ONTARIO — Ontario Planning Commission rang in its first meeting of the year by appointing Jill Knight as the new commission chair.
Knight takes the place of Susan Hellinger, who stepped down from her role in December.
“I’ve been here a while, seen a lot of things come and go, and we seem to be growing in the right direction,” Knight said. “I just want to keep things rolling.”
The planning commission also welcomed Diane Wolfe and Rick Pauley as new members.
Wolfe grew up in Ontario and moved back to her hometown after living in Columbus.
“I saw how the Columbus and Westerville areas planned their communities and I hope to help make a difference at home,” she said. “I just really, really care about Ontario.”
Rick Pauley said he joined the planning commission to help the community in his retirement.
“I started thinking of ways I could get involved, and I had some time on my hands and am just looking to contribute a little bit,” he said.
Mayor Randy Hutchinson said he will invite Hellinger and former commission member Mick Motley to be formally recognized for their years as planning commission members at a later meeting.
Also during Wednesday’s meeting, Hutchinson said he is considering editing the city’s zoning codes after complaints of a GetGo gas station moving to 979 N. Lexington-Springmill Road.
“We have an open market of what you can do with your property, but I know some cities have said they don’t want certain types of businesses in places around town,” Hutchinson said. “That’s kind of restrictive but we could think about it.
“The gas station met all the code requirements, so we can’t deny it.”
Zoning Inspector Michael Morton also said he wanted to clarify some zoning codes regarding flagpoles and storefront signage.
Ontario’s zoning codes currently say any flag pole must be 15 feet away from another person’s property line.
“But if someone has a 20-foot flagpole and it falls down, that will fall into someone else’s property,” Morton said. “There’s not really a consistent flagpole length — they range from five to 24 feet tall.”
Morton said he is in the process of changing the zoning codes to say any flagpole must be placed at least as many feet away as its height.
Potentially limiting the size and number of storefront signs allowed on commercial properties was also discussed.
Morton said other municipalities limit signage to 20% of the size of the building’s facade. Stores located off state roads and busy streets sometimes display larger signs so passersby can locate them.
“I’m thinking about adding 10% for every 50 feet a store is set back from the road,” Morton said.
