Franklin residents object to proposal
FRANKLIN TWP — Homeowners in a 55-plus community near Moraine State Park object to a plan which would have construction trailers stored on property near their development.
Nearly two dozen residents of Chestnut Grove attended the Wednesday meeting of the Butler County Planning Commission to oppose the plan.
The development has 21 ranch-style buildings, each of which has four homes, and is managed and owned by a homeowner’s association. But E & E Butler Developers, which is building out the development and controls undeveloped property in the subdivision, also owns a strip of land between the development and Route 422.
E & E owner Edward Etzel plans to use that land, which is zoned for commercial use, as a contractor’s yard to store office or bunkhouse trailers often used by natural gas drilling operations.
Homeowners in the community say they are vehemently opposed to the plan. Some say they are concerned about the storage yard attracting drug traffickers and vagrants, but Bill Rape, association president, said a more widespread concern is financial.
“A large number of the residents are concerned about the impact this will have on property values,” Rape said. “We just don’t believe it’s compatible with a residential community.”
County planning commission members said Wednesday that they do not possess the authority to derail the plan, which officials said is legal given the property’s commercial zoning.
Joel MacKay, the county civil engineering technician, said, “We can’t stop it. It’s a permitted use. Franklin Township can’t stop it because they allow it in their own ordinance.”
A site use plan had not been submitted to the commission so there was no specific information on where items or equipment would be on the storage lot. The plan calls for a six-foot fence to be built around the storage yard.
MacKay said another question is access to the storage lot. Currently that comes through Ridgemont Drive, which is the main entrance to the housing development.
MacKay said it’s unclear who owns the road — E & E, the association, or both — and that the answer could provide residents another way to oppose the plan. If the association owns the road, E & E would need its permission to use it to access the storage lot, he said.
No one from E & E attended the meeting, and through the company’s engineering firm, Gateway Engineering, Etzel declined to comment.
County officials said the residents best solution is to work with the developer. Rape said the association plans to meet with Etzel next week.
But homeowners say they feel misled and betrayed by the plan. Resident Karen Moors called it “a slap in the face.”
“For him to do this is just awful,” she said.
The residents say they will attend the Franklin Township meeting on Feb. 9 to continue voicing their opposition to the plan.
