Planning for the future: Etna Township planning for type of development residents want
As Amazon, FedEx, Kohl's and other warehouses have been built in Etna Township over the past decade, many residents are not happy with how their rural community has changed.
Now a new community plan is focused on bringing in the kind of development residents want to see.
After more than a year and a half of work, the updated Etna Township comprehensive plan was presented to the zoning commission during a Jan. 23 meeting.
Jim Lenner, president and CEO of Neighborhood Strategies who led the planning process with a 15-member advisory committee, shared the highlights of the plan, which can guide how to deal with future growth, and answered residents' questions.
"The future land use (map) and the comprehensive plan is a policy," he said. "It's a guiding document that you folks, plus the trustees and the administration, should use to guide your decisions."
The plan would not change the zoning on any land. It is a recommendation for how land could be developed based on input from the community, Lenner said.
Lenner, along with members of the zoning commissions and advisory committee, all said input from the more than 600 residents who filled out a community survey drove the plan. In that survey, residents stressed they did not want to see anymore warehouses, of which Etna has 16. Residents also said they wanted sit-down and fast casual restaurants, grocery stores, locally owned shops, recreational areas, medical offices and more, according to survey results included in the draft plan.
In several areas, including along the south side of U.S. 40 between the Mayflower subdivision and Hillview Drive as well as both sides of Hazelton-Etna Road (Ohio 310) south of the Kohl's distribution center to the township line, the plan proposes a neighborhood commercial use to allow for those businesses residents said they want.
The draft plan also calls for preserving agriculture south of Interstate 70 in two areas: between the township's eastern boundary and Smoke Road as well as between Mink Street and Toll Gate Road.
The plan proposes creating a village center at the heart of the township along Hazelton-Etna Road (Ohio 310), border by U.S. 40 to the north, Smoke Road to the east, I-70 to the south and the Orchard Glen subdivision to the west.
"We wanted to make sure as the township grows that we secure a place to, again, have people congregate, to have pedestrian friendly access to restaurants or shops or whatever that may be," Lenner said.
The plan proposes land west of Mink Street to the township boundary be used for housing. Lenner said it's an attempt to stop Reynoldsburg from annexing more land.
The draft plan would allow for single-family residential, at one unit an acre, and planned residential, at three units an acre, for much of the western portion of the township that hasn't already been annexed into Reynoldsburg.
"This is a way to dangle a carrot in front of the developer and say, 'You might not get the density you want, but you don't have to go through the hassle of working with the annexation process,'" Lenner said. "Now, as this develops, you now have a wall on the other side of Reynoldsburg."
As the township continues to grow, roadways and intersections will also need improved. The plan highlights the major intersections, including U.S. 40 at Ohio 310 and Mink Street and multiple intersections along Refugee Road, that will need improvements in the years to come.
To execute all the recommendations in the plan, it is suggested that an implementation committee be formed to coordinate and monitor progress.
Based on feedback provided at the meeting, Lenner and his staff will update the plan, which has to be adopted by the zoning commission and then adopted by the Etna Township Trustees.
mdevito@gannett.com
740-607-2175
Twitter: @MariaDeVito13
This article originally appeared on Newark Advocate: Etna Township planning for type of development residents want
