Granville Township passes zoning district; turns focus to economic agreement with village

As Licking County continues to develop, Granville Township has taken a major step toward protecting itself from uncontrolled development.

The Granville Township Trustees on Wednesday approved an overlay zoning district, which would create stricter zoning regulations than the regular zoning code within defined areas of the township. The township's zoning commission recommended approval April 1. Now that it's approved, the overlay will go into effect in 30 days.

The overlay district is a crucial part of protecting Granville's existing character as development pressure continues to mount because of Intel building semiconductor factories south of Johnstown while also fostering economic development to shift the tax burden from residents to businesses.

Trustee Bryn Bird said after the Intel plant was announced in January 2022, trustees questioned what they could do to protect the township from uncontrolled development.

"Getting this overlay, I think, is going to help because I just refuse to do nothing," she said. "I refuse to do nothing and to have our zoning stand in a way that leaves us vulnerable."

Bird said as part of Framework, the 15-jurisdiction, public-private effort to plan for Intel's impact, community leaders across Licking County learned that if they nothing their communities would be consumed by development and would "look like The New Albany Co. wants it to look like."

"This is us putting in the roadblocks," she said.

The overlay district includes properties along River Road and Weaver Drive, Raccoon Valley Golf Course and properties along Columbus Road (Ohio 16). The latter is an area that has been slated for development for decades.

Of the overlay district's 61 pages, 26 are dedicated to strict design and aesthetic standards about lighting, open space, landscaping, parking lots, setbacks, buffers, signage and more. Those detailed standards are what will control future development, so it matches Granville's existing character. The language also specifies the permitted and prohibited uses within the overlay.

The entire overlay district language is available on the township's website.

As previously reported, the overlay district does not replace a property's existing zoning but gives landowners another option if they choose to develop their land. Properties' current zoning stays in place, and it only changes if a property owner opts to use the overlay district zoning.

The handful of residents attending the meeting questioned what incentive developers will have to use the overlay zoning. Bird said properties that are developing will have to use the overlay to receive water and sewer service from the village of Granville, which would only offer utility services to commercial properties.

"We keep saying 'What is the incentive?' The only way for them to get water and sewer, which makes their properties a property that can be developed, is this trigger of doing the overlay," she said.

After approving the overlay, the trustees also discussed the joint economic development district, or JEDD, the township is in the process of creating with the village. As previously reported, the two entities have spent more than a year working on the agreement, and in recent weeks have been putting the finishing touches on the language.

The JEDD and overlay go hand-in-hand as they both include the same properties.

As The Advocate reported previously, JEDDs are an economic development tool that allow townships to partner with a municipality to collect income tax on commercial properties within a defined area. In this case, Granville Township is partnering with the village, and businesses in the area would be subjected to the village's 1.5% income tax rate. Township residential properties are not impacted by the income tax.

The trustees have a special joint meeting with Granville Village Council at 7 p.m. Wednesday at Granville Village Hall to hear an annual update on the Old Colony Cemetery. After that, the trustees will hold another special session at 7:20 p.m. to discuss and likely vote on the JEDD. Village council will hold its own public hearing on the proposed agreement during its meeting at 7:30 p.m. that same day.

mdevito@gannett.com

740-607-2175

This article originally appeared on Newark Advocate: Granville Township passes zoning district to control future growth