Kent City Council rejects overlay possibilities on zoning bid

Kent City Council unanimously abandoned its previous motion to explore the possibility of an overlay district on two parcels of land on Franklin Avenue at its committee meeting on Oct. 1.

The land, currently owned by Hometown Bank, borders the Erie Railroad tracks along Mogadore Road. The site consists of two parcels: 11.61 acres at 600 Franklin Ave. and 0.22 acres that borders the post office parking lot.

The overlay district was considered after city council sustained the planning commission’s decision to reject developer Grey Fox Capital’s request to rezone the parcels from industrial to R-3 high density residential. 

After further deliberation about what cleanup on the site would be required and a presentation from Community Development Director Bridget Susel, city council unanimously agreed to no longer explore an overlay district. 

The remediation required on the site to get it to industrial standards could take over a decade, Susel explained at the meeting. Getting it to residential standards would be even more time consuming and expensive.

Council instead voted to match 12.5% of the grant money available to remediate the site to industrial standards, and Hometown Bank would match the same, totaling a 25% match to help with site cleanup.