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CW lumber yard demolition debated
(by Linda Dillman, staff writer - February 02, 2010)
The owner of a former East Waterloo Street lumber yard wants to demolish the crumbling site, but without a redevelopment plan, the Canal Winchester Landmarks Commission is putting the brakes on the plan.
Robert Patrella, Guernsey Bank president, said Guernsey is appealing the commission's decision and feels the site would better lend itself to development if a future buyer could view the entire property without the existing structures in place.
During a Dec. 28 commission meeting, members voiced concern about approving the demolition in the absence of a redevelopment plan, although area businesses expressed no opposition to the proposed demolition. Preservation guidelines for the area call for the plan at the same time a demolition is proposed and, in the absence of the document, the commission was compelled to follow procedure and denied the request.
The commission said it does not believe demolishing the existing structures to make the property more marketable does not justify approving the demolition. Additionally, the commission felt the demolition would hurt the physical character and existing streetscape of Old Town.
On Jan. 7, Patrella appealed the commission's decision to Canal Winchester Development Director Chris Strayer and a public hearing was held on Feb. 1, prior to the Canal Winchester Village Council meeting. Nancy Fischer asked council who was responsible for cleaning up any hazardous chemicals, such as paint, associated with the lumber yard demolition.
"There used to be a lot of paint in there," responded Strayer, "but they came in and took it all out. Right now, they've done a phase one assessment (history of the site, etc.), which came back with no contamination, but in phase two they do soil borings."
Council has a 60 day window from receipt of the appeal to render a decision.
Other Canal Winchester news
•KidsConnect Administrator Michaela Taylor, along with after school coordinators Bailey Abbott and Austin Miller, updated council on programming and a community rain garden project at Canal Winchester Middle School, which utilizes rooftop runoff to irrigate a garden.
Sixth through eighth grade students in southeastern Franklin County receive academic assistance and social enrichment opportunities including homework assistance, team building, mentoring, and service learning projects. One hundred and seventy students were served by KidsConnect in 2008-09.
Nearly three quarters of the children enrolled in the program improved one letter grade in at least one core subject area and 49 percent increased their school attendance. More than half of the students improved their social skills by 35 percent and 47 percent involved in the program for more than 18 weeks incurred zero discipline infractions during the 2008-09 school year.
•Council heard second readings on a pair of ordinances increasing water and sanitary sewer user fees, along with an ordinance giving the village's consent to the Ohio Department of Transportation for replacement of twin slab bridge structures on U.S. 33.
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