PERRYSBURG – A new conceptual land use plan for Perrysburg Heights, being advanced by Perrysburg City Councilman Mark Weber, is being discussed in council committee meetings and by residents.

Weber said that the original plan, proposed by the Perrysburg Land Use Plan consultants and first presented to the public on Sept. 7, was eliminated from council discussions. It had a large section of the Heights turned into green space and ringed with new cottage style houses. That concept would have eliminated approximately 79 houses.

“The entire council said they have no intention of using that (original) plan,” Weber said.

The new plan is designed to separate commercial development from residential, with an eye to halt that creep of commercial annexation into the historic community, which was founded in the 1920s by and for migrant farm workers. Generations later, some of those original Mexican and Irish laborers’ families still reside there.

“Right now, that’s just another conceptual drawing, and we’re letting everybody have a good look at it, unlike that first one. I was very upset with those consultants, when they presented that first one,” Weber said. “I let them know, they never consulted anyone before they drew it. So we’re trying to right that wrong here, by giving (the Perrysburg Heights residents) plenty of time to discuss this.”

Weber described the new concept as being a clean line that separates commercial development on the west side of the Heights, with residential property on the east, divided by a possible road, bounded by some green space.

Perrysburg Heights is within Perrysburg Township, but land owners can request that their land, if contiguous, be annexed by the city.

“It started out as a drawing on a napkin,” Weber said of the new conceptual drawing done by Brody Walters, city planning and zoning administrator.

Weber has personal ties to the Perrysburg Heights community, through his wife.

It has now been mapped out and discussed in committee meetings, but not in front of the full council. It has also not yet been put up for a vote.

“That is a very sensible plan that Brody came up with,” Weber said. “It does a nice job of preserving the residential area. But we all have to keep in mind that none of this takes away any residence, if they don’t sell. All we have to do is have a plan to stop the commercial encroachment into their neighborhood. It’s got to stop somewhere.”

He described it as having commercial area taking up about 20% of the land along the Ohio 25 corridor.

“From the beginning, the problem has been misinformation, and it has caused so many problems. It started early on and that’s why people were concerned that the city was going to come in there and bulldoze their houses, and it’s just nothing like that. It’s the furthest thing from the truth.”

Leah Ponce-Deleo is representing a committee of Heights residents, having grown up there with many personal ties to the community, said that residents are already being contacted, by text messages and other methods, with requests to purchase their property.

She wants to “keep this neighborhood as a starting point for future families. We need to promote more affordable housing and provide other families like the founding families opportunities they deserve.”

Last week, Councilman Cory Kuhlman, who is on the planning and zoning committee, said that the new plan would protect Heights residents from commercial developers, which is continuing to happen.

Weber said the first request for annexation came from a property sold on Jan. 11, located to the east of the Taco Bell, located on west side of the Heights. The new owner, Steven Fuzinski, bought four lots and Weber said he has already asked to have the one that is immediately adjacent to the Taco Bell, annexed by the city.

“We’re not trying to shove anything down anyone’s throat,” Weber said. “You have to have some kind of a plan. Without a plan, if’s a free-for-all.”