Elyria approves new planning and zoning code, residents voice opposition

ELYRIA — The city will update its planning and zoning code for the first time in more than 27 years after City Council voted to approve a new code on Monday despite the opposition of some residents. City officials who worked on the code, led by City Planner Chris Schoenig, have said it would be simpler, more modern and more adaptive to change. With the new code, the city will go from 17 zoning districts to nine, which Schoenig said would remove redundancies and outdated districts while also making it easier for those going through the zoning process. The new planning and zoning code will rezone the entire city and take effect May 1, but all current uses will be grandfathered in as long as they are continually in use. "While the proposed zoning code does deviate from our current zoning code, it aligns with the goals of our comprehensive plan, provides further flexibility in use to alleviate hardships felt by homeowners and businesses in the community," Schoenig said. "(It) strives to balance economic development with retaining the character of the community." Schoenig also emphasized that the new code was meant to be a "living document," which the city would update and change regularly as needed. Prior to the vote, a number of residents spoke opposing the new code during a public hearing. Most of the residents who spoke live in the West by the River Historic District, and were upset that their neighborhood was changed to a downtown residential district, which could allow for additional businesses to open there. The residents ask that their neighborhood instead be designated Residential 1, the most restrictive residential designation under the new code, which focuses on low-density residential character. West Avenue resident Kevin Krischer said that with so many empty business buildings downtown, it was unnecessary to allow businesses to open in the historic area. "This is unneeded, and just opening the door for problems in the neighborhood," Krischer said. "So we are going to ask City Council to make a motion to go from downtown residential to (Residential 1). That is all we are asking, because I don't think that anybody up here (on Council) would want a business next to their home." Tom Aden is a member of the Elyria Planning Commission and was critical in the formation of the historical district, and he also spoke as an opponent of the new zoning code on Monday. Like Krischer, Aden said that he felt the new zoning was unnecessary and would undermine the current character of his neighborhood. "I still just had to be on the record to say I think it is a mistake," Aden said. "... I just don't understand the sense behind it at all." Residents also said that they felt that they had been left out of the process of creating the new planning code over the past two years. "In every public hearing that this specific plan was talked about, we had a representative from our district there," West Avenue resident Matt Swabb said. "Not one resident (of the district) requested a zoning change. … We were told this was to modernize the code. We live in a historic district, we don't need a modern code, we need our home to stay the same." Another change that some residents have taken issue with is the addition of a new zoning district called a corridor district. The corridor district will be implemented on every major road within the city outside of downtown Elyria, and would focus on mixed commercial and residential use. Council voted 10-1 in favor of the zoning code update, with Councilman Andrew Lipian, I-3rd Ward, being the sole opposing vote. "I want to keep single family districts close to home," Lipian said after the meeting. "You know, currently we have eight residential zoning districts, and those zoning districts are established so whatever goes into the neighborhood is amenable to the neighbors. Now, we have many uses that could be applied into a (formerly) single-family neighborhood. For example on North Abbe Road, under the new zoning code it would allow mobile home parks to go over North Abbe Road. I just think that is topsy-turvy zoning, and that is why I voted no." Because the new code will be more readily updated, Lipian said he planned to work with Council members and others in the community to pursue changes to areas like Abbe Road. Councilman Ed Doehne, D-3rd Ward, had previously voiced concerns about allowing commercial uses on portions of Abbe Road North that are currently exclusively residential, but he voted in favor of the update on Monday. "I voted yes because, while it is an imperfect document, it is a living document and I will soon work with Councilman Lipian on bringing necessary amendments to improve our zoning," Doehne said after the meeting on Monday. Schoenig said that some of the modernization in the new code included loosening restrictions on the keeping of chickens and adding in language to account for businesses that did not exist or were not widespread when the code was last updated in the 1990s, such as microbreweries and vape shops. Specifically for vape and smoke shops, new restrictions have been added limiting how close any two such businesses can be to one another, outright banning them in corridor and downtown districts and making them a conditional use in any district except industrial, meaning it would be allowed, but only if it receives approval from Planning Commission and City Council. "City staff believes we have proposed a logical compromise that addresses various opinions throughout the community," Schoenig said before the vote. "As no zoning code can be deemed perfect, what is proposed is aligned with community feedback, provides much-needed updates to our aging zone code, implements uses that are currently unaddressed and promotes housing diversity to address concerns of affordability within the community." Contact Owen MacMillan at (440) 329-7123 or omacmillan@chroniclet.com.