RICHFIELD TOWNSHIP BOARD OF TRUSTEES MEETING
November 17, 2005
7:00 p.m.

Richfield Township Trustees
November 17, 2005

The Richfield Township Board of Trustees met for their regular meeting on November 17, 2005 at 6:05 p.m. with the following in attendance:

Laurie Peters Gilmore, Trustee Chairperson
David Wyatt, Trustee Vice Chairperson
Shano Cica-Mraz, Trustee
Linda Bowmer, Township Administrator
Laurie Pinney, Zoning Inspector

1 attendee

A motion was made by Ms. Gilmore and seconded by Ms. Cica-Mraz to go into executive session to discuss personnel issues. The motion passed with unanimous approval.

A motion to go out of executive session at 6:55 was made by Ms. Gilmore, seconded by Mr. Wyatt and received unanimous approval of those in attendance.

The regular meeting was started at 7:05, with a motion to open the scheduled public hearing to discuss zoning language amendments for parking spaces and fences. The motion was made by Ms. Gilmore, seconded by Mr. Wyatt and received unanimous approval of those in attendance.

Following discussion of the proposed language, a motion was made by Ms. Cica-Mraz and seconded by Mr. Wyatt to accept the following zoning amendments as written. The motion passed with unanimous approval.

Proposed Zoning Amendments for parking and fences, with proposed deletions struck through and proposed additions underlined:

Section 405-5-F-1 Off-Street Parking
1. For housing units in Cluster Zones in accordance with 405-3 (A & C), in addition to the minimum required enclosed parking spaces (Article V, 501-E) there shall be guest parking provided and designated as such areas, located to be conveniently accessible by the housing units. The minimum amount of such required additional guest parking shall be computed on the basis of one half (1/2) parking space for each dwelling unit. Said parking areas shall not be farther than the length of four (4) lots from any dwelling, and may have from one (1) to four (4) spaces each. Parking areas directly across from one another may not have a total of greater than four (4) spaces. No parking area shall be closer to any residence than fifteen (15) feet. Perimeter landscaping is required for each parking area and shall contain evergreen plant material that will achieve a screen height of at least three (3) feet within a year of installation. This perimeter vegetated buffer may also contain deciduous trees. Depending on the nature and characteristics of the proposed cluster development, additional guest parking may be required for Final Development Plan approval or as a condition of future improvements by the Developer.
2. All parking spaces, private drives and public dedicated roads shall be constructed in accordance with the applicable Township or County regulations for construction specifications, inspection and bonding as required for publicly dedicated roads. All parking must be delineated on the plan before the zoning inspector may convey zoning compliance at the preliminary plan approval stage of Summit County Planning Commission review and must be constructed and inspected concurrently with the private drive and/or public road. The landscaping plan for parking areas must be delineated on the plan before the zoning inspector may convey zoning compliance at the final plat approval stage of Summit County Planning Commission review.
Sections 401-2-A-8, 402-2-A-8, 404-3-A-7 & 405-3-A-7
Fences, Walls, and Hedges may be permitted in any required yard, or along the edge of any yard, provided that no fence, wall or hedge along the sides or front edge of in any front yard shall be taller than forty-eight (48) inches above the natural grade and at least fifty percent (50%) of the surface is opened to light and air. and that no fence in any side or rear yard shall be taller than seventy-two (72) inches. All fences shall be located out of right-of-way or utility easements.
Walls + Hedges – Thirty (30) inches above grade. The side of the front yard is the area between the building line of the house and the road right-of-way. If a house is set back greater than the required setback, the fence, wall or hedge must maintain the front yard requirements until it is at the required setback distance from the road right-of-way at which point it can be considered part of the rear yard and be covered by the provisions for rear yard fences, walls and hedges.
Fences, walls, or hedges may be permitted along the side or rear lot lines to a height of not more than six (6) feet above the grade provided at least twenty-five percent (25%) of the vertical surface of any fence or wall shall be open to light and air; and that any fence, wall or hedge shall be maintained, will be harmonious and appropriate in appearance with the existing character of the immediate area in which it is to be located, and will not be hazardous or disturbing to existing or future neighboring uses.
Solid walls and solid fences in the rear yard shall conform to all required setback lines for yards. (Approved 8/31/95)
Article II, Definitions, as follows:
Fence – An artificially constructed barrier of any material or combination of materials erected with the intent to enclose, define or separate areas. Fences include open structures (such as, but not limited to split rail, chain link or wrought iron type), closed structures (such as, but not limited to solid masonry or board on board type), mounding of soil, stone, or other material, plantings of hedges or other landscaping materials or any combination of the preceding when designed to function as fencing.

The Clerk report was provided by Ms. Pinney. The legal spending amount for Walter & Haverfield’s work on the Adelphia/Time Warner issue is short of the invoice amount by $706.30. A motion was made by Ms. Cica-Mraz, and seconded by Mr. Wyatt to approve additional spending of $706.30 for this issue. The motion passed with unanimous approval.

The Park report was provided by Mr. Wyatt. A motion was made by Mr. Wyatt and seconded by Ms. Gilmore to retain Chris Eastwood at his current Rising Valley Park wage of $17/hour as an independent contractor to maintain Rising Valley Park through the end of 2005. The motion passed with unanimous approval. The Trustees plan on adding Mr. Eastwood to the staff as a seasonal employee for RVP maintenance beginning January 1, 2006.

The Road report was provided by Ms. Gilmore. The Department is ready and on standby for snow.

The Administration report was provided by Ms. Bowmer. The township has received information from Biz-mat, which is a company where small businesses can dispose of hazardous waste. They are open 5 days a week and businesses pay a $95 fee for drop-off. Residents can dispose of waste for free.

Announcements: The Trustees will cancel the regular December 1 and December 15 meetings and will reschedule with a single meeting on December 8 at 7:00 p.m.

A motion to adjourn was made by Ms. Gilmore, seconded by Mr. Wyatt and received unanimous approval of those in attendance.

This page last updated on: 02/25/2006

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