Council Receives Village Gateway District Ordinance Proposal

At its meeting last night, Village Council accepted a draft of the proposed Village Gateway District zoning ordinance.
Council's Planning and Zoning Committee has been working on the
ordinance for over a year and last night submitted the draft to the
full Council for the final review process leading to adoption. The
first step in that process was to pass the document to the Planning
Commission for its review and a public hearing. The Planning Commission
has already participated in the drafting process and will now review
the final product and receive input from the public.
Once the Planning Commission has completed its work and returned
recommendations to Council, there will be another public hearing before
Council votes to adopt the ordinance. Council expects to hear back from
the Planning Commission in time for the first Council meeting in
December.
The Village Gateway District proposal grew out of the early
proposals for zoning legislation for the River Road annexation. The
Gateway District is broader zoning that will serve for all future
annexation at the commercial entrances to the Village.
The proposed ordinance states:
"The purpose and intent of the Village Gateway District is to create
an attractive, well-designed entrance into the community that will
provide suitable areas for mixed uses in a visually-integrated,
high-quality neighborhood setting. The Gateway District will have a
moderate concentration of various types of compatible businesses and
offices to service neighborhood needs. Special enhancements will
include the preservation of existing natural resources, a useful
pattern of open space and walking trails, integrated architecture and
design that reflects the traditional architectural styles of Granville,
adequate parking, appropriate landscaping and screening, desirable
aesthetics, and creative site design intended to eliminate adverse
effects of traffic congestion. The Village Gateway District is intended
to provide increased tax revenues to both the local schools and the
Village, while minimizing costs to the Village for infrastructure
acquisition and maintenance and preserving or enhancing the quality of
life and property values in the Village and Granville Township."
A copy of the draft legislation is attached to this article and is also available in the Village Offices.