Concerns about zoning issues were a continued focus during Monday’s Bowling Green Council meeting.
Resident Joyce Kepke said council needs to revisit the controversial Pedestrian Residential district, and it has not been handled well.
“(In my) 20 years on council and 12 years on the utility board and all the years since that I have been following city council, I have never seen so many people in opposition to an issue before council,” she said.”The residents of the area affected by the proposed PR district were not part of providing input on the needs in their neighborhoods and their concerns, when they became aware of what has been proposed, have been almost totally rejected.”
“The PR district still exists where selected businesses can still open, duplexes can still multiply, houses can still cover more of a lot as additions occur,” Kepke said. “The PR zone will still encourage the conversion of more single-family homes into duplexes increasing density with all the problems that go with more rentals… If you are putting the interests of those stakeholders above those of the residents in the PR district, shame on you.”
Resident Joe DeMare said he saw the zoning issue as “literally cutting the heart out of the city and replacing it with something less focused on people” and more on business, landlords and “densification.”
Emily Dunpiace – who thanked council for the March 23 community forum which focused on PR-related issues – said that questions still remained unanswered.
She referenced a proposed new zoning classification which had been discussed at recent meetings proposed by council members Jeff Dennis and Rachel Phipps. A statement was made that the new zoning balances the concerns and interests of a number of key stakeholders. She asked Dennis to clarify who he thought those stakeholders are.
Dennis said that key stakeholders are not limited to the residents, property owners in the areas and those running businesses.
“When you’re talking about a city of 31,000,” Dennis said, “I think it’s important that we’re getting representative samples, something I always try to do. I guess when I say key stakeholders, it’s all-encompassing,” with people across all demographics, and one is not prioritized above another.
It’s more related to gathering different opinions, he said.
“I wouldn’t say that one is weighed more heavily than another,” Dennis said.
“We are asking you to listen to, and to make your highest priority, the needs of the homeowners in the PR district,” Dunipage said, “and the hundreds of concerned citizens that have expressed opposition to this zoning.”
Penny Evans Meyer discussed elements of the city’s planning documents which she said she was directed to, noting goals like single-family reinvestment, attracting and retaining young professionals and their families, improving existing housing, and the need for a strong owner-occupied housing market.
While she spoke, others held small signs emblazoned with those subjects.
“We have already paid the price of densification,” said David Drain. “We don’t need to keep paying this price anymore. Now is the time to repair this old neighborhood, make it better,” and enforce the codes already in place.
Also at the meeting, council:
• Saw three firefighters – Brian Elling, Phil Foos, and Brandon Westerman – sworn in to the rank of lieutenant.
• Heard DeMare announce he is running as the Green Party candidate for mayor, and that he has begun collecting petitions. “I think we can preserve the heart of Bowling Green and preserve a green future for everyone,” he said.
• Heard from Sustainability Coordinator Amanda Gamby about upcoming events for Earth Month, including a presentation on ticks to be held April 12 at 7 p.m. at the Veterans Building at City Park, and the Earth Day Celebration, taking place at the Montessori School property April 22 from 2-4 p.m. She also said that the native prairie restoration project at the city’s water and wastewater treatment plants has begun, and will encompass about 18 acres combined when all is finished. The climate action planning committee has been meeting monthly.
“We are moving along with that planning and that process,” Gamby said.
• Heard from Lindsay Jo Durham that the League of Women Voters will hold a public meeting on the new crisis stabilization unit recently opened on West Poe Road. A 12-bed, voluntary treatment center is the first of its kind in Wood County, providing support services and treatment to those dealing with mental health crises. The meeting will be held April 15 from 10-11:30 a.m. at the Wood County Senior Center, 140 S. Grove St. Doors will open at 9:30 a.m.
• Heard that the finance committee will meet April 17 at 6:15 p.m.
In additional business, at the March 28 meeting, the historic preservation commission held a lengthy discussion about the prospective information to include with a survey to be sent out to residents in the North Maple Street area.
The effort is part of the HPC’s strategic goal of creating a Boomtown Historic District in the city; the commission has decided to focus initial efforts on North Maple Street.
Under the city’s historic preservation ordinance, the HPC is required to conduct a written survey by certified mail of all property owners within a proposed historic district, and to include the results of the survey in its written recommendation to council.
The HPC determined it will send residents a cover letter, a document discussing the philosophy and advantages of the ordinance and historic designation, a frequently asked questions document, and a map of the proposed area.
The HPC will meet April 25 at 4 p.m.
