WASHINGTON COURT HOUSE, Ohio — A developer withdrew his application to build a three-unit apartment building on a narrow North Hinde Street lot Sept. 16 after neighbors brought a petition to the city’s Board of Zoning Appeals opposing the project over traffic safety and falling property values.
Mark Carr, representing applicant Clinton Black, had asked the board for variances to the city’s 80-foot lot frontage requirement, 10-foot side-yard setback and 3,500-square-foot minimum lot size needed to build a triplex at 319 N. Hinde St. Carr said he had built a similar three-unit building on Market Street and believed the design would again fit the neighborhood, with on-site parking planned off the rear alley.
Black has pursued similar variances for multi-family construction on North Street earlier this year, where a duplex plan drew objections from a neighbor over flooding and privacy before being tabled by the board.
Vernon Havens, of 324 Hinde Street, told the board he had gathered signatures from neighbors opposed to the triplex. He said residents feared losing the street’s single-family character, worried that added traffic would endanger children in the area, and believed a three-family building would decrease their home values.
Board member Branson Moody said he did not see a true hardship justifying the variances, noting the lot’s narrow size was known at the time of purchase. City Building Official Rod Bryant told the board the lot’s previous home had been a single-family dwelling.
After hearing the opposition, Carr told the board he never intended to devalue neighboring properties and formally withdrew the application rather than proceed to a vote.
In a separate item at the same meeting, the board approved a setback variance allowing Hay Holdings LLC to build a new single-family home at 646 High Street, a corner lot that carries setback requirements on both High and Oak streets.
The information contained in this story was obtained from the Washington Court House Board of Zoning Appeals meeting minutes.
