Critical City Commission Overhauled and Approved by 7-0 Vote
New Appointees to Take Full Roles in January of 2024
Five new members are to be seated on the Hilliard Planning and Zoning Commission at the start of 2024, representing a significant change in the constitution of the seven- member commission.
Hilliard City Council members on Oct. 23 appointed five new members collectively as a slate, having chosen the appointees from a field of 12 finalists.
The new members are:
Tony Moog, representing Ward 2
O’Neal Saunders, representing Ward 3
Vince Papsidero, representing Ward 4
Christopher Italiano, representing Ward 5
Jim Martin is a new at-large member
Current commission member Bevan Schneck, representing Ward 1, was re-appointed.
Current commission member Jay Muether, chair of the commission, was shifted from a Ward 5 seat to an at-large seat.
The terms of Muether and Martin expire Dec. 31, 2025 but each of the five ward seats are new four-year terms commencing Jan. 1, 2024.
Current P&Z members Eric Gutknecht, Tracey Nixon, Tom Pannett, and Bill Uttley did not seek re-appointment, and current member Chris Lewie (Ward 4) was not re-appointed.
The 12 finalists considered for re-appointment were culled from 24 applicants that included Lewie.
“We had such good applicants (and) it is was extremely difficult” to make the appointments, Councilwoman Peggy Hale said.
Councilman Andy Teater called all the candidates “an outstanding pool.”
The six appointees were named in a resolution council unanimously adopted, 7-0.
The Planning and Zoning commission acts in an advisory role to City Council concerning rezoning applications and development proposals that come before the city but acts autonomously in other matters.
According to the city’s website, hilliardohio.gov, the commission reviews and recommends to City Council for approval the following items:
(a) A master plan, as often as necessary, but no less frequently than every 10 years after approval of the prior master plan by City Council;
(b) A subdivision platting ordinance, which shall include minimum lot sizes and building sites;
(c) An official City map;
(d) A zoning plan and ordinance, which may include such requirements for parks, recreation areas, and traffic and utility provisions as may be deemed necessary for the promotion of the public health, safety, and general welfare; and
(e) Such changes to the aforementioned plans and ordinances as may be deemed necessary for the promotion of the public health, safety, and general welfare.
The commission approves preliminary plats and final plats which conform to the subdivision platting ordinance, provided that such plats shall be subject to review, modification, and re-approval of those plats or portions thereof on which construction has not been started within two (2) years after the next preceding approval.