While police and fire are vital to the quality of Sylvania Township today, zoning and planning are vital to the quality of Sylvania Township in the future. This Township update will talk about the improvements in our Zoning Department which will help keep Sylvania Township a quality community.
Wednesday, September 16, 2009
Planning For Our Future
For decades, Sylvania Township has been a center for immense growth and development. This growth has helped to fund our schools, the Senior Center, our parks and recreation as well as basic township services. At the same time, some of that growth has evolved based on an outdated strategic plan. Solid, up-to-date land use plans will improve the quality of our community while preserving our property values. For a growing community, a land use plan should be reviewed and updated every 3-5 years.
To help guide future growth, Sylvania Township has a Master Land Use Plan which helps to identify desirable areas for commercial, residential, and industrial development with the intent that new developments would compliment and blend well with nearby uses. When I was elected, our Land Use Plan had not been updated since 2001. In 2007, we went through the process of updating our Land Use Plan. We held public meetings and took surveys from residents so that you could tell us what you wanted Sylvania Township to look like including landscape, signs, building facades, etc.
One of the outcomes of updating the Land Use Plan was to identify areas of conflict between our Land Use Plan and our Zoning Resolution. We have been working to correct those conflicts in order to help clarify the intent of the Land Use Plan and better guide future zoning. The Land Use Plan Committee also recommended the adoption of various building standards in order to help preserve the high quality construction and architecture that Sylvania Township is known for.
We are working on these recommendations as well.
Although clearly the real estate market has slowed, I would anticipate revisiting our Master Land Use Plan again in a year or two, after we have resolved the majority of conflicts between the Zoning Resolution and Land Use Plan. This will keep our zoning laws progressive and supportive of quality development in Sylvania Township.
To help guide future growth, Sylvania Township has a Master Land Use Plan which helps to identify desirable areas for commercial, residential, and industrial development with the intent that new developments would compliment and blend well with nearby uses. When I was elected, our Land Use Plan had not been updated since 2001. In 2007, we went through the process of updating our Land Use Plan. We held public meetings and took surveys from residents so that you could tell us what you wanted Sylvania Township to look like including landscape, signs, building facades, etc.
One of the outcomes of updating the Land Use Plan was to identify areas of conflict between our Land Use Plan and our Zoning Resolution. We have been working to correct those conflicts in order to help clarify the intent of the Land Use Plan and better guide future zoning. The Land Use Plan Committee also recommended the adoption of various building standards in order to help preserve the high quality construction and architecture that Sylvania Township is known for.
We are working on these recommendations as well.
Although clearly the real estate market has slowed, I would anticipate revisiting our Master Land Use Plan again in a year or two, after we have resolved the majority of conflicts between the Zoning Resolution and Land Use Plan. This will keep our zoning laws progressive and supportive of quality development in Sylvania Township.
Setting Standards for Quality
As just mentioned, our zoning department is working on drafting new provisions to help guide new development and redevelopment in Sylvania Township. This includes a sign code, landscape standards and design standards. While the majority of development that has happened in the township is of high quality and complements our community 'curb appeal', there is always that out-of-town developer that will only do what is minimally required in order to access the retail market that our community offers.
With that in mind, we have begun the lengthy process of drafting, reviewing, and walking through the process of implementing these standards. We will take comments and input from residents and businesses, as well as those involved in the development process such as developers, bankers, engineers and architects. Everyone's input is important. I do not want to make rules that are so restrictive that developers move to other communities but at the same time Sylvania has a right to expect a certain level of quality so that our community maintains its appeal and property values.
Working With Homeowners
Today, as a community, we are seeing an economy that we have not experienced in more than a generation. Clearly, we have families struggling with the cost of living in Sylvania. For some properties, this struggle becomes evident with a less-than-desired level of property maintenance. This is disconcerting to the property owners and may be unsettling to neighbors who are concerned about the neighborhood and property values.
