GREEN: A request to rezone 15.9 acres along South Arlington Road from single-family residential to multifamily residential hit the skids last week.By a 3-2 vote, the Planning and Zoning Commission denied the request of Redwood Management of Beachwood, which would have led to a site plan for building another 83 two-bedroom, two-bathroom units with garages and no steps adjacent to the firm’s 102-apartment Emerald Ridge Luxury Apartment development on the west side of Arlington just north of Boettler Road.The matter will now go before Green City Council to see whether it wants to override the vote. Accompanying the application will be a development agreement, which has yet to be negotiated between Redwood and city planners, according to Planning Director Wayne Wiethe.Jeff Simler, speaking for Redwood Management, said all but one of the current units have been rented. He said about 70 people, mostly Green residents, are on a waiting list if similar units are built.Wiethe and commission alternate Dave Plum noted that the project is in keeping with the city’s long-range land-use plan. Plum said he believes the city wants to provide a wide range of housing choices for mature adults, which is the segment of the population Redwood seeks to attract.Plum and colleague Rick Jacobson voted for the zoning change, while commission members Craig Babbitt and Robert Chordar and President Bob Garritano rejected the request. Commissioner John Beese excused himself before the issue was discussed because he is an adjacent property owner.Redwood’s Keith Ritz said he understood the need for variances to meet the city’s land use plan, and said he would seek them if the anticipated reduction in the number of units falls within the firm’s operating scope. The number of units was left undetermined, with
Wiethe suggesting it would be below 83. Simler said the number could be around 70, depending on the “softening” of a site plan, so units wouldn’t be built in long, straight continuous lines, like the first development.Redwood had requested rezoning of 12.36 acres, but planners initiated adding 3.6 acres to include two residences sitting in the middle of the proposed U-shaped configuration, making the request 15.9 acres.Wiethe said the zoning change wouldn’t restrict the current residents, since single-family residences are permitted in multifamily developments. Residents objectThe residents involved have indicated they don’t want to sell.One of them, Jeptha Crum, who built his home in 1953, said he is opposed to the zone change. He noted that his home had to be 100 feet from the road, and he wants the area to stay that way.His wife of 64 years, Helen, said she doesn’t see why “we have to have more of these things,” referring to the neighboring units. “I just don’t like any more of them.”Chordar said he is opposed to granting variances that Redwood would need under the current plan, which Redwood presented for discussion June 15.Ritz said his firm has spent a lot of time “softening” the design for another complex in Perrysburg in Northwest Ohio, adding he would like to show Green planners his work.Wiethe warned of putting the site plan before the zoning change. He said that Redwood has been a good neighbor and worked closely with the city throughout the first development.