Public hearing set on zoning changes

In an effort to ensure that zoning rules and regulations are effectively communicated, the Painesville Township Zoning Commission recommends three proposed text amendments.

“The first one is kind of simple,” Zoning Inspector Rich Constantine said. “We decided we should officially exempt new owners of residential properties from having to get a zoning permit. This is because the way our zoning code has read for a long time, ‘Any transfer of ownership of property requires a zoning certificate’ and we believe the intention all along was to require that for changes of business ownership, not for residential transactions.”

The other text amendments are regarding planned unit development regulation and fencing requirements.

“We had some language in there that was redundant and we changed some of our height restrictions,” he said. “We have elaborated on defining some prohibited fencing materials and also listing permitted fencing materials.”

The revised rules will prevent future inefficient, unsafe and aesthetically unpleasing fencing in the township.

Residents will have the opportunity to voice questions, comments and concerns during a public hearing at 7:30 p.m. Sept. 19. Following the public hearing that will be held at Painesville Township City Hall, 55 Nye Road, the trustees will vote on the modifications.

“These are a few of many changes that we’ve been working on,” Constantine said. “Every time you get a chance to really read the zoning code, you find little things that just need corrected or cleaned up and we try to accommodate those things as we run across them. With the zoning commission, things move very slowly, and they have to, because when we’re talking about putting zoning rules and regulations into effect, we have to do the best we can to make sure we have the wording exactly right. We want to make sure it can’t be misinterpreted and we’re clear on what the expectation is, what the rule is and what the exceptions are.”