Correction
A story in Saturday's edition of the Mount Vernon News was incorrect on the Mount Vernon City Council's zoning vote for Rockford Homes on April 23. The vote was 5-1, with Councilmember Mike Hillier voting against.
MOUNT VERNON – Complaints about traffic and transparency weren’t enough to convince the City Council to overturn a Municipal Planning Commission decision to approve a rezoning request to allow an apartment development on Coschocton Road.
The council approved 5-1 – with Councilmember Mike Hillier against and Josh Kirby absent – Rockford Homes’ request to rezone 38.5 acres of land from R-1 to R-3 during Monday night’s council meeting. At least six votes would have been required to overturn the planning commissioners’ decision.
Residents who spoke against the rezoning said traffic already is an issue and this development, plus the nearby Schlabach development, will be too much for the roads.
Deborah McElvoy of Upper Gilchrist Road in Monroe Township, who lives beside the property, said she heard many meetings have been held about this development, but many residents have been left out of them.
“There has been this veil of secrecy to get from there to here and I am sorry, I will not back down from that,” she said.
McElvoy said she never got the notification letter that should have been sent.
She said it frightens her how quickly it changed from being a single-family home to being a multi-story, multi-family development without their knowledge.
The city posted an ad for the public hearing in the newspaper, sent letters to 37 neighboring properties and posted it online, Todd Hill, the clerk of council, said.
Councilmember Mike Hillier promised to get with Law Director Rob Broeren to check the requirements for the Planning Commission and City Council on publicizing meetings, and to determine what may have gone wrong.
Hillier said his issues with the property go back to annexation because the city had no traffic plan.
“And now you're on a timeline to figure out how we're going to handle this and where the money is going to come from,” he said.
Councilmember Tammy Woods said some residents will be disappointed that she voted for the rezoning, but the city needs housing. She agreed that there would be traffic problems.
“I live right on Coshocton Road, and I'm going to see it,” she said.
Councilmember John Francis agreed that traffic is a headache but said it accompanies growth.
“We see new faces all the time, but we want to keep them here. But before we can even do that, they got to have a place to live. And I for one know that the only way that could happen is things are built,” he said.
City Engineer Brian Ball said the city intends to install a left turn lane on the north side of the Upper Gilchrist/Coschocton Avenue intersection to give more space for traffic to queue and to keep traffic going south or turning right from being backed up waiting for vehicles turning left.
A housing analysis said the city needs 240 to 520 new units annually, Councilmember Amber Keener said. This analysis came before Intel’s announcement to locate in Licking County, she said.
“I think that it's clear with not having a development in 22 years that we need growth in everywhere,” Keener said.
Trash hauling complaints
Councilmembers say the biggest complaints they’ve been receiving have been about trash hauling and the times for garbage pickup. So Mayor Matt Starr invited Jenna Hicks, director of the Delaware Knox Marion Morrow (DKMM) Solid Waste District, to educate them on related issues.
The four-county solid waste district has operated live recycling drop off locations, including one at Memorial Park in Mount Vernon and at the park and ride location, she said.
Municipalities put trash collection and recycling out for bids. Rumpke is the largest trash hauler in the district, she said. Rates range from approximately $19 to $26 per month, with some villages offering recycling as an option.
Hillier said he wanted the council to meet with all city trash haulers to discuss the issues.
“Every single one of the solid waste removal companies were invited to this as well,” Starr said.
Woods said she will schedule another committee meeting if council wants to continue the conversation.
“I don't want anybody walking out here thinking the conversation was we're headed towards a single carrier. That's not been discussed yet,” she said. “I know a lot more thought and conversation needs to go into this.”