Springfield Township is considering an expansion of the joint economic development district.
At the September 3 meeting, the trustees set a public hearing for 5 p.m., Tuesday, October 15, at the township hall, 7617 Angola Road, to consider amending the JEDD contract with the Village of Holland.
Both the township and village are required to hold public hearings on the proposed change, which calls for additional territory to be included in the existing JEDD at the Dorr Street interchange. The two entities created the district in 2019.
A JEDD is determined by a contract approved by the legislative authorities of one or more contiguous corporations and townships.
Governing authorities enter into contracts to facilitate economic development, to create or preserve jobs and employment opportunities, and to improve the economic welfare of the people in the area.
The JEDD is designed to encourage cooperation among local communities, and is considered to be a mutually beneficial economic development tool.
Cooperation takes the form of tax revenue sharing between the township and Holland.
Zoning Report
The trustees reviewed the zoning report for August. Last month, the department issued 34 permits and collected $3,940.
Permits were issued for fencing, eight, followed by decks, six; signage, four; variance, site plan review, new dwellings, temporary building and accessory structure, two apiece, and co-location tower, new commercial, addition, shed, remodel and new occupant, one each.
Planning director Jacob Barnes also updated the trustees on public hearings. The zoning commission will hear two requests at an October 8 meeting.
The first is a zoning change from R-A suburban residential and M-3 heavy industrial to C-2 general commercial for 6501 Angola Road. The second change is from RA-4 rural residential to RA-3 large lot rural residential conditional use for 8305/8319 Nebraska Avenue.
The Toledo Lucas County Plan Commission will meet September 25 to consider a text amendment as it pertains to accessory dwelling units.
At the August board of zoning appeals, Barnes said two variance requests were approved for an accessory building at 8026 Nebraska Avenue and pool constructed too close to the property line at 6523 Antoinette Lane.
The planning director said the latter was not the fault of the homeowner, noting that the company doing the work failed to obtain the required permits.
He also noted that the department completed an inventory of businesses in the joint economic development zone. “We had seven new businesses in the district and nine closed businesses. It was pretty much a wash,” he said.
Other Business
In other business, the trustees:
•Accepted the resignation of Kim Underwood, fiscal assistant, effective September 6.
•Moved service person John Thomas from an M-2 to an M-3 classification at an hourly rate of $27.58.
•Employed Todd Koback and Justin Toska as M-2 service personnel at $25 per hour.
•Contracted with Allied Paving Company of Holland to seal coat the parking lots at the Crissey and Garden roads fire stations for $6,793 and $5,849 respectively.
•Approved bills from August 21 to September 3, totaling $31,655. They also approved electronic payments from August 16 to 29, of $297,242, which includes the biweekly payroll of $277,782.
The next trustees meeting will be at 5 p.m., Tuesday, September 17, at the township meeting hall, 7617 Angola Road, and is open to the public.
