White Oak owns 60 acres in Washington Township, Brown County, and submitted a development plan for 300 condominium units on the property. The zoning committee denied the proposal as violating an “Intensity of Use” provision of the ordinance. The trial court upheld the zoning resolution and map as meeting statutory requirements. The appeals court affirmed. The township adopted a “comprehensive plan” under R.C. 519.02, in the form of a 26-page resolution reflecting current and future uses and dividing the unincorporated territory of the township into four districts suited to the area’s rural nature. The zoning map allows a potential purchaser to identify the location and boundaries of each district and refer to the resolution to ascertain permissible uses. The map and the resolution, read together, do not leave large areas unzoned and does not amount to spot zoning. The statute does not require a township to gather statistics or explicitly provide a foundation for its zoning plan. By limiting the number of homes per acre, the Intensity of Use provision reduces the likelihood of overuse by the masses.
White Oak Prop. Dev., LLC v. Washington Twp., 2012 WL 368254 (OH. App. Ct. 2/6/2012).
The opinion can be accessed at: http://www.sconet.state.oh.us/rod/docs/pdf/12/2012/2012-ohio-425.pdf
This abstract appears in the May 2012 issue of Planning and Environmental Law. For more information about this publication from the American Planning Association see: www.planning.org/PEL