For properties that have high grass, overgrown weeds and the like, our Zoning Department works diligently with home owners, renters, mortgage companies and real estate agents as the situation calls for, to help our residents keep their properties maintained and our neighborhoods inviting. The majority of the time, this is effective and we continue to monitor situations as appropriate.
Sometimes our efforts to work with property owners to resolve zoning compliance issues are not productive. In those cases, we have taken the legal steps available to us to remediate the situation, which may be as simple as mowing the lawn every few weeks (and billing the owner) to more drastic steps such as physical removal of a burned-out house from the property (after appropriate public hearing and notice). Our goal is to maintain the integrity of our neighborhoods while using township resources appropriately.
If you have concerns about the exterior maintenance of a home in your neighborhood, I would encourage you to contact me or our Zoning Department.
For properties that have high grass, overgrown weeds and the like, our Zoning Department works diligently with home owners, renters, mortgage companies and real estate agents as the situation calls for, to help our residents keep their properties maintained and our neighborhoods inviting. The majority of the time, this is effective and we continue to monitor situations as appropriate.
Sometimes our efforts to work with property owners to resolve zoning compliance issues are not productive. In those cases, we have taken the legal steps available to us to remediate the situation, which may be as simple as mowing the lawn every few weeks (and billing the owner) to more drastic steps such as physical removal of a burned-out house from the property (after appropriate public hearing and notice). Our goal is to maintain the integrity of our neighborhoods while using township resources appropriately.
If you have concerns about the exterior maintenance of a home in your neighborhood, I would encourage you to contact me or our Zoning Department.
Zoning Is Not A Passive Activity
Zoning is not a passive activity; it should entail the active engagement of our zoning personnel with property owners and developers in Sylvania Township. In the past, the township Zoning Department was very passive in its enforcement efforts in Sylvania Township, only reacting to direct complaints from residents and at times failing to require that the specifics of our zoning resolution be met by proposed projects. This created inconsistency in enforcement because the majority of property owners voluntarily complied with our rules while a few did not, giving the impression that enforcement was based on who you were or who you knew.
After restructuring the Zoning Department by hiring an experienced, educated and trained Director of Planning and Zoning, we have moved the Zoning Department in the right direction to help guide and support quality growth, development and redevelopment in Sylvania Township.
I do not envision the new structure of our Zoning Department to impede development but instead it is intended to help address the issues which come up with continued development and redevelopment, such as access management, traffic, transitional zoning (commercial near residential), construction standards and others. We owe it to those who are invested in our community to maintain our neighborhoods and zoning districts so that commercial, residential and industrial areas can thrive, co-exist and not negatively impact each other.
Permits Down; Department Activity Up
As was reported to the trustees at our recent board meeting, building permit activity is down in the township, about 20% from last year with the value of new permits also decreasing, as more people are moving to remodel and add on to their current home as opposed to building new.
Although development in the township has dropped in recent months due to the economy, we have added a full-time employee to the Zoning Department because we have a significant increase in activity in the Department. We have increased enforcement activities in an effort to make sure rules are applied fairly across the board. We also have the work on the Zoning Resolution, Last Use Plan and construction standards which needs adequate attention else it will languish for too long. I am hopeful that the improvements and changes we have made to the Zoning Department will help add to the quality of our township in the near and long-term future.
Although development in the township has dropped in recent months due to the economy, we have added a full-time employee to the Zoning Department because we have a significant increase in activity in the Department. We have increased enforcement activities in an effort to make sure rules are applied fairly across the board. We also have the work on the Zoning Resolution, Last Use Plan and construction standards which needs adequate attention else it will languish for too long. I am hopeful that the improvements and changes we have made to the Zoning Department will help add to the quality of our township in the near and long-term future.
The primary goal of zoning is to preserve the value of your property whether that is your home, your business or your investment property. With the slump in the commercial and residential housing market, it is more important than ever that our Zoning Resolution is being complied with; that we implement design and landscaping standards so that quality construction is brought to our community; and that we work with homeowners who are facing difficulties.
DeeDee Liedel
Sylvania Township Trustee
DeeDee Liedel
Sylvania Township Trustee
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