By JAN LARSON McLAUGHLIN
BG Independent News
Bowling Green officials want to change the zoning code on building heights – not to raise limits, but to limit the questions raised.
An amendment has been proposed that would eliminate the maximum floor limitation for all zoning districts. But the zoning would maintain the maximum height limitations. The number of floors would still be regulated by Wood County Building Inspection, which enforces the Ohio Building Code.
According to Bowling Green Planning Director Heather Sayler, the change would alleviate some confusion caused by the city’s current zoning which poses limits on the number of floors and the height of buildings.
The issue came up again earlier this year when a Hilton hotel was proposed at the site of the former Victory Inn at 1630 E. Wooster St. That proposal exceeded the city’s height and story limits, and the Zoning Board of Appeals rejected the request for a variance.
The proposed hotel was 65 feet tall, five feet taller than allowed, and five stories high, one story higher than allowed in B-2 general commercial zoning. The proposed hotel would have been a relatively new Hilton product called Home 2, which offers extended stays.
The change in the zoning language would allow a hotel to have five floors, as long as the height of the building did not exceed 60 feet.
Sayler said she is unsure if the Hilton hotel project is still a possibility. The developers had submitted a new proposal that reduced the hotel height to 60 feet. The new zoning language would allow the desired five stories, as long as it complied with the 60-foot limit. However, Sayler said the developers have not been in contact with the planning office for months.
The modified zoning language could prevent such confusion in the future, Sayler said.
The cities of Perrysburg and Findlay took similar actions in the last few years because those communities were experiencing the same problems with dual height and floor regulations.
A public hearing on the zoning amendment will be held at the Bowling Green Planning Commission’s next meeting on Oct. 5, at 7 p.m., in the city building, 304 N. Church St.
Also at Wednesday’s planning commission meeting, Sayler reported on the number of zoning permits applied for in the city so far this year, compared to the previous year at this time. She listed:
- 270 total zoning permits this year, compared to 275 in 2015.
- 25 single family residential this year, compared to 20.
- 3 commercial zoning permits this year, compared to 0.
- 1 industrial zoning permit, compared to 0.
- 1 institutional zoning permit, compared to 0.
“We’re stable, as far as development goes,” Sayler said.
