Zoning Hearing Board - Regular Meeting

Before we start, I'd like to make sure that everyone's signed in for this meeting in the back entrance of the room. If you've not, please do so because it must be on the record. I'm Bob Tanner. The other board members are Scott Calhoun, Charles Fott, and Richard Hoke. Richard will be designated as a voting member this evening. I'd like to introduce the following members. We have Matthew Puz, Zoning and Development Officer, Julie Maggio, Assistant Zoning and Development Officer, Jeremy Toman, Board Solicitor, Tamara Doxey, Court Reporter. After presentation by the appellant, the board will hear from those in question of the appeal, those in favor, and those opposed. Any documents or evidence that's presented must be kept for a period of 60 days for our records. And after all the presentations are made, the board will recess. We'll then reconvene and make our decisions. The board has 45 days to render a decision, but they're usually made this evening. If you do not care to wait for the decision, you may call the zoning office in the morning after 8.30 a.m. I now ask that everyone please stand to be sworn in. Do you swear to tell the truth, the whole truth, and nothing but the truth? Please answer, I do. Thank you. We have four appeals this evening. The first one is appeal 26-12, Guardian Towers for property located at 2301 Milfair Road, seeking a setback variance for a tower-based wireless communication facility, and a special exception for a tower-based wireless communication facility in a C2 regional commercial district. Someone to present on that?

The applicant asked for that to be tabled until June.

Okay.

It's still on the agenda because it hasn't been pulled from the agenda.

Okay.

Thank you.

Oh, I see that after there. Appeal number 26-13, Stephanie Wagner, for property located at 6106 Peach Street, seeking a use variance for limited lodging in the R1 single-family residential district. Whoever's here to present, please come up to the podium, state your name and address.

Hi, my name is Stephanie Wagner. I'm here for 6108 Peach Street, and I'm requesting a variance permit for the limited lodging. And so a little back story, the property was originally purchased for my father-in-law when we moved into Erie. He's very limited in wheelchair and can't get around. So we did significant. renovations in the house to make it more mobile friendly for him. During that time, his health hurt and so he's no longer to live independently. So what I did was just do some research to say, okay, we put the significance into putting these renovations. How can we better serve a community? Is there something more meaningful that we can do for this? So with my research, I discovered that there's a major lack of mobile-friendly limited lodging. The only thing really available for a lot of folks is going to be hotels. And so it's a very underserved market. And a lot of folks, maybe families that prefer to come up, are for more private home-like settings, especially if they're coming up for things like medical procedures, if they're coming up for recovery or temporary work assignments. So this property is uniquely positioned to serve that need. And so with that, I understand the five requirements that I need to address for this request. And so the first is the unique physical circumstances. And I'm just going to read this because it does make more sense. And all my exhibits, I put pictures within the packet that I submitted that will show location, accessibility, the renovations that we've done, as well as... the residents around it, the lack of impact there. So the property has a unique physical and locational characteristics that distinguish it from a typical residential property. The home sits at the corner of Peach Street and Avon. So it's directly adjacent to a heavy commercial corridor. So Peach Street is in the backyard. So with that, across the street, it's already commercially developed. So across the street is Elevation Point. And then across Pete Street, which would be the backyard, is already Wegmans. So additionally, the property has 0.6 acres. So there is a substantial natural buffering for any of the surrounding neighbors. And then the nearest resident, there's actually a big green space and then a makeshift alley that they have put in between the two spaces. These physical And locational characteristics are unique compared to homes deeper within the residential neighborhood. So you have to go significantly past the house to even get into the residential neighborhood. The second, so no reasonable use under strict conformity. While the property technically can be used as a single family home, its location along with the heavy traffic commercial area is less than desirable for traditional long-term residential living compared to the surrounding interior residents within the neighborhood. At the same time, the property is uniquely well-suited for low-impact limited lodging because guests can access the property essentially directly from Peak Street. There's no need to drive through the neighborhood, and the property already has significant separation from neighboring homes due to the property size. The accessibility-focused renovations also make this property particularly appropriate for mobility-limited guests, patients, families, traveling healthcare, temporary workers. So the next is the hardship, not self-created. The hardship was not self-created. The property's location is adjacent to Peachtree and surrounding commercial developments already existed before we purchased the home. The accessibility renovations were not due to a manufactured property. Zoning hardship, so they were originally for my father-in-law for his mobility limitations and then after his health declined that's when we look for a more responsible way to that we can serve the community as well as this underserved community and Will not alter neighboring character so I believe the this request will not alter the essential character of the neighborhood or negatively impact adjacent properties and This would remain a quiet residential style use, so not an event or apartments. The property's location naturally minimizes neighborhood impact because guests would enter essentially directly from Peach Street rather than traveling through the residential streets. The surrounding commercial activity already significantly influences the character