By JAN LARSON McLAUGHLIN
BG Independent News
Bowling Green officials are trying to get acres “shovel-ready” for industrial development.
Bowling Green Planning Commission voted Wednesday evening to annex 131 acres on the north edge of the city, and change the zoning there from agricultural to industrial zoning.
The goal is to be ready when an industrial user comes shopping for a site.
City Planning Director Heather Sayler explained that interested parties have eyed the acreage in the past. Acting on the annexation and zoning change now will allow the city to respond faster to interest, she said.
The proactive changes make sense, “in anticipation it will be developed,” said Planning Commission Chairman Bob McOmber.
The acreage, currently in Center Township at the southeast corner of Ohio 25 and Nims Road, sits behind two existing businesses. The 131 acres are owned by Maurer Family Farms, which requested annexation to the city. The property has frontage on Route 25 and stretches back past the CSX railroad tracks.
There are no specific plans for the site, but the zoning change will make it more marketable to potential industrial users.
According to Kati Thompson, Bowling Green’s economic development director, JobsOhio has been encouraging governmental entities to plan ahead for industrial users.
“They came to a bunch of communities all across Ohio,” Thompson said of JobsOhio officials. “Companies are really concerned about timelines to get to market.”
The goal is to have acreage “shovel-ready” for prospective industrial developers, she said.
“We’re trying to take some steps to get sites ready,” Thompson said. “It’s very hard to market a site that isn’t zoned correctly.”
The properties surrounding the 131 acres are a “mish-mash” of zoning designations, including agricultural, commercial, industrial, and institutional, Sayler said.
The Planning Commission’s recommendations will go to City Council, which will hold a public hearing on the ordinances, Thursday at 6:30 p.m. Immediately following that, council will hold a special meeting to vote on the annexation and zoning requests.
