan Gore, 14796 Glen Valley – Stated that Mr. Garrett said that there have been fifteen lots for sale for some time in Glen Valley, and that these lots have been available for 2 ˝ years. Garrett said that he may be wrong on that timeframe. Gore stated that those lots were just developed last winter. That is not a great period of time for builders to come in and build on those lots. Received a phone call from Mr. Garrett that he would be giving the people who purchase these homes, $35,000 for a down payment. Garrett said in some cases, not these homes, in some cases some of the homes they sell give up to $35,000 down payment funds. Gore asked where does this money come from and don’t tell him non-profit. He wants to know exactly where this money comes. Garrett stated that in some cases the funding for the down payment funding comes from not these lots here but in some cases come from an organization called Ohio Housing Finance Agency in Columbus. Down payment funding for some of the homes that are built come from the organizations’ own funding. Gore said so what you are telling me is that this money is coming from state funding. Garrett said that the monies for Glen Valley are coming from the organizations’ own cash fund. Funding from other $35,000 down payments outside of Geauga County will help to pay for the down payments here.
Gore said that he specifically spoke with Mr. Garrett on the phone about Glen Valley Drive, he stated that the people who purchase these homes would be given $35,000 and now he’s saying they will not?
Garrett said that when he stated $35,000 he was referring to a different development. These homes are $25,000 down payment from Lake Communities. Gore stated that he can not buy his explanation because Garrett knew Mr. Gore was talking about Glen Valley Drive and he stated that the down payment was $35,000. So therefore what Mr. Garrett is saying that if they build a $160,000 house in Glen Valley and he pays $35,000 down payment for the people what will they pay because obviously they can’t afford a $160,000 to start with, where are they coming up with a measly $100,000? Garrett said that on a $160,000 house, it would typically be a $25,000 down payment funding, in this case of the houses in Glen Valley comes from Lake Communities fund and in that case the mortgage would be $135,000. That mortgage would be obtained from a bank. Gore stated that Mr. Garrett lied to him at this meeting from what he said on the phone so therefore he can and will never trust you. He is going to learn about more about where this organization gets it’s financing from. Mr. Gore said that Mr. Garrett is not telling them anything, not telling them where is coming from and all he has done is run around circles. Mr. Garrett stated he would happy to provide the additional financials of the organization.
Sam Morrow, 14815 Glen Valley – Stated that he understands that these organizations do good things for needy people but do they really want to move people into neighborhoods that don’t want or trust them or want them there. Garrett said that they sell homes to people who want to buy them.
Reece Elko, 14838 Lantern Ct. – Addressed the commission about the fact that there is an issue with so many vacant properties in Glen Valley is probably due to Habitat coming in to the development. Need to make sure that no more of that type of housing is built in Glen Valley so that the development can be built back up and be sure that it will continue with what the residents there now invested at the time when they purchased the properties.
Klein stated that the Council and Planning commission can only regulate the zoning aspect for the homes built anywhere in the Village. As far as lot development is a free enterprise when you have a developer who has lots for sale and there is someone who is willing to purchase them.
Lee stated that is essentially correct. The Village can only regulate what goes on private property as far as the lot lines, size of houses & how far back from the street. The R1-A district which is Glen Valley district was created in 1993 in an attempt to get more affordable housing in Middlefield. At that time, there had been no single family homes built for about five years. This property was located in the township and Tom Page came to Council and asked for some zoning exceptions to have houses a little bit closer to each other with a higher density than the standard R1 zoning and if Council could work that out with Mr. Page. There are some stricter requirements in the development. Target prices for the home at that time were under $100,000. That obviously never happened given the time it took to get the development under way. The Village cannot control who buys a lot or what they put on the lot as long as it complies with the zoning requirements. Cannot also control how a house is financed.
Elko stated that they just need to be careful because they will probably be bringing into Middlefield what we really don’t want here.
