PLAIN TWP. − The township Zoning Commission voted 3-2 on Aug. 12 to recommend trustees approve rezoning property around Elmhurst Avenue NW and Ivy Street NW to allow for a large single-family housing development.

Developers are seeking to have the land rezoned from single-family (R-1) to planned unit development (R-6) to build 106 single-family homes. The planned unit development zoning would allow the developers to build homes closer together than allowed under the R-1 zoning, which requires single-family lots connected to sanitary sewer be at least 15,000 square feet.

Commission members John Rambacher, Alex McCallion and Ian Underation voted to recommend the rezoning. Members Terrence Seeberger and Matthew Pulliam voted against.

The hearing was held in the Oakwood Middle School auditorium because more than 60 people attended.

The vote echoed the commission's 3-1 vote in January to recommend approval of a similar rezone request by the same applicants that involved the construction of 120 homes on the 59-acre site. All three township trustees voted against the rezoning in February.

The applicants, developer Greg Kauth and K. Hovnanian Ohio Division LLC, resubmitted a nearly identical rezone request on July 1. The new plan includes only 106 homes with larger setbacks and buffers of up to 107 feet.

Seeberger, who voted to recommend the rezoning in January, said he switched his vote to "no," because of the trustees' concerns expressed in February that the proposed site lacked amenities like trails, a clubhouse and swimming pool in line with the intent for a planned unit development zoning.

Kauth said the township's zoning code did not require those amenities. And given the limited space, he said, it would not work out financially for a developer to include them in the site plan.

Pulliam, a new member of the commission, expressed concern whether any drainage system could accommodate water runoff from the development.

Kauth and Kristen Monroe, K. Hovnanian's land acquisition manager, who attended but did not speak at the hearing, declined to comment after the commission vote.

Related: Housing developer back for second try at Plain Township rezoning

In his presentation to the commission, Kauth said he had addressed residents' concerns that the original plan resulted in homes being built right next to their properties.

The new plan reduced the number of single-family homes from 120 to 106 and took green space that would have provided a view in the middle of the site and placed it on the outer edges, resulting in up to 107 feet between the homes to be constructed and current homes.

Kauth said the site would not remain farmland.

He and his partners were going to build 92 single-family homes on it in compliance with the R-1 standards or 106 homes under R-6. He said the minimum lot size of 15,000 square feet for homes in an R-1 zone would mean less space that could be designated open space and the new homes on bigger lots would be significantly closer to existing homes. In addition, complying with R-1 standards meant more driveways onto Ivy Street.

"It's not a threat," said Kauth, who presented a hypothetical site plan as the inevitable result of meeting R-1 standards.

Kauth was the only person at the hearing who spoke in favor of the rezoning.

Neighbor Peter Jarocewicz, 78, told the commission the main factor that matters to developers is "how many houses that we can squeeze into both (R-1 and R-6) plans to get the most money out of it."

Lynn Hill, who lives in the nearby Pembroke allotment, said the development would not be compatible with the surrounding area, and the residents would show up to oppose the rezoning no matter how many times the applicants applied for it.

"We're here. And we're not backing down," Hill said.

Peter John Campbell, a father of two, argued that the development will result in higher volumes of traffic in the neighborhood. He said he moved there 11 years ago because it was quiet.

"Your home should be a place of peace. It should not be a battleground," Campbell said. "I want peace. I want peace for my family. And that (the planned development) is disruption to us."

In response to concerns about traffic, Kauth said Plain Township had improved roads to accommodate more traffic from development, and he expressed confidence that would happen with Ivy Street.

Neighbor Tim Humbert, 81, said he was disappointed that the commission "saw it that way." He said he opposed the rezoning because of concerns about traffic and additional water runoff.

"But it's a little uplifting it was (a close) 3-2 vote," he said.

The trustees are expected to schedule a hearing on the matter to make a final decision.

Reach Robert at [email protected].

This article originally appeared on The Repository: Plain Twp. Zoning Commission recommends rezoning for Ivy Street housing project