CENTERBURG — Residents asked questions and shared concerns about zoning notices and gravel driveways at Monday night’s Centerburg Village Council meeting.
Several residents received notices relating to gravel driveways not being allowed in front yards under the village’s updated zoning code. The new code became effective July 5 and requires a concrete or asphalt surface for new or updated driveways.
Village solicitor Kyle Strough explained that gravel is a problem because it washes into the stormwater system. Acknowledging the zoning notice could have been worded differently, he reassured residents it does not necessarily mean they have to pave their driveway.
“If your driveway is gravel and you’re not changing it, then you’re okay,” he told the residents. “If you expand it or change it, then it has to be brought up to code.”
Wendi Moeller of the Cincinnati-based Compass Point Planning completed the new zoning code. The process started in 2019 when the Knox County Foundation funded the creation of strategic plans for Centerburg and other county communities.
After Centerburg accepted its strategic plan, it hired Moeller to do the zoning work. The Knox County Foundation provided the village $40,000 a year for 2021-24 to cover the zoning audit and strategic plan implementation.
“We expect growth; we know it’s coming,” Councilwoman Ronda Seligman, chair of the village zoning commission, said of the reason for updating the code. “We want to have control over what [people] do when they come in. We want to be ahead of the game.”
The commission held several meetings, and council held three hearings. The village posted the proposed changes on its website, and council gave the code three readings before adopting it.
“It took a long time. Many meetings, many hours,” Seligman said of the process. “We hoped more people would come [to the meetings], but they didn’t.”
Resident Don Wallace asked whether the village compared the code to Knox County’s code.
“There is uniformity within the county,” Mayor Greg Sands said, adding that Moeller completed several other communities’ zoning audits. “The challenge is that in our corner of the county, we’re going to be affected first.”
Garbage and waste collection
Legislation adding a “Garbage and Waste Collection” section to the village’s code was up for a third reading.
The standards limit collection to the hours of 7 am to 7 pm. Council discussed whether the start time should be earlier. Some haulers start as early as 5:30 am.
The discussion included the following points:
•Whether limiting hours would ultimately raise rates for residents
•Whether some haulers would discontinue service
•Whether to amend the ordinance to remove the time frame and replace it with “subject to time established by council”
Village Administrator Teri Wise said she wanted to learn haulers’ routes and the weight hauled because if haulers use unpaved alleys, the village will have to look at paving them.
Council approved the regulations by a 5 to 1 vote.
Legislative action
In addition to adopting waste hauler regulations, council members took the following actions:
•Tabled an ordinance eliminating parking on the west side of South Hartford Avenue
•Unanimously adopted a vacant property registry
•Gave second readings to legislation authorizing health insurance coverage for eligible village employees and implementing a sidewalk program
•Waived the three readings and approved an ordinance amending the codified ordinances to comply with state law
•Gave the first reading to legislation authorizing Wise to contract with V3 Companies to repair the Jerry Street swale stormwater pipe
Reports
Village Administrator. Staff members continue to alternate responsibilities to gain accredited hours for their water/wastewater certification. Cleaning of catch basins continues, and calls about faulty street lights have dwindled. Building fire inspections continue. The village used more than 10 tons of patching material for potholes.
Regional Planning Commission. Mayor Sands reported that the RPC approved by a 17 to 2 vote extending the Table Rock subdivision on Wilson Road. The village’s representatives cast the nay votes.
“If growth happens, we have sewer and water access available,” he said. “The Knox County health department should be the one to protect us and require them to hook into us as contiguous. We are not getting that support.”
COJFD. Councilman Tom Stewart reported that the installation of the exhaust collection system purchased with a $75,000 grant is now complete. The department is fully staffed but is still hiring medics and firefighters.
