PERRYSBURG – Another housing development is planned for the city.
At the July 2 city council meeting, members approved a proposed planned unit development request for the Coventry Pointe North project.
The ordinance was approved on a unanimous vote with no discussion.
The city’s planning and zoning committee met June 25 to review the plan.
Committee Chairman Barry VanHoozen reported that at that meeting, Planning and Zoning Administrator Brody Walters explained the units would be built on 78.9 acres located on Fort Meigs Road, west of Perrysburg High School.
There would be 102 traditional single-family homes to accommodate two-story, single-family housing similar to what is in Coventry Point along with 96 single-story detached villas and 86 single-story attached village.
The villas would pay a fee to cover lawn maintenance and snow removal.
Applicant Steve Mitchell, on behalf of Five Point Investments LLC, attended the planning and zoning meeting and said the project started in 2022 when the LLC annexed 68 acres into the city. The property was assigned R-3 single-family residential.
He said the villas, targeted to empty nesters, are “one of the products really lacking in the city.”
Significant changes to the initial plan include the reduction of 30 units, consolidation of the majority of open space into a centralized location, elimination of the four-plex units and a revision from two-story buildings with three bedrooms to one-story buildings with two bedrooms.
The city’s planning commission voted 6-0 in April to approve the planned unit development with the understanding several conditions would be met.
Those conditions included a minimum of three exterior colors on the villas; a 10-foot-wide asphalt multi-use path; a landscape plan to include trees along the bike path, community park benches, open space and separation along the railroad tracks; variable roof heights for the villas and a minimum of four exterior products for the front-facing material, including vinyl, stone, shaker and board; install glass to the garage doors; and the installation of uniform driveways.
“Those are great adds,” said committee member Cory Kuhlman.
At the planning and zoning meeting, VanHoozen wanted to know the development’s impact on the school system.
Mitchell said the villas don’t see a ton of kids, but he expected young families to purchase the single-family homes.
“We can’t restrict families with kids from coming in,” he said
“The fact is, the community is telling us to stop development,” VanHoozen said.
We represent the community, he said.
“I think this is a great project, but I also have to acknowledge that the were a school and a half shy of where we need to be, and this isn’t going to help that,” he said.
Population growth in the city has put a strain on classroom space in the school district’s elementaries.
“As our schools go, our community goes,” VanHoozen said.
A request for a bond levy to build a new elementary failed in March.
“Not having growth is bad,” Mitchell said. “We did try to come up with a plan that will have less impact on the schools.”
“Stopping development is not the answer,” Kuhlman said. “We need to get after commercial and industrial development as well. While we’re doing that, we shouldn’t cut off these projects as well.”
The development will be a great addition to the city, said committee member Tim McCarthy.
The current development schedule is to start the villas in 2025 with the single-family lots to start in approximately three years. It is anticipated that the site won’t be fully developed for 10-12 years.
