Here’s a look at some of the recent meetings in Brown Township.
• The trustees met on March 12, where they approved a quote for $53,000 to equip the new truck. On March 22, a special meeting was held where the trustees went into executive session to discuss personnel matters.
• In another special meeting on April 9, four bids for the maintenance building were received, with three being acceptable (within 10% of the projected cost). At the regular meeting on that date, three of the four members of the public that spoke mentioned Henmick Farm & Brewery, 4380 N. Old State Road, Delaware, and a party they had during the solar eclipse. “When you’ve had the large events, it’s been a carnival,” said one of the trustees to representatives for Henmick. However, an area resident defended the operation, saying, “It’s great he’s (proprietor Nick Sheets) kept it as farmland instead of houses.”
Also on April 9, the zoning report said a 14-home development, Beechwood Estates, was approved. There was discussion on a noise recommendation, but the trustees felt “the proposal is too vague to pass anything,” it was said.
• Zoning violations with Henmick Brewery were discussed at a special meeting on April 12. The trustees were told the “zoning resolution section 14.10 is extremely complication and time consuming.” They granted Sheets an extension to submit a rezoning application, in exchange for canceling or rescheduling large events, having safety and event plans, along with a crossing guard at the parking lot on the west side of the road.
• In a special meeting on April 19, the bid from Studer-Obringer to build the maintenance building for $1,865,000 was approved. They also approved Cathy Ramondelli of MS Consultants to be the construction administrator for the building.
• Sheets said he had hired a security firm to do crosswalk duties at a special meeting on April 26. He is also working on a reduced speed limit for North Old State Road with the Ohio Department of Transportation. All large, ticketed events have been cancelled, except for a charity fundraiser for the handicapped the township supports. The trustees voted to accept Henmick’s safety plan as presented.
Trustees are Chair Connie Skinner, Vice Charles Miley and Gary Stegner. Peggy J. Link is fiscal officer, Dan Gladman is road superintendent and Beth Harp is cemetery sexton.
The Brown Township Zoning Commission consists of Chair Keith Holewinski, Vice Chair Kyle Vanderhoff, Ian Capwell, and alternate Stan Bean. Steve Lisano is the zoning inspector, and Vickie Sheets is the zoning secretary.
• The Jan. 4 meeting determined the BTZC organization for the year. It was noted they had subcommittees for landscaping and noise, which will meet in April and March, respectively. Also at the meeting, copies of forms used by Columbus and Dublin were viewed and could be adapted as applications and certificate of completion.
• At the Feb. 1 meeting, Jeremy Williams was welcomed as a new member. He was brought up to speed on the commission’s activities. The Brown Township Zoning Commission consists of Chair Keith Holewinski, Vice Chair Kyle Vanderhoff, Ian Capwell, and alternate Stan Bean. Steve Lisano is the Zoning Inspector; Vickie Sheets is the Zoning Secretary.
• On March 7, the noise subcommittee met and would make a recommendation at the next BZTC meeting. In new business, growth along the 36/37 corridor was discussed as it relates to the township on Baker Road. “The use of overlays can be used to allow transition to different levels of density, for example, office/administrative or apartments along the corridor and less dense uses such as single-family homes with smaller acreage requirements further away from the corridor,” meeting minutes said. “The purpose would be to encourage developers to choose to be under township governance rather than be annexed to Delaware or Sunbury. An overlap allows a property owner to choose to operate under a different set of requirements than the more restrictive township zoning resolution. The members expressed interest in developing a new article in the Zoning Resolution to provide for one or more overlays as the development of Delaware County progresses.”
The landscaping subcommittee would meet on April 4. Public hearings were held on June 5 and June 6 for Henmick Brewery, which will be the subject of a future story. A revised rezoning and final development plan applications were submitted on June 20. There is also a Board of Zoning Appeals, consisting of: Shane Askins, Donald Dicke, Brad Ebersole, Chris Shamro, Chris Thompson and alternate Linda Sheets.
The meetings are held in the Brown Township Hall, 5555 State Route 521, Delaware. Brown Township includes the populated places of Kilbourne and Leonardsburg.
For more information, visit co.delaware.oh.us/cities/brown-township/ (website) or Brown Township Delaware Ohio (Facebook).
Assistant Editor Gary Budzak covers the eastern half of Delaware County and surrounding areas. He may be reached at [email protected].
