HARRISON TOWNSHIP TRUSTEE PUBLIC HEARING
November 20, 2018
PUBLIC HEARING CALL TO ORDER:
Chairman Joe DeFelice called the Public Hearing of November 20, 2018 to order 6:00pm at the Harrison Township Building, 2746 Weigand Road, Lockbourne, Ohio. Attending were Trustee Joe DeFelice, Trustee Bill Welsh, Fiscal Officer MaryAnn Elliott, and Zoning Inspector Dale Hoover. Trustee Mike Freeman was absent. Also present were William DeLong, Karen & Daryl Krahn, Darryl Buckler, Nancy Taylor, Cary & Denice Coffey, Ryan Scribner, Craig Stevenson, David Wall and Kristen Easterday.
Trustee DeFelice read the Rules of Order for the hearing.
Fiscal Officer Elliott read the Legal Notice which had been published in the Circleville Herald on November 10, 2018 and mailed to residents surrounding the properties requesting rezoning.
Fiscal Officer Elliott read the recommendation from the Pickaway County Planning Commission in support of approving the application.
Fiscal Officer Elliott read the recommendation from the Harrison Township Zoning Commission to approve the application to the Rickenbacker Business Development District with the following modifications: 1. The mounds be increased to 6 feet and planted with pines that measure three feet at planting. These would be next to residential properties. 2. There would be an action plan developed for dealing with wildlife that does not include using pyrotechnics. 3. The Detention/Retention and drainage are approved by the Pickaway County Engineers Office.
Craig Stevenson of Harral & Stevenson addressed the Trustees explaining the application to rezone six parcels in the southeast corner of SR 762 and Tradeport Court to the Rickenbacker Business Development District.
Mr. DeLong explained the business of a grain transport facility that they are hoping to build on these properties. The DeLong company has five other sites in the United States that are similar to the one they will build here. The farmers bring grain to the facility by truck and then it is loaded in containers and taken to the intermodal. He estimates that they will load approximately ten thousand containers per year at this site. The current facilities have improved the price of soy beans and corn in those areas ten to twenty cents a bushel. The site will be completely black-toped to keep it clean. There will be no storage on site. The hours of operation will be 7 to 5, Monday through Friday. They may be open some Saturdays during harvest. He presented several letters of recommendation from those in areas of DeLong’s other locations and other companies they have worked with.
Ryan Scribner of Pickaway Progress Partnership (P3) spoke strongly supporting this business because it supports the agricultural business in the county. The project does align with the land use plan of the township and county.
Dave Wall, Senior Manager for airport planning with the Columbus Regional Airport Authority, stated that as a public airport, Rickenbacker receives federal funding and he is required by the FAA to object to any development of facilities that may cause or draw a hazard to aviation. He believed that the grain facility could attract wild animals. He asked for a wildlife management plan if the project is approved. He stated that he has had productive calls with Mr. DeLong and they are already drawing up such a plan. Mr. Wall asked if the township has a Design Review Board and Mr. DeFelice explained that the Township follows Duke’s plan for a Design Review Board, but does not actually have one of its own.
Denice Coffey lives at 10484 SR 762 and questioned if they were buying all or part of one of the properties. Craig Stevenson answered that DeLong is purchasing the entire lot in question. She was concerned about spot-zoning and the Trustees explained that it is not spot zoning.
Darryl Buckler lives at 10472 SR 762 and objected to the building of the grain facility. He is concerned about fires, noise and dust in the area.
Mr. Welsh asked Mr. DeLong if he had any objections with the six foot mounds and planting three foot trees as requested by the zoning commission. He stated these would not be a problem. When asked what he plans to do to develop a wildlife management plan, Mr. DeLong stated that they will contact the USDA in Columbus to get a wildlife assessment. They will visit the site and make suggestions for the final site plan that pertains to vegetation, ponds and wildlife. They have already drawn up a housekeeping plan that addresses wildlife.
RESOLUTION 18-106
A RESOLUTION TO ACCEPT THE RE-ZONING OF THE PROPERTIES TO THE RICKENBACKER BUSINESS DEVELOPMENT DISTRICT FOR THE PURPOSE OF BUILDING A GRAIN TRANSFER FACILITY BY THE DELONG COMPANY, WITH THE FOLLOWING MODIFICATIONS: 1. INCREASE MOUNDS TO SIX FEET AND PLANT WITH PINE TREES AT LEAST THREE FEET TALL NEXT TO THE RESIDENTIAL PROPERTIES; 2 DEVELOP A WILDLIFE MANAGEMENT PLAN THAT DOES NOT INCLUDE USING PYROTECHNICS; AND 3. THE DETENTION/ RETENTION PONDS ARE TO BE APPROVED BY THE PICKAWAY COUNTY ENGINEER’S OFFICE. Mr. Welsh moved and Mr. DeFelice seconded and the Trustees voted with a roll call vote. Mr. DeFelice, yes; Mr. Welsh, yes. The resolution R18-106 passed with two affirmative votes.
ADJOURNMENT:
With no further comments and all scheduled matters attended to, Mr. DeFelice moved and Mr. Welsh seconded the motion to adjourn the November 20, 2018 Board of Trustee Public Hearing. All were in favor and the meeting adjourned at 6:55pm.