Mike Rizzo – They understand that a lot of this out of the Village’s control and thank you for allowing them to vent here at the meeting. He questioned Mr. Garrett about how a default is handled. Garrett stated that this is handled like any other house that defaults. The bank would be the one to take over the house. Rizzo stated that a house was constructed two years across from him that was built substandardly. That house will not be able to be sold. Mr. Page is desperate to sell the lots and it is an insult and a slap in the face to those who have purchased homes in the area.
Someone asked what was the price for the lots. Is not a totally done deal but they are paying more than they want to. So in other words it is a done deal? Not completely. Asked if there were buyers for the homes to be built. There are no buyers as of yet. So these homes are going to be built and then just sit there until Lake Communities can find buyers for them? Garrett stated that they have great success at selling houses. Have sold 17 houses this year already.
Carl Hornung, 15140 Sawgrass – He is concerned for the Woodsong Development. He supports the Glen Valley development regarding this matter. Have to be getting something for nothing to be able to build a house for $160,000.
Darrell Saliga, 14781 Glen Valley – Concerned overall. They were the last home built on the cul-de-sac. Does the new home buyer of a $200,000 home on the street know that this kind of development is coming in?
Karen Saliga, 14781 Glen Valley – Has no problem with Habitat helping people out but if they build where these houses are supposed to be. There is a Habitat house located by her and the police are there frequently. They don’t have a choice of what lives there and that’s what is coming in to the community. The houses may look gorgeous but there is no control over the people who purchase them. The kids in the neighborhood are afraid of the kids who live in this house because of what they are. Please don’t let this kind of people to move in our neighborhood.
Charles Mahoney, 14777 Glen Valley – Question was to the president of the Homeowners Association as to the recourse with Tom Page. Can’t they call a meeting? This forum does not seem appropriate to their concerns. The village is very kind to have them here. A meeting could be called with Tom Page. Thought it might have been somewhat of a zoning issue so that is why it came to the Planning Commission.
Chris Spagnolo, 14868 Lantern Ct. – Questioned if it is normal for a builder to come before this Commission in order to build a home in the Village. Klein - Only need to appear before the Planning Commission if there is an issue with the house. So then why is the developer here. Spagnolo - Has Mr. Page applied for any zoning changes for the development? Poole – No nothing recently.
Bob Elko, 14838 Lantern Ct. - He asked Mr. Garrett where he lived. Garrett – In Lake County. Elko – Where in Lake County. Garrett - Willoughby Hills. Elko - I’m sure that you don’t have these homes in your neighborhood. You wouldn’t live next to those homes. We all busted our butts to have what we have and no one gave us a helping hand. That was our investment and now you are taking our investment away so we can’t sell a house. All these developers live in other areas.
Lou Mucci, 13801 Aquilla, Burton Twp. - Burton trustee and was concerned about what was going on since he is in the neighboring community. He was the president of Chagrin Falls Park which is one of the few minority developments in Geauga County. Usually the people who purchase these homes, do have some kind of credit problems otherwise they would be able to get normal mainstream financing. Even though the default rates are low, the banks do not generally foreclose on those loans because they are getting involved with them for Community Reinvestment Act reasons. Would suggest Mr. Garrett coming over and helping to jumpstart the program again at Chagrin Falls Park. Might make more sense for his first venture in Geauga County. These developers need to be sensitive to the communities that they are coming in to because if the new residents are not welcome it will not work.
Vic Sudik, 14894 Grant –There are three entities listed with this development. Are they all non-profit? Garrett – Yes. One of them is a division of the parent company. Sudik – How much grant money do you receive? Garrett – Will bring a copy of the organization’s audit to the Municipal Center for people to review.
Kevin Reed, 14793 Glen Valley – Questioned how a home with a basement is comparable in value to one that does not. How does a home built on a slab equal to home with a basement?
Garrett - The one without the slab was 1700 sq. ft. and the one with is 2300 sq. ft.
Reed - That does not answer my question. There are only about three homes in the subdivision without basements. The basements can not be counted in the sq. ft. of the house. Asked if there is any screening of clients beyond financial for these homes.
Karen Morrow, 14825 Glen Valley – Wanted to clarify if the developer has actually purchased the lots. Garrett – It is about 99% complete.
Rizzo - Stated that the house across from him is supposed to be absolutely beautiful inside but is not built to the standards of the neighborhood. That house will never sell.
Morrow – What will it take to convince this developer not to build in Glen Valley?
Nevison – Do not want this developer in this area. Talk to Mr. Mucci. Moved into neighborhood with only 9 houses, now there 100. Mr. Page has made money on the lots and if he has to wait to sell the rest of these lots, he can wait. They do not need this developer there.
Klein called this portion of the meeting to an end.
Bonner annexation request: Mr. Jerry Petersen and Mr. Dick Bonner were present for this request. Would like to annex a portion of property located immediately south of the main Dillen Products building. The Industrial Drive is in place but it is a private drive. The township trustees are interested in working in cooperation with the Village in some sort of cooperative statutorily authorized manner. Would like to see what the commission’s feeling is about annexation of this property. The previous time this came to the Planning Commission they wanted to make sure that the Village could get access to this road from the west for potential future developments. Lee asked if Bonner purchased the property to the west from Strohm. Bonner purchased the entire parcel from Strohm. There were two issues with dedication of the road and getting a piece of land to the property line. Bonner stated that the issue the last time was that the Village wanted the road run back to Ford’s property. He refused to do it then and still will not do that. Not his responsibility to put in a road for Mr. Ford. Lee asked if Bonner would dedicate the land without building anything on it. Bonner does not want to turn that into an exit out of Middlefield. His intention is to make the road a cul-de-sac and develop the property there. Klein asked where would the road continue out to. Bonner stated the property owned by David Ford (Federal Improvement Company) does not really have any access to it. Would have to put a road in up on top of the hill. Mr. Ford does have access to Rte. 528. Lee stated there has been discussion for about fifteen years about a potential truck route bypass that would go through Ford’s property and come up close to Bonner’s property. That is still on the drawing board and almost got constructed but the funding was not available because of the problem with the airport. Planning Commission was trying to make sure that any ability to get to Rte. 528 through this property either connected to Ford or through Horning Concrete, was preserved. The goal was to have the land dedicated but not requiring anyone to build the road and that it would be built sometime in the future without having to acquire property or tear down a building. Bonner stated that the only property behind his that would be requiring access would be Ford and he has access to Rte. 528. Concern for the Village was that if Bonner wanted this property annexed in, the Village wants something in return. Bonner stated that there would be taxes and Council felt that would not be enough. The answer last time was that if Bonner dedicated his road and a strip of land so there would be potential access in the future, then the village would annex, and then he would not have to maintain the road. The downside on that would be that the road could have more traffic on it. Petersen stated that that’s why Bonner wants to keep the road private so that it doesn’t become a thoroughfare. If Ford wants to have an alternate route out of his property, then he should purchase the property and put in a road. This is the only property where there could be access from. Bonner is here again to appeal to the new Planning Commission regarding annexation of this property. Klein stated he would like to see an aerial view of this property so he can see exactly which parcels Bonner wants to annex into the Village. Bonner will bring all of that information back to the Planning Commission. Would like to get this annexation approved as soon as possible. There was discussion about the waterline. The waterline is not looped in this area but comes through the rear portion of Bonner’s property. If coming to the next meeting, need to get copies of plans, etc. to engineer for review before the meeting.
ENGINEER’S REPORT – None at this time.
ZONING INSPECTOR’S REPORT – Report is in the packet. Note that Mr. Duncan has submitted a new sign request application this week. Will not be presented to the Planning Commission unless there is an issue with it. This came out of the discussion of the federal court case where it was pointed out to Mr. Duncan who complained he had been denied his first amendment rights to campaign for president, etc. that he had a zoning permit for a sign and that even if he didn’t chose to use that sign permit. If this new permit is approved, then the permit that was approved as part of the site plan needs to be revoked. That needs to be specified on the new permit when it is issued.
Being no further business at this time, the meeting adjourned at 9:30 p.m.