Hilliard to Appoint Six to Planning and Zoning
Busiest City Commission will Solidify New Membership Throughout November and December
Hilliard City Council members are to appoint six members to new four-year terms on the Hilliard Planning and Zoning Commission by the end of October.
The terms of six of the seven members of the commission expire Dec. 31 but City Council is to appoint planning-and-zoning commission members at their Oct. 23 meeting to allow time to on-board the new commission members concerning pending cases and procedures of municipal government.
City Council members are to meet in executive session, or a closed meeting, on Sept. 25 to whittle the 24 applicants down to about 12, said Hilliard City Councilwoman Peggy Hale, city council’s liaison to the P and Z commission.
After the finalists are selected, council members are to interview the candidates in a series of meetings and then make appointments by resolution on Oct. 23, Hale said.
The P and Z 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.
Planning-and-zoning commission chairman Jay Muether is the only current member whose term does not expire Dec. 31- his term expires at the end of 2025.
Only two of the six current members whose terms are to expire are seeking re-appointment, ensuring that at least four members are to be new to the commission.
Current P&Z members Eric Gutknecht, Tracey Nixon, Tom Pannett, and Bill Uttley are not seeking re-appointment.
Only two current members- Bevan Schneck and Chris Lewie- applied to be re-appointed.
In the past, planning-and-zoning commission members were paid a stipend for their services but the city recently suspended compensation that had been paid to members of the commission and several other advisory groups in the city.
The seven members of the planning-and-zoning commission each represent one of city’s five wards, plus two at-large members. This city now has five wards owing to its growing population.
The 24 applicants are not evenly distributed.
Six applicants are from Ward 1: Tim Bowers, Gregory Boyer, William Mills, Bevan Schneck, Chelsea Setterlin-Kimes, and Jayme Staley.
Seven applicants are from Ward 2: Renee Bonsell, Brian Braaksma, Kelly Breckner, Steve Brooks, Angela Kirk, Tony Moog, and Adeyemi (Yemi) Sobowale.
Two applicants from Ward 3: Nancy Miller and O’Neal Saunders.
Six applicants from Ward 4: Aaron Epling, Chris Lewie, Steve Maggee, Jim Martin, Vince Papsidero, and Alexander Watts.
Three applicants from Ward 5: Jessica Dyszel, Mikaela Hunt, and Christopher Italiano.
