ThisWeek CW 11/23/2011
The Canal Winchester Planning and Zoning Commission could see four vacancies in January, although three of the members whose terms will end in December have indicated they are interested in continuing to serve.
The fourth, Joe Abbott, was elected to Canal Winchester City Council in November.
“Dan Konold, Bill Christensen, Jim Knowlton and then Joe Abbott’s seats are all up this year,” planning and zoning administrator Andrew Dutton said. “All the terms are for four years, but Joe’s replacement will only get a one-year term since they would just finish out his current term.”
“I was asked to serve on P&Z when Marsha Hall was mayor, upgrading me from the historical commission, then (former) Mayor Jeff Miller took me off the commission and after Mayor Ebert was elected as a write-in candidate, he put me back on,” Konold said. “If the mayor asks me to serve again, I’d be happy to. I have a strong civic-duty mindset and I think it is on every resident to be involved.”
Knowlton agreed.
“I’ll remain on P&Z if the mayor will continue to have me,” he said. “I’m very interested in how the city will develop in the next few years.”
Christensen has been on the planning and zoning commission for 16 years and said he hopes to serve another four years. He said the economic downturn has made the commission much less busy than in the past.
“Hopefully, we’ll start building out some of those outlots around Walmart and Meijer, if the economy turns,” Christensen said. “Basically, I’d like it if we grow to allow residents to do more shopping and eating and get their health care here in our own community instead of going to Columbus.”
According to the city’s zoning code, all planning commission members are appointed by the mayor and then approved by city council. Terms are four years, and there are no term limits.
“Generally, what happens is, people who are interested approach me and I ask for a bio and their background,” Mayor Michael Ebert said. “Right now, I haven’t heard from the commissioners if they’ll stay on or not, but they could still be replaced, it’s not automatic.”
Interested individuals are encouraged to contact the city, according to Dutton.
“We haven’t had any discussions about it yet, but we don’t have a formal process for applying, either,” he said.
The seven-member Canal Winchester Planning and Zoning Commission is responsible for ruling on a number of zoning-related issues, including redevelopment, new development and infrastructure improvements related to both residential and commercial construction. It also makes zoning code recommendations to city council.