The St. Albans Township Zoning Commission voted on Tuesday evening to allow several properties, including one 91-acre tract and a couple of 1-3 acre parcels, to transition from agricultural use to general business.
The decision came one day after the Licking County Planning Commission voted to support the rezoning of six properties – more than 300 acres of agricultural land – in the township, despite Licking County planning staff recommendations to the contrary.
After the county planning commission voted to support the rezoning petitions, those resolutions were returned to the township, where the zoning board had the opportunity to either approve or deny them.
During the St. Albans hearing on Tuesday, Aug. 27, the zoning commission heard details about four properties passed on from the Licking County planning commission, including the 91-acre property owned by St. Albans Township fiscal officer Bridgett Reeves and her husband, Kevin, along Ohio Rt. 310, as well as a 1.86-acre property, a 1.27-acre property, and a 130-acre property on both sides of Ohio Rt. 161.
Of the four properties, the St. Albans Zoning Board approved three, and denied the rezoning request by owners of the 130-acre property.
“With this particular application, it needs a little bit more scrutiny,” one of the zoning commission members said before voting to deny the proposal. “I am persuaded by the size of the parcel.”
But with board approval, the other three property owners can transition the land from agricultural use to general business – if they choose to do so at some point in the future.
Kevin Reeves, who has farmed the land around his home for years, said the family has no plans to change anything anytime soon.
“We can honestly state that we have no plans [for commercial development] at this time,” he said. “Our plans are to continue to farm.”
Kevin Reeves said the fear and the unknown around the Intel development is part of what drove his family to rezone the property. Part of the challenge, he said, is the possible expansion of Rt. 310 near his home – located along a corridor already in use for the Intel plant.
“It’s just unprecedented times – it’s what we don’t know that’s got everybody concerned,” he said after Tuesday’s meeting. “My biggest fear is when 310 gets expanded, because our property is not very deep on the majority of the frontage.”
“If that road is expanded to five lanes with a median in the middle, what’s going to happen?” he said. “Our livelihood, the base that we make our livelihood, is shrinking dramatically. There’s not a damn thing I can do about it.”
During the zoning hearing, other St. Albans residents were critical of the rezoning resolutions, in part because of an ongoing zoning moratorium in the township.
St. Albans Trustee Bruce Lane, who introduced the zoning moratorium earlier this year so the township could revise its zoning codes and “close loopholes,” said the rezoning of these properties could be “disruptive” and could “lead to questions of fairness and even to potential corruption.”
“It is my opinion that these property owners are trying to sneak changes in before zoning is reformed in the township,” Lane said. “Spot zoning these properties will disrupt our long-term comprehensive plan efforts. This can lead to a fragmented development that does not align with the community’s overall goals.”
The Reeves disagreed with that characterization and said they have no plans to stop farming any time soon. The rezoning, Kevin Reeves said, is just precautionary. And, the board agreed, it meets the criteria for the township’s future land-use plans.
“Everybody said, ‘well, we want to keep it rural and agricultural out here,’ but I’m sorry folks, it hasn’t been rural and agricultural for 20 years,” said zoning commission member David Lees.
“It’s as close as it gets to Intel within our township,” said another zoning commission member. “I think we’re kidding ourselves not to think that the whole strip of 310 won’t eventually become commercial.”
Julia Lerner writes for TheReportingProject.org, the nonprofit news organization of Denison University’s Journalism program, which is supported by generous donations from readers. Sign up for The Reporting Project newsletter here