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Trustee Sims Asks For Zoning Members’ Opinions
Topic Started: Nov 22 2008, 04:13 PM (297 Views)
Karen Fisher

There was a Zoning Commission meeting April 10, 2007 at which there was extensive discussion about the need for the comprehensive plan being updated and zoning in the area of Lake and Greenwich Roads.

Early on in the meeting, Trustee Sims asked, “I just want to really help you guys get the horse back in front of the cart here. I would like to know each of your individual opinions on creating a district between Lake and Greenwich that allows for big box retail.”

Chairman Zupanic (Zoning Commission Chairman who was not reappointed by Sims and Likley for another term) said, “There has been no application for big box retail. There’s been nothing talked about changing the zoning to big box retail. There was a proposed development that spurred discussion about what is going to happen in this area.” To which Trustee Sims responded to the Zoning Commission Board, “I would like to know your individual opinions on big box retail on Greenwich Road.”

In my opinion, Trustee Sims’s request to poll the commission board for their opinions was a self-promoting action. Even though she was in the audience, her position as Trustee supersedes her participation as a resident. The Commission members are hired by the Board of Trustees to do a job and refer their findings and decisions on to the Board for the final review and vote. To ask the members to voice their opinions, in front of the public, before they’ve had a chance to gather the information that would allow them to make an educated opinion and decision, was equal to Sims holding their feet over a fire!

All members of the commissions and the Board of Township Trustees should avoid the appearance of influenced pre-judgment. This would be the same as a judge hearing the case of a suspected murderer and half way through the trial, the judge polls the jury for their opinions on the defendant’s guilt or innocence. To make matters worse the judge, at some point, also gives his opinion as to the defendant’s guilt or innocence. This just isn’t proper protocol.

Then, at the October 23, 2007 Zoning Commission meeting, Trustee Sims made the following statement, “Important in what I’ve told the majority of you is almost the same speech time and time again - that this is why you have zoning and this is why you have these meetings and this is why you have this board. But zoning if it is not permitted it is prohibited. That means that is what you are doing here. You are telling your five officials here what you would like to see or not see in the community so what you want to do is make sure that your opinions are represented here and understood that those five people understand what it is that you want and zoning guides our community. What it is that we put in the resolution by these five individuals and by the board of trustees is what can and cannot happen so if you decide that you want a particular development in this area or you don’t, now is the time to express that so they (the Zoning Commission) know how to vote and ultimately the board of trustees would know how to vote as well to represent your interests.”

Fast forward to October 23, 2008. Trustee Sims and Trustee Likley voted to deny the rezoning request of Tim Kratzer. It seems that the 4-1 vote of the Zoning Commission was ignored as well as all of the months of work they did to come to their decision. So, why do we have a Zoning Commission when what they recommend is overturned? We should ask Trustee Sims and Trustee Likley to explain. Maybe the township would be better off financially if the two zoning boards were eliminated and all their work and voting would be done by the trustees?
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