Planning commission recommends zoning district for Concordia property

by Laura Bednar

Aug. 6 planning commission meeting

The Independence Planning Commission unanimously recommended that city council approve a zoning overlay district for the two parcels the city purchased from the Concordia Lutheran Church.

The overlay district for the land at Stone and Brecksville roads will reduce the minimum lot sizes and property setbacks compared to the city’s current zoning code to allow for smaller single-family dwellings on smaller lots.

Building Commissioner Michael Gero gave an overview of the changes in the overlay district. The minimum lot size would be reduced from 20,000 square feet to 6,250 square feet. The minimum lot width and depth would be 50-by-125 feet, a change from 100-by-200 feet. A minimum setback of 25 feet from the street right-of-way is included, a reduction from 75 feet.

Lots must have a minimum of 5-foot side yards, a slight reduction from the current 6 feet. Rear yards may not be less than 25 feet in depth, a reduction from the existing 40-foot minimum. Corner lot building setbacks from the street must be a minimum of 10 feet, a reduction from the current 25 feet.

The minimum square footage for the house would be 1,400, which is the current standard for homes in the city with a basement. Homes without a basement have a square footage minimum of 1,500.

There are currently seven criteria for a development not to have look-alike homes. Gero said he narrowed the criteria down to three for the overlay: the location of the windows, location of the attached garage and porch, and the building materials and colors to be used on the home exterior.

Gero said the three criteria pulled out for the overlay district were most noticeable in appearance. He added that each home still has to come before the architectural board of review.

“There may still be some variances required on an individual lot,” said Gero, adding that the overlay would prevent there from being hundreds of variances like there was for the Chestnut Woods development.

Gero said in the last phase of the Chestnut development, there were 411 variances granted for 103 homes. He added that there are 3,250 properties in the city and 1,299 of them are less than 20,000 square feet, 1,451 properties have less than 100 feet of frontage and 899 properties don’t meet the area or width requirements.

Planning commission member Joe Moeller asked if the approval of the overlay district would affect any other area in the city. Gero said it would only apply to the two land parcels the city purchased from Concordia.

Planning commission member and city councilperson John DiGeronimo asked if the overlay district could apply to another area in the future. Gero said only if city council voted to do so.

“I see this as the evolution of zoning,” said DiGeronimo.

Resident Catherine Lopatka said the documents outlining the overlay did not include exclusive wording stating it would only apply to the two land parcels discussed.

Gero said the city council ordinance will reflect that it is exclusive to the two parcels. The zoning description only outlined the zoning changes.

Resident Jeff Blumenthal asked how the city was prepared to deal with the overlay district as it relates to other potential developments. Planning commission Chair William Gutermuth said a separate ordinance would be required for any other development that wanted to use the overlay district.

Pending council approval of the district, planning commission must still approve the site plan for the development once a developer is chosen. ∞