MOUNT VERNON — After an almost three-hour public hearing, the Mount Vernon Municipal Planning Commission voted against rezoning 40 acres on north Vernonview Drive.
Joshua Williams of the Brookes Group is in contract to buy the land. He requested a zoning change from R-1, single-family, to R-3, multi-family housing. He wants to build Arista Villas, a 232-unit townhome community targeted to 25- to 45-year-old professionals and younger families.
A professional property management company would manage the site.
The parcel is between Upland Terrace and Woodside Drive, a location Williams said is appropriate for development in relation to the county and city comprehensive plans. He said 216 of the 232 units do not abut R-1; most border parcels that have General Business or M-1 light manufacturing zoning.
Williams said he considered residents’ previously noted objections when presenting his proposal.
Initial design plans called for three-story townhomes, but Williams said he is moving toward two-story units, given the elevation and where the units sit in relation to homes on Upland Terrace.
“We think that is a good compromise,” he said.
Regarding traffic concerns, Williams said a new connector road from Vernonview to Upper Gilchrist will make the development more livable and provide functionality; stylistically, it adds value to properties.
The primary entrance into the development is a new road down to Coshocton Avenue, which Williams would be responsible to build, but the complex will have multiple exits.
Williams said there needs to be more discussion about whether a light or traffic signal is more appropriate at the exit onto Vernonview. He also acknowledged the difficulty of turning left from the Kroger complex onto Vernonview.
However, he said there are several entrances and exits into the shopping center and that by working with shopping center and city officials, “we can come up with a plan.”
Regarding schools, Williams said townhomes affect schools less than single-family homes. Based on townhome demographics, he estimates 50 children will live in Arista Villas.
“We don’t think there’s going to be any type of visible effect on the school system,” he said.
Williams estimates the value of the townhomes to be $230,000 to $250,000, a price he said is comparable to Fairways Condominiums located across the road on Vernonview.
He also pointed out that the Fairways is a planned neighborhood development with a density nearly equivalent to Arista Villas.
Public sentiment
No one spoke in favor of the rezoning. Parcel owners Lenore Cochran and her sister, Deborah Cochran, oppose the project based on density.
Fairway Drive resident Dennis Snyder opposed the density and, along with other residents, questioned the number of new housing units needed in the city. Arista Villas and other proposed developments would add 1,078 new units.
Referencing the Area Development Foundation’s 2021 housing study, Mayor Matt Starr said the county needs 192-256 housing units annually for the next 10 years. That number is based on projected job growth. The number is higher when you calculate the annual house loss rate and commuters.
Starr reiterated that those numbers are countywide, not just in the city.
Snyder pointed out that once the parcel gets changed to R-3, Williams could sell, and it could become a HUD (Housing and Urban Development) complex.
“Once the zoning is changed, the city has no guarantees or say in what goes into that parcel,” agreed Linda Beck of Woodside Road.
Shelda Robertson noted the $1,500 rental price, saying the average rental rate in the city is $750 to $800.
“With that in mind, most of the rentals could remain empty, and they could become subsidized housing,” she said.
Fairway Drive resident Kim Lemley pointed out the other proposed developments are on the outskirts of town.
“To have someone come in with this in the center of town is unreasonable,” she said.
Regarding Williams’ proposal to offer six acres of the parcel to the city for a new fire station, Lemley questioned the effect of constant lights and sirens from the fire station on residents in a nearby nursing center.
Safety-service Director Richard Dzik clarified that the city had discussions with the Cochran family in 2020 about a possible fire station on Vernonview. Dzik said the Cochran family told Williams about those discussions.
Ron Homan of Upland Terrace said the 40 acres include a marshy area. He feels water runoff is a major disqualifier for R-3 zoning.
City Engineer Brian Ball said there would be no exceptions for stormwater runoff. The development has to meet city and EPA requirements.
Susan Homan asked whether an environmental impact study was done. Ball said the study would be done during the permitting process, not during the rezoning process.
Residents noted other concerns:
•Decreased property values
•Increased car and noise pollution stemming from the 870 parking spaces noted in the plan
•An overburdened school system and subsequent higher taxes for property owners
•Increased traffic on Beech Street by drivers using the connector road to Upper Gilchrist
“There is no question that the people of Mount Vernon have spoken,” Upland Terrace resident Don Carr said, referencing the pages of public opposition and 377 petition signatures opposing the rezoning.
“Drivers realize that everyone who uses Vernonview and Coshocton will be impacted with the addition of traffic generated by this project.”
Commission member Austin Swallow questioned Williams about density calculations, whether roads in the development would be private or public, trash pickup, setbacks, and whether he would commit to two-story units.
Williams said he would commit to two-story units and double-check the setbacks but was unsure whether the density calculation was based on 33 acres or 40. Whether the roads will be public or private is not yet determined.
Williams said he would consider a PND designation rather than R-3.
Law Director Rob Broeren said he had no legal concerns about the rezoning, but he did have some concerns about the lack of information.
He also clarified that spot zoning generally deals with a small parcel within a large area. “It does not appear this would be spot zoning in the eyes of the courts,” he said.
A motion to recommend the zoning change died for lack of a second. A motion to deny the zoning change passed unanimously.
Safety-service Director Dzik said he is more amenable to the PND option because it gives the city ongoing oversight.
Commission member Todd Hawkins said the goal of the MPC is “the greater good of the city.”
“Any time we are asked to rezone, the burden of proof is on the one making the request,” he said. “Although studies show there is a housing need … to make a change so dramatic, I didn’t see the need for what they are proposing.”
Swallow agreed a different classification might be more appropriate.
The planning commission has five members: the mayor, safety-service director, and three residents. Ball and Broeren are not voting members of the commission.
Take a look at what Mr. Williams has done in the city of Crestline, Ohio. Talk to the Crawford County Auditor and the people of Willow Run in Crestline that he has illegally pocketed over a million dollars in the selling of stick built homes on land zoned for modular homes. Giving the so called owners of the stick built homes a BILL OF SALE instead of a deed in the end and a LAND LEASE instead of a parcel number. He paid none of his contractors and has hundreds of thousands of unpaid bills in the form of leans against the property.