Clark County commissioners approved a plan Tuesday to rezone land along Dayton-Springfield Road from residential to industrial after residents aired concerns about potential environmental risks.
Commissioners unanimously agreed to rezone the property under several conditions by area agencies, including a requirement that no hazardous material be treated or disposed of on the property and that criminal corrections and adult businesses not be allowed to operate on the property.
Landowner Wenrick Family Partnership applied to rezone the undeveloped 14.8-acre tract located within the village of Enon wellhead protection area and residential areas after businesses expressed interest in the property.
An aquifer near the area serves about 7,000 people, and Enon Mayor Tim Howard and other residents urged commissioners during a public hearing Tuesday to do what they could to protect the water.
“(Rezoning) makes it more marketable and we understand that. We don’t necessarily oppose the fact that it’s going to be rezoned, and we don’t care who (would purchase the property), but we want to do what we can to take care of that water,” Howard said.
The decision to rezone the property came after both the Clark County Rural Zoning Commission and the county’s planning commission recommended approval of the project with certain provisions.
Allan Neimayer, senior planner for Clark County Community Development, said he is not aware of a specific buyer for the property, but those that have shown interest require the land be rezoned industrial.
No Wenrick representative spoke about the rezoning.
Paula Rich, who has residential property on the south side of Dayton-Springfield Road just southeast of the property, told the Springfield News-Sun last month that rezoning should not be allowed.
She called the rezoning to industrial a mistake and said that once “the granddaddy of them all (rezoning)” is done, there’s no turning back.
But Marian Ladislaw, an Enon resident, said she is not against development in the area.
“My biggest goal is to protect our water system. I don’t want to hold progress,” Ladislaw said.
In other business:
• Commissioners rezoned 9.9 acres of land on Enon Road, south of 945 Enon Road in New Carlisle from agricultural to and a agricultural and residential district.
• Officials approved plans to amend a contract with Motorola Solutions to purchase radios for the Clark County Sheriff’s Office for $436,102. The new contract is $5,000 less than the previous contract and is the result of a partnership with Greene County that allowed officials to purchase better MARCS or Multi-Agency Radio Communications System radios at lower costs.
• Commissioners also plan to begin advertising for an architect/engineer for Springview Government Center renovations. The renovations are needed because tenants in the Clark County Agricultural Services Building are moving to the facility after commissioners reached a lease agreement for the building at PrimeOhio Industrial Park to the chamber and Konecranes, a Springfield-based commercial crane maker.
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