A public hearing has been set for June on a proposed zoning amendment that could speed up some
construction approval processes in the city.
The hearing was scheduled during Wednesday’s meeting of the Bowling Green Planning Commission.
The changes concern three sections of the site plan approval process for S-District, or planned, zoned
properties. Certain residential, commercial, institutional and park properties fall under this
classification.
Earlier this year, the Wood County Hospital had sought to change the zoning on its facilities, as well as
adjacent properties along Conneaut Avenue, from S-3, planned institutional, to I-1, institutional.
The major reason offered for the request was because the I-1 zoning approval process moved along at what
the hospital felt to be a more efficient pace; under the current ordinance, the S-District approval
process for construction projects can take as long as six months before receiving a vote on final
approval from city council.
The hospital’s request was voted down by the planning commission in February; the institution
subsequently withdrew its request after learning of the proposed ordinance changes.
Planning Director Heather Sayler, in an April 23 letter to the commission members, noted that, in
response to the Commission’s vote and public sentiment, "Council, with assistance from the
administrative staff, drafted the … revision to the process that eliminates Council from reviewing an
S-District site plan."
The move, if approved, could cut three months or more from the review process.
The public hearing on the matter it set for the June 4 meeting of the Planning Commission, to be held in
Council Chambers at 7 p.m.
Council has further scheduled a hearing on the changes for June 16 at 6 p.m.