OpenPublica

Accountability starts with access.

© 2026 · Filed for the public record

Use casesAboutAPIPrivacyTermsLinkedIn
Home/Powell, Ohio/City Council & Boards
OPENPUBLICA · PUBLIC MEETING RECORD
Record of Proceedings

Powell Planning & Zoning Commission Meeting – September 10, 2025

City Council & Boards — Wednesday, September 10, 2025
BodyPowell, Ohio
SessionCity Council & Boards
DateWednesday, September 10, 2025
StatusFILED
Video Record
0:00 / 55:51

Original source
Transcript — VerbatimClick a timed line to jump · ⧉ to share it
0:00

We'll call the order of the Wednesday, September 10th of 2025 Planning and Zoning Commission meeting.

0:08

Please do the roll call.

0:10

David Lester.

0:12

Here.

0:12

Ryan Griffin.

0:13

Here.

0:15

Ross Irvine.

0:16

Here.

0:17

Cedar M Kapaka.

0:19

Yes.

0:19

Kurt Ramsey.

0:20

John Simpson.

0:21

Here.

0:22

Can we please stay in for the pledge of reviews?

0:30

I pulled the project of the United States of America.

0:37

Under God.

0:43

The Planning and Zoning Commission is an advisory board to City Council and zoning map amendments, preliminary and final development plans and plotting of properties under consideration.

0:52

In such cases, City Council will receive recommendations from the Commission.

0:56

In other cases, the Commission has a decision making responsibility.

1:00

Is there anyone here that wants to speak on something that's not on the agenda?

1:05

Hearing none.

1:10

So moved.

1:12

Second.

1:13

All those in favor say aye.

1:15

Aye.

1:16

No, same signal.

1:19

All right.

1:25

First item for review is case 2025-29 CA.

1:30

It's a certificate of appropriateness for 110 South Liberty Street.

1:34

Review and approval of the demolition of an existing building, Liberty Powell Green Development on the east side of South Wood Street.

1:48

The applicant is Crawford Horne, represented by Russell Hunter.

1:52

Ms.

1:53

Husak.

1:56

I might just need a quick minute.

1:59

We had a little technical issue, but I'm hoping that we got that resolved.

2:07

All right, you have started presentation.

2:11

Nothing like pressure, right?

2:13

Um good evening, everyone, and thank you for that introduction.

2:20

Um Mr.

2:21

Lester.

2:23

We are um in front of you with a uh request for a demolition on 110 South Liberty Street.

2:31

This is um under the um review of a certificate of appropriateness.

2:37

So the way that the process works is that um HDAC typically has a review of this, and um this happened in August.

2:49

And um there's a recommendation that HDAC makes.

2:52

However, um, really the ultimate recommendation and sign off comes from planning and zoning commission.

3:00

So with that being said, we had three members of HDEC.

3:04

Um, Mr.

3:05

Ramsey being one of them at that August meeting, and we had a two to one vote to um not recommend approval.

3:14

So it's coming to you from HDEC with a recommendation of not approving it.

3:21

Um there were lots of comments, the minutes are in your packet.

3:26

Um Kurt can certainly um fill in any lengths, but um ultimately the stance of the HDC was that they really do not want any more buildings coming down in the district, and um thought that there was maybe willful neglect or um monies not being collected to restore the property, so that is why they eventually moved to not recommend approval, but I'll go through the presentation and um the staff report that was sent to His was updated with um all the information that I just mentioned business building is on the south side of um town on 110 South Liberty Street on the east side of the street.

4:19

The uh development originally was approved in um 2014 and included townhomes as well as commercial building out on the front there with the um thought of retaining that structure.

4:38

And um in the meantime, there have been four buildings constructed.

4:43

There are eight units in those buildings, and the applicant and owner of this site is ultimately moving on from this type of residential construction, and uh, we have been working as staff with a different builder that is looking to fill out the rest of the residential portion of this development, and um this should be forthcoming here rather quickly.

5:05

And um this should be forthcoming here rather quickly.

5:08

So we've been working with them almost a little bit over a year, but um there's a lot of momentum to get that done.

5:16

The building has been sitting vacant for many many years, and most recently it has uh here's the plan for the for the build-out that was originally contemplated.

5:28

So you can see all of the new construction in that beige color and the retention of the existing building as it is with the aerial um as I mentioned, there has been some significant structural damage with a vehicle um hitting the building, and um there is a lot of damage, the porch is collapsing, debris happening.

5:58

The city has also been um working with the applicant and successfully executed a parking agreement.

6:06

So the parking that has been installed on the site is currently publicly accessible, it is public parking.

Discussion Breakdown — Share of Meeting
Parking Management████████████████████████████████████████40%
Planning And Zoning███████████████████████████████31%
Signage Management███████████████15%
Signage Regulations██████6%
Procedural███3%
Code Enforcement███3%
Historic Preservation██2%
Summary of Proceedings

Powell Planning & Zoning Commission Meeting – September 10, 2025

The Powell Planning & Zoning Commission met on Wednesday, September 10, 2025, at 6:30 PM in Council Chambers, 47 Hall Street, Powell, OH. The meeting was called to order with a roll call and pledge of allegiance. No public comments were made for items not on the agenda. The Commission reviewed two approval requests (a demolition certificate of appropriateness and an amended final development plan) and held a work session on zoning code updates related to parking and signage. Both approval items passed unanimously. The July 16, 2025 meeting minutes were listed on the agenda but were not explicitly approved during the meeting per the transcript.

Consent Calendar

  • No consent calendar items were considered.

Public Comments & Testimony

  • No members of the public spoke for items not on the agenda.

Discussion Items

Case 2025-29CA – Certificate of Appropriateness – 110 South Liberty Street

  • Request: Demolition of an existing building at 110 S. Liberty Street, within the Downtown Business District. Applicant: Crawford Hoying (represented by Russell Hunter and Nelson Yoder).
  • Previous Review: The Historic District Architectural Commission (HDAC) reviewed the request in August and voted 2-1 to not recommend approval. Commissioner Kurt Ramsey was one of the three HDAC members present and voted in favor of demolition.
  • Staff Recommendation: Staff recommended approval, noting the building is vacant, structurally damaged (including a vehicle impact, collapsing porch, and water infiltration), and poses a public safety hazard due to adjacent public parking. The applicant plans to demolish the structure and, with a different builder, complete the residential portion of the site while potentially expanding commercial development.
  • Applicant Arguments: Russell Hunter stated the building's foundation is severely compromised and has been for decades, making restoration costs far exceed any potential value. He argued removal allows more natural commercial development and eliminates a safety danger.
  • Commission Discussion: Commissioner Kurt Ramsey explained his support, citing safety issues and previous unsuitability for office use. Other members expressed agreement that the structure's condition and cost make demolition the best option.
  • Action: Motion to approve Case 2025-29CA was made, seconded, and passed with all ayes (unanimous).

Case 2025-28AM – Amendment to Final Development Plan – Nolan Reserve – 8889 Moreland Street

  • Request: Approval of an amended final development plan to allow carports within the parking lot of an existing residential hotel development. The site is zoned Planned Commercial (Liberty Township code, Golf Village). Applicant: Metro Development.
  • Staff Recommendation: Staff recommended approval, noting the carports would be complementary to the existing building (synthetic stone, asphalt shingles) and the site remains overparked even with carports. A required setback exception for the carport structures (as buildings) was the key issue.
  • Applicant Arguments: Joe Thomas (Metro Development) explained that residents requested covered parking. They avoided placing structures within fire code separation from the building or over underground utilities, and selected the proposed locations as the most practical. They also noted one carport will include an EV charging station.
  • Commission Discussion: Commissioner Ross Irvine expressed concern about the existing high lot coverage, but noted that carports add no new lot coverage (only over existing parking). Other questions addressed landscaping, materials, and future expansion. Staff clarified that the request does not go to City Council; the Planning & Zoning Commission has final authority.
  • Action: Motion to approve Case 2025-28AM was made, seconded, and passed unanimously.

Administrative Review – 2025 Zoning Code Update: Parking and Signage

  • Staff presented a work session on proposed changes to parking and sign regulations, both for downtown and citywide.
  • Parking: Staff proposed modernizing parking calculations (e.g., basing restaurant parking on gross floor area rather than patron counts) and exploring ways to increase the availability of shared/public parking downtown. An inventory found downtown has ~1,800 spaces, 86% private; reducing private-to-public imbalance through incentives (e.g., liability coverage, time-restricted agreements) was discussed. Commissioner questions focused on liability, enforcement, and the feasibility of eliminating parking minimums (staff opposed eliminating them, preferring refined standards).
  • Signage: Staff discussed updating outdated sign codes to comply with Supreme Court rulings on content neutrality. They reviewed community preference survey results favoring smaller, building-mounted signs in downtown, and introduced concepts like comprehensive sign plans for large developments (e.g., OSU) and regulations for sidewalk signs and menu boards. Commissioners inquired about electronic message signs and temporary signs.
  • No action taken. The next work session will address nuisance and code enforcement.

Key Outcomes

  • Approved Case 2025-29CA (demolition at 110 S. Liberty St.) unanimously.
  • Approved Case 2025-28AM (Nolan Reserve carports) unanimously.
  • No formal action on the 2025 Zoning Code Update; staff will return with further discussion on nuisance and code enforcement at the next work session.
  • Minutes from July 16, 2025 were not explicitly approved during the meeting (per transcript).

Meeting Transcript

We'll call the order of the Wednesday, September 10th of 2025 Planning and Zoning Commission meeting. Please do the roll call. David Lester. Here. Ryan Griffin. Here. Ross Irvine. Here. Cedar M Kapaka. Yes. Kurt Ramsey. John Simpson. Here. Can we please stay in for the pledge of reviews? I pulled the project of the United States of America. Under God. The Planning and Zoning Commission is an advisory board to City Council and zoning map amendments, preliminary and final development plans and plotting of properties under consideration. In such cases, City Council will receive recommendations from the Commission. In other cases, the Commission has a decision making responsibility. Is there anyone here that wants to speak on something that's not on the agenda? Hearing none. So moved. Second. All those in favor say aye. Aye. No, same signal. All right. First item for review is case 2025-29 CA. It's a certificate of appropriateness for 110 South Liberty Street. Review and approval of the demolition of an existing building, Liberty Powell Green Development on the east side of South Wood Street. The applicant is Crawford Horne, represented by Russell Hunter. Ms. Husak. I might just need a quick minute. We had a little technical issue, but I'm hoping that we got that resolved. All right, you have started presentation. Nothing like pressure, right? Um good evening, everyone, and thank you for that introduction. Um Mr. Lester. We are um in front of you with a uh request for a demolition on 110 South Liberty Street. This is um under the um review of a certificate of appropriateness. So the way that the process works is that um HDAC typically has a review of this, and um this happened in August. And um there's a recommendation that HDAC makes. However, um, really the ultimate recommendation and sign off comes from planning and zoning commission. So with that being said, we had three members of HDEC. Um, Mr. Ramsey being one of them at that August meeting, and we had a two to one vote to um not recommend approval. So it's coming to you from HDEC with a recommendation of not approving it. Um there were lots of comments, the minutes are in your packet.

SUMMARIZED BY OPENPUBLICA AI
TRANSCRIPT VIA PUBLIC VIDEO
openpublica.com