MIAMI COUNTY — On Thursday, the Board of Miami County Commissioners approved three zoning changes, including a request to rezone approximately 7.52 acres from domestic agriculture to light industrial to allow for Outdoor Enterprises to purchase the property and use it to store equipment.
The commissioners approved the request to rezone the approximate 7.52 acres located at 3655 State Route 571, Troy, of Monroe Township, from domestic agriculture to light industrial. Metal Shredders Properties, LLC is the current owner of the property, and the property was previously used as a vehicle junk yard. Outdoor Enterprises, a construction company that does excavation, street construction, and other site work, is looking to purchase the property, as well as the parcel next to it at 3609 State Route 571, which is already zoned for heavy industrial.
Andy Lair, owner of Outdoor Enterprises, spoke in favor of the zoning change, discussing how he would like to use the property to store his company’s equipment.
“We think this is a great solution for the property in the sense that, of all the possibilities that could happen on that heavy industrial site, we are a very low-impact, low-traffic solution,” Lair said. Lair also said the aesthetics of the property would be a priority for the company.
Charles Elliott, a neighboring property owner, spoke in opposition of the zoning change, expressing concerns that the change could lower his property values. Elliott wished to keep the property domestic agriculture to provide a buffer between his property and the site at 3609 State Route 571 that is zoned for heavy industrial use.
Commissioner Jack Evans addressed the concern that this zoning change, to some extent, may be “spot-zoning,” which the zoning does not match the surrounding area. He said it would still be a way to clean up the property.
“It cleans up a real eye sore and cleans it up so that it can’t be a junk yard in the future,” Evans said.
The commissioners also approved two other zoning applications, including:
• Rezoning approximately 12.96 acres from general agriculture to domestic agriculture at 4810 Monroe-Concord Road, Troy, of Monroe Township. The applicant was Gregory Taylor.
• Rezoning approximately 4.12 acres from general agriculture to single-family residential at 8136 State Route 48, Covington, of Newberry Township. The applicant was Daniel Poast.
Also during their meeting, the commissioners tabled the purchase of a 2020 Dodge Durango SUV for Miami County Municipal Court for use by the court’s bailiffs. The commissioners said they had questions about the purchase, but no representatives from Municipal Court were present.
The commissioners also authorized and signed an Ohio Bureau of Workers’ Compensation self-insured joint settlement agreement and release with Theresa Swob, an injured works and claimant who filed a workers’ compensation claim. The commissioners’ authorized a payment not to exceed $2,000. Swob’s date of injury was Dec. 1, 2013, and she is a retired county employee.