City Council Considers Zoning Change to Build Applegrove Street Apartments

Councilman Doug Foltz said he's seen it before: a property that's been rezoned for commercial use, and it sits untouched.

Or, maybe worse, the property turns into a source of disruption for neighbors.

Foltz said at Monday night's meeting that there's always a chance that could happen with a proposed zoning change that would allow three 20-unit luxury apartment buildings to be built on Applegrove Street NW.

The 4.9-acre property, owned by Ronald and William Postiy, sits at Applegrove Street NW, west of North Main Street. The North Canton Planning Commission had unanimously approved the change, which takes the property from R2F (for one- or two-family dwellings) to GB-A (general business district).

"When you change the zoning, it just opens Pandora's Box for anything," said Foltz, Ward 1.

Council discussed the agenda item for nearly an hour Monday night. Council is expected to vote on the proposed zoning change within the coming weeks. Five out of seven votes are needed to overturn the planning commission's recommendation.

Bill Lemmon, a partner with Bob DeHoff in McKinley Development who addressed Council Monday, said the apartments would appeal to both senior citizens and working professionals who are looking to reside within the city. Rent would range from $675 to $875 a month.

In other business:

• Council President Jon Snyder announced U.S. Rep. Jim Renacci will speak at the June 11 Council meeting.

• Council members discussed options for properly disposing of street sweepings. (The city came under fire for by the Stark County Health Department last year after dumping them on property off Freedom Drive NW in Jackson Township.) One option is to use the city's manpower and resources, and the other is to use outside vendors. City Administrator Mike Grimes said "we'd be stretched thin" using the city's workers and said he'd get quotes from companies during the next couple weeks.

• Councilman-at-large Dan Griffith discussed a proposed change to the city's housing code regarding "extremely problematic" houses. Under the proposed change, the city would be able to tear down homes that are unsafe, with costs assessed to the owner. The demolition also would need to be approved by the zoning board. "For the people who do live near them, they are catastrophic, something that creates a big problem," Griffith said. "They're not just something that create an eyesore, but a health hazard as well."

• Council discussed ordinances that would allow the mayor to apply for grants to improve Portage and Charlotte streets (from Wise Avenue to North Main Street) and widen West Maple Street (from Main Street to Ream Street). The federal and state grants would total $1 million.

• Council discussed the need to renew North Canton's 1.5-mill EMS levy and place the levy on the November ballot. Snyder said he'd like the levy, which will expire at the end of the year, to be a five-year levy. It raises about half of EMS’s budget at $685,000 a year.

• Council will meet next on May 29 (a Tuesday) because May 28 is Memorial Day.