Ontario resident voices backyard chicken, property line issues

ONTARIO — The desire for backyard chickens has crossed the street into Ontario.

A city resident voiced her support for the issue Wednesday night during the public participation portion of the City Council meeting.

Sue Swank, an Olive Drive resident, pointed out Mansfield lawmakers approved backyard chickens by a 4-3 vote Dec. 2.

“I know Mansfield just passed it and I would like the opportunity to have chickens in my backyard, also,” she said.

Swank asked what would need to be done to get backyard chickens on council’s agenda.

Council President Eddie Gallo said the subject has been brought up previously and was voted down due to a 3-acre minimum requirement. Gallo told Swank she would need to go through the city Planning Commission.

Swank also brought up her concern about an ordinance change allowing residents to build on their property line, rather than up to two feet away. She noted concerns about neighbors who want to build a fence directly on the line.

Swank said she spoke with Zoning Inspector Benji Hall roughly two to three weeks previously about the issue.

Ontario Law Director Andrew Medwid said he would follow-up and verify with Hall what the ordinance currently mandates.

Rezoning discussion

Council is considering an ordinance which would rezone six parcels along South Lexington–Springmill Road from low-density residential to office-service use.

The ordinance was tabled indefinitely.

The change would reclassify the properties from R-1 Low Density Residential District to OS Office Service District. Richland County Sheriff Steve Sheldon, the property owner, requested the rezoning.

Hall said the OS Office Service District is intended to accommodate office, professional and limited personal service uses, and can serve as a transition between business districts and nearby residential areas.

Permitted uses in the district include medical, legal, financial, insurance and funeral services, as well as other similar office-based businesses. The zoning classification already exists nearby, including across the street at Wappner Funeral Home.

Hall said rezoning would not allow development without further review. Any proposed project would still require site plan approval by the Planning Commission. City Council could also require a traffic impact study before final approval.

Service Safety Director Adam Gongwer said the existing four-lane roadway and current traffic conditions along Lexington–Springmill support office-service zoning in the area.

“Given the traffic volume on this corridor, office-service use may be more appropriate than residential development,” Gongwer said.

He added the change could benefit property owners and generate additional income tax revenue for the city.

If the council does not approve the ordinance, the parcels will remain zoned R-1, limiting them to low-density residential use.

At the Nov. 19 regular council meeting, a public hearing allowed multiple Ontario residents to share their opinions on the ordinance. Many residents noted their lack of support regarding possible traffic concerns.

Residents opposes rezoning

Jill Knight, who has lived on Creston Road for 30 years, expressed her disapproval both at the Nov. 19 regular meeting and Wednesday evening’s regular meeting.

“You don’t know what would go in there,” she said. “My one neighbor has a park-like setting in her backyard — who knows what might go in there?”

Knight said she would ask Sheldon how he would feel if someone proposed rezoning near his home, pointing to potential traffic with people coming and going at all hours of the night.

“I just wanted to reiterate tonight that a lot of the residents are not for the rezone,” she said.

Knight, a member of the Planning Commission, said she plans to return when the rezoning appears on the agenda again and rally her neighbors.