By Andrea Cordle
Grove City Editor
A new development got the green light at the March 6 city council meeting.
With a 3-1 vote, council members approved the development plan for Courtyards at Mulberry Run, located to the north and south of White Road.
The plan is for Epcon Communities to build 74 single-family residential units. This development is broken into two sections. The northern section would consist of 40 units and the section to the south would include 34 housing units. This proposal also includes four acres of open space, a multi-purpose trail, and amenities like a clubhouse, pool, and pickleball court. The community would cater to empty nesters.
In October 2022, the council approved the preliminary development plan for this community but a few council members had concerns about the plan, citing density, traffic, and pedestrian safety issues. Councilwoman Christine Houk was one of the members who shared her reservations about the plan. For the final development plan, Houk was excused from action or discussion on the topic. Councilman Mark Sigrist, who also voiced concerns, voted against the final development plan.
Several residents shared their concerns about the plan when the preliminary proposal was discussed.
“The last remaining bit of green space along White Road is going to disappear because it wasn’t valuable enough to the city to preserve,” said Jason Wolfe.
Wolfe said that property would be an ideal addition to an already-existing park and a terrible location for further development.
Kelly Wolfe said White Road is already overburdened with traffic from the Buckeye Parkway development.
“We are going to have a nightmare,” she said.
Residents said drivers use White Road to avoid the more travelled Stringtown Road. They also said during peak driving times, Stringtown Road, Hoover Road, and White Road are usually backed up.
Another concern was a proposed pedestrian crossing. Now, instead of the pedestrian crossing, the developers plan to extend the sidewalk and use the existing traffic signal on White Road.
The final plan was approved with a few stipulations. One was that the developer remove the rural fencing around the property and replace it with decorative fencing. Another stipulation was to change the alignment of the road in the development to add curvature.
In other news, the council approved legislation to construct sidewalks on Addison Drive, Angela Drive, Eleanor Avenue, Haughn Road, Kingston Avenue, Parlin Drive, and Reaver Avenue as part of the city’s sidewalk program. This program constructs or repairs sidewalks with the city paying half the cost and the property owner paying the other half.
According to Houk, who is the service chair, affected property owners will receive notice of the improvements and the cost involved. She said residents can choose to make the improvements themselves, wait until the city makes the improvements and share in the cost, or have the cost of the improvements placed on their property estate tax to be paid over time.
