Woodville Rd. /Lake Twp: Zoning request likely to be refiled

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A request to rezone a parcel along Woodville Road in Lake Township will likely be resubmitted after it was discovered the original application included inaccurate information.
Hillabrand & Sons, Construction, is requesting the rezoning of 33.3 acres it owns to the M-2 industrial classification. The property is located east of Bradner Road near its intersection with Woodville Road.
The township zoning commission heard the request at its April 19 meeting and voted 2-2 on it.
The request application listed the property as currently having an A-1 agricultural classification but the correct current zoning classification is R-2 residential, Mark Hummer, township police chief/administrator, said.
Hummer said he contacted the attorney for the company and suggested it start the application process again with the correct data.
That process starts with filing with the Wood County Planning Commission, which will issue a non-binding recommendation for or against to the township. The township zoning commission would then hear the request and then submit its recommendation to the township trustees.
Hummer said he also heard complaints from a few residents near the parcel that they were not notified in writing about the request to change the zoning. He said the township zoning inspector’s office will expand the number of homes it contacts if the company submits a new request.
The additional time for another request will also give Hillabrand a chance to reach out to neighboring residents and explain what their plans are for the property, Hummer said.
The legal notice for the zoning commission April 19 meeting says “Hillabrand wants to relocate his business to this property, building a new office and construction building.”
Rich Welling, a township trustee, said the county planning commission would probably take up a new request during its June meeting at the earliest and the township zoning commission would hear it by July. The trustees would then schedule a hearing in August.
Welling said the trustees will move ahead on a request by another company, American Cold Forge, which is seeking to rezone a Woodville Road parcel from B-1 neighborhood business to M-1 and will probably schedule a hearing for May 16.
The legal notice for the application says American Cold Forge “is planning on future business and needs to build another building for added business manufacturing customers.”
The 1.3-acre parcel is located at 5626 Woodville Rd.