Gorman
CLAYTON — At its June 15 meeting Clayton city council adopted the first of two readings of an ordinance that would clear the way for construction of 125 homes on 42.99 acres of farmland located south of Phillipsburg-Union Road and east of Haber Road.
The city of Clayton came into existence on Jan. 1, 1998 following the merger of Randolph Township with the Village of Clayton. The city encompasses 18.5 square miles with a population of approximately 13,300 residents.
During the merger process, elected officials gained support for the merger by promising voters not to develop land in the rural area of the former township located north of National Road by designating it a “rural preservation” area.
The proposed housing development violates that promise. Residents living in the rural area close to the proposed development are irate that the city is turning its back on the voters who helped support the merger by breaking the promise not to develop land in the rural preservation district.
The city’s population has remained stagnant for the last 30 years, which is one of the reasons some members of council opted to break the city’s promise.
A large group of residents attended the June 15 meeting to oppose the development. Council voted 4 – 3 to approve the first of two readings of an ordinance to accept the development plan and rezone the property from Rural Conservation District – 2 to Planned Development District.
Vice Mayor Tim Gorman voted against the ordinance along with Council members Kenneth Henning and Tina Kelly.
Mayor Mike Stevens and Council members Dennis Lieberman, Greg Merkle and Brendan Bachman voted in favor of the ordinance.
Gorman is the lone remaining original member of city council. He has been steadfast in opposing proposals to develop land in the rural conservation area north of National Road.
The ordinance will come before council for a second vote at its next regularly scheduled meeting on Thursday, July 20. Council normally meets the first and third Thursday of the month but is on its summer schedule of one meeting per month.
“From the standpoint of the stability of our community based on the population that we have and the survivability of the neighborhoods, so from the standpoint of where are we at and where are we going and protecting ourselves going forward five, ten, fifteen, twenty years from now, we essentially need to grow, to develop to have a financial base in order to survive,” Merkle said.
Merkle said this was one the options the city has to support itself, or by raising residents’ taxes to supply services.
“There are a lot of hard questions and no easy answers,” Merkle noted. “I understand everybody’s concern. Where do we go and how do we get there and how do we resolve the issues and questions to make something happen?”
Henning found an article online about a development by Arbor Homes being voted down in Bargersville, Ind. Residents there expressed some of the same concerns Clayton residents have about the potential loss of small town charm.
“That is exactly what is on these guys’ minds,” Henning stated to a round of applause from the audience. “So, if another city can say maybe this is going to hurt this part of their city, we can do the same thing when you have this many residents show up to say this isn’t probably something we want in our area.”
Mayor Stevens responded by saying that he is pretty sure Henning knew nothing about that particular development.
“I would be surprised if you do,” Stevens said. “I think you can take that in any context you want folks. I’m not trying to sell you on anything here. I’m just saying that reading something like that on a newswire, it could have come from anywhere under any context.
“All of those things that Kenny just read off, we heard repeatedly, and I even said it tonight – traffic studies, water studies, density studies – again, these guys are running a business too and I think he has made some concessions that we asked for and you’ve asked for,” Stevens added. “It’s not going to be perfect. I get it.”
Residents shouted out that the development should consist of two to five acre lots. Stevens countered that by stating no one is building on lots that size.
“One of the things that Kenny said just happened in Tipp City, which we all know where that is don’t we sir?,” Gorman stated. “They are trying to maintain the small town community, that’s why they disapproved the project. We are having that same problem here with two developments to the south and now two north (of National Road) with the same problem, losing the small town feel.”
Gorman noted that one of the residents attending the meeting was holding up a copy of Clayton’s Merger Report.
“In the Merger Report it says that the city will not develop north of Route 40,” Gorman said. That brought another round of applause from residents.
“I understand that was 25 years ago Mike, but when you make a promise like that there is no (expiration) date on it I believe,” Gorman added.
That caused some in the audience to shout out questions as to why the city is considering the development, which goes against what was promised in the Merger Report.
Mayor Stevens cut residents off by stating all of this had been discussed before and that the meeting was getting off track and that it was not an open meeting.
Residents shouted out, “You are supposed to work for us!”
After a few miscellaneous comments by staff and council Mayor Stevens called for a motion to accept the ordinance as written. Lieberman made the motion to accept the ordinance as written with a second by Bachman.
During the roll call vote Gorman, Henning and Kelly opposed the ordinance.
“The ordinance passes as proposed,” Stevens said. “I understand no one is clapping. I get that…”
The audience became loud at that point with several people shouting out their displeasure. Stevens banged the gavel to restore order and asked the audience to calm down.
“Actually, it’s our right sir. We are here to protest now. It’s our right,” one man called out.
A second reading of the ordinance will come before council at its next meeting on Thursday, July 20.
Reach Ron Nunnari at [email protected].
