Changes ahead for Mound as business hub
MIAMISBURG — Stricter guidelines for Mound Business Park development are in the works as Miamisburg prepares for property ownership changes at the 306-acre former U.S. nuclear research facility.
Proposed changes would create a business park zoning district similar to the one the city formed with Miami Twp. and Springboro around the Austin Boulevard interchange, City Planner Ryan Homsi said.
That area surrounding Interstate 75 has seen more than $100 million in public and private investment — and the creation of thousands of jobs — since the decision to build the interchange.
Mound Business Park now has about 15 businesses with nearly 300 employees. That makes it ripe for better development and design standards, Homsi said.
The business park “has a very unique history,” he said. “For that reason it has a very unique use group that’s up there now. And a big chunk of the area is currently undeveloped.
“It’s similar to what we did out at Austin Center. It has its own zoning district. It’s a very unique area. The Mound is somewhat similar in terms of its uniqueness. So
we feel that we should create a district just for Mound Business Park.”
The proposal comes at a time when the business park is transitioning from strictly public oversight with the city and the Mound Development Corp. to private ownership.
“The Mound is beginning to get more interest in new building construction,” Miamisburg City Manager Keith Johnson said. “And it’s the potential building construction and the sale of lots that” has prompted looking at creating a zoning district.
The MDC has overseen business park development as the city has acquired the land from the Department of Energy. The DOE this past spring said it was in the process of transferring about 90 acres to Mound Development.
All the buildings are either for lease or sale, Eric Cluxton, president and chief executive of MDC, has said. They must be, if the park is to be self-sustaining.
“As more parcels are transferred” from the DOE, “the risk of undesirable uses operating in the business park increase,” city records say.
And “as land in the business park ... is sold (off ) to private owners, it will become increasingly difficult to control future uses in the park,” according to city records.
An ordinance creating a chapter in the city’s code for the business park zoning district was prepared for Miamisburg City Council at its last meeting in July. However, the issue was taken off the agenda at request of the MDC, which is seeking “more flexibility,” Johnson said.
Homsi said he expects “some version” of that eightpage document will be considered by council in the next few months.
Any legislation approved by the city would simply create the district, not rezone any property, Homsi said.
The version set aside by council last month included more than 20 permitted and prohibited uses. Some permitted uses included:
■ Industrial scientific research and design, and testing centers
■ The manufacturer or assembly of general, precision, medical, dental and optical instruments
■ Warehouses and wholesale establishes, exclusive of truck terminals and open storage
Some prohibited uses included:
■ Yards of general contractors and construction yards
■ Sawing and planing mills
■ Meat packing