Pickerington Area Taxpayers Alliance

By TAMARIA L. KULEMEKA

The Eagle-Gazette Staff

tkulemeka@nncogannett.com


VIOLET TOWNSHIP - A sign that sits near the intersection of Refugee and Spring Creek roads in Violet Township features a picturesque scene of a strip center that will be built in the vacant land behind the sign.
But residents in the Spring Creek subdivision, which sits directly behind the vacant 10-acre property - believe the sign is deceiving

''The picture up there is what we envisioned,'' said Sheila Fuhs, a resident of the subdivision. ''We were all told that (property would become) everything from fish shops to a veterinary office and doctor shops.''
Fuhs and other residents from the subdivision are upset that the developer of the property - Ambassador Development - wants the Violet Township Trustees to grant a variance that would remove restrictions limiting certain uses of the property, which include gas stations and 24-hour businesses.
Residents will meet with Ambassador Development on Thursday to discuss the developer's plans and what the residents want.
Getting away
Robin Burris thought she was getting away from the hustle and bustle of city life when she moved into the Spring Creek subdivision, which she describes as country-like. The subdivision is just outside Pickerington's city limits.
Burris knew the vacant land was zoned commercial, but she never imagined a gas station or 24-hour type business could be constructed there.
Neither did the other 87 homeowners that live in the subdivision, according to Burris and Fuhs.
The women, who didn't know each other before the variance issue came up, say the whole subdivision has joined forces to make sure the developer doesn't construct just anything on the property.
They don't have to go very far, though.
Restrictions implemented in 1996 - prior to the subdivision's existence - limited what can be constructed at the site.
Restrictions include no service stations and similar businesses, no bars, or any business which conducts operations without limitations on hours.
Those restrictions are the reason why Donnell Gattis Jr., president of Ambassador Development, is seeking the variance from the Violet Township Trustees.

Can't make that decision

Gattis, who couldn't be reached for comment at press time, previously said that preliminary drawings of the project showed a gas station, but he said he was trying to show what the possibilities could be for the commercial area.
''We're not trying to ramrod anything down anyone's throat,'' Gattis said in an Eagle-Gazette article on May 21. ''We're trying to do something that brings value to the area.''
The variance would do away with most of the restrictions implemented 11 years ago.
Many of the Spring Creek residents didn't even know restrictions were on the property until someone posted a copy of the 1996 township minutes detailing the restrictions on Fuhs' front door.
Fuhs immediately took the information and knocked on every door in the subdivision and the doors of neighboring communities to inform people about the restrictions.
Tom Kruk, who lives directly behind the vacant land that will be developed, just wants the township trustees to honor what the community did 11 years ago in setting up the restrictions.
''We're not against developing something,'' Kruk said. ''We're against breaking the rules. ... We want them to stick to the original plan.''
Times have changed
Pickerington-based attorney Richard Ricketts filed an application with the township on behalf of Ambassador Development, seeking the variance in April.
The application states that the applicant is requesting the variance because of change in circumstance. The application also states that an inability to favorably develop the commercial tax base would be occur if the variance is not granted.
Ricketts, who presented the plan with the restrictions to the trustees, during the 1996 public hearing, could not be reached for comment by press time.
Violet Township Trustee Terry Dunlap hopes residents and the developer can reach some type of agreement at Thursday's meeting, meaning the trustees wouldn't have to decide the issue.
If not, a public hearing on the matter will take place. Township trustees would make the final decision following a public hearing.
The initial public hearing scheduled in May was shut out when more than 100 residents from the subdivision showed up at the township office.
Dunlap, who was on the trustees board when the restrictions were approved in 1996, did not want to comment on the decisions made previously regarding the restrictions, so that neither side would be influenced prior to Thursday's meeting.
''We hope that the developer and residents and developer will go into this with cool heads and common sense will prevail,'' Dunlap said. ''Times have changed in 11 years, and we hope that people would look at what people have done on other corners and go in there with an open mind to listen and negotiate. It's worked well with us in other situations where the developer and residents meet, and it's come out a with a win, win.''

How about the other 3 corners

As we see here we have the City/Township residents being shafted by the township and their inability to provide clear zoning laws and other ordinances to protect the property owners Many Time driving around Ohio I see signs that say ''This enforces zoning laws for your protection'' Apparently Violet Township is still re-zoning on the fly and by the seat of their pants. This is the worse kind of control that a local government can have when they change every 11 years because ''conditions changed''.

OK Terry what is you decision and what do you base that decision on? You are hoping that the citizens work out the details. If they do what are you going to do with the other three corners of Refugee and Milner?

Info

The southwest corner is already developed as commercial. Do not know the zoning on the northwest corner, but the northeast corner could have a gas station, or whatever, per its current zoning.