Hudson, Ohio Planning Commission Meeting - February 14, 2022

The Hudson, Ohio Planning Commission met in regular session at 7:30 p.m. on Monday, February 14, 2022, at Town Hall, 27 East Main Street, Hudson, Ohio, in accordance with Ohio Revised Code Section 121.22 (the Open Meetings Act). Chair Ronald Stolle presided, with Vice Chair David Lehman and members Melissa Jones, Sarah Norman, David Nystrom, and Erik Vaughan present. Staff included Community Development Director Greg Hannan, City Planner Nicholas Sugar, and Interim City Solicitor Todd Hunt. Chair Stolle swore in everyone who planned to give testimony. The agenda contained two public hearings: a zoning map amendment for three South Oviatt Street parcels (PC 2021-1354) and a review and recommendation for an outdoor tennis and pickleball development (PC 2021-1256).

Consent Calendar

• Minutes of the January 10, 2022, regular meeting were approved. Chair Stolle noted that the minutes template appeared to show a staff update section with a blank indicating no other business; staff confirmed that understanding. There were no other comments or questions.

Public Comments

• No one offered comment during the opening public comment period.
• During the first public hearing, an Oviatt Street resident thanked the City for not selling the city-owned parking lot north of the subject parcels and asked what the Land Development Code requires if the property is not used for its approved purpose for 12 months - specifically, whether a new conditional-use approval would be required. City Planner Sugar responded that a change of use would need to come back before the Commission. Chair Stolle then closed the public comment period.
• No public comments were offered during the second public hearing.

Public Hearing 1 - PC 2021-1354: Zoning Map Amendment, South Oviatt Street Parcels

• Staff presentation: City Planner Sugar displayed the three subject parcels - 33 South Oviatt Street (parcel ending 328), 35 South Oviatt Street (parcel ending 331), and the additional parcel ending 1843 - which are currently in a mix of Zoning Districts 4 and 5. The request is to rezone them to District 3 (Outer Village Residential Neighborhood), matching adjacent residential zoning. The site is across from the police and EMS station, with the Barlow Community Center to the south, a city parking lot to the north, and residential uses beyond.
• Applicant presentation: A representative of the Hudson Community Living Company, a newly formed nonprofit applying for tax-exempt status, described plans for supportive housing for developmentally disabled adults age 21 and older (no upper age limit). The proposal calls for two-bedroom, two-bath patio homes (exact layouts still being refined) plus a community-center building with space for meals, board games, and other activities, with around-the-clock staff support. The representative said Hudson families want to remain in Hudson, and that, under the anticipated staffing model with no fundraising costs, the resident cost would be about $1,900 per person per month. He stated that the decision to pursue a map amendment rather than a text amendment was directed by city staff, and that the project itself would return to the Planning Commission for additional approval.
• Staff input: Greg Hannan noted that residential units housing more than nine residents fall into a different zoning classification under the code. Staff analyzed the request against the Land Development Code (including section 1204.01) and the Comprehensive Plan, and stated it saw no issues with rezoning the city-owned parcels to District 3.
• Commissioner discussion: Commissioner Sarah Norman said she loved the project itself but raised several concerns: the request creates piecemeal, project-specific zoning; the three parcels do not accomplish a district-wide cleanup; parcels on the east side of South Oviatt (up to the Streetsboro area) were not included; District 3 has no net-density standard for this type of use, so she could not conclude all LDC 1204.01 criteria were met; and the code forbids creating exclusionary zoning. She asked whether staff would have proposed this rezoning absent the project and urged the applicant to return instead with a text amendment. Chair Stolle and other members responded that the Commission's role is to evaluate the map amendment under LDC section 1204.01, that the body is not approving the project but only a zoning change, and that any favorable recommendation carries safeguards: City Council holds the public hearing, a conditional-use approval would be required for the institutional/residential use, the project sponsor must certify annually that required licensure remains in place, and the project would return to the Planning Commission for site and conditional-use review. Stolle also described the rezoning as correcting happenstance map patterns, noting that the adjacent Stemple property would otherwise become a zoning peninsula of a different district.
• Expanded motion: Chair Stolle initially proposed recommending rezoning of city-owned parcels ending in 067 and 025 plus 37 South Oviatt Street (parcel ending 1037), but then withdrew that proposal. Vice Chair Lehman, clarifying the motion he intended to second, stated that the recommendation would cover the original three parcels (ending in 328, 331, and 843) plus the city-owned parcels ending in 067 and 225. (Note: the published agenda and staff review listed only the three private parcels; the adopted motion as described by Vice Chair Lehman added the two city-owned parcels, while the withdrawn proposal also included 37 South Oviatt Street. The transcript excerpt does not include a separate roll-call tally for this motion.)

Public Hearing 2 - PC 2021-1256: Outdoor Tennis and Pickleball Development

• Staff introduced the staff report, and a project representative presented. The development includes outdoor tennis and pickleball courts - including 12 pickleball courts, each typically accommodating two to four players - with site access restricted by fencing.
• Commissioner questions addressed whether the project meets the zoning code's impervious-surface standards and whether two parking stalls are adequate for the anticipated population; one member observed that he could not locate a specific parking regulation for parks and that parks differ from buildings. After discussion, a motion was made and a roll call was requested.

Key Outcomes

• PC 2021-1354: The Commission recommended that City Council rezone the three applicant parcels to District 3. The motion, as made by Chair Stolle and seconded by Vice Chair Lehman, also included the two city-owned parcels ending in 067 and 225. City Council was scheduled to hear the request at its own public hearing; the city council met the following day, February 15, 2022.
• PC 2021-1256: A motion was made and seconded on the tennis and pickleball review, and the chair directed the clerk to call the roll; the vote tally is not recorded in the transcript excerpt provided.
• There was no further business, and the meeting adjourned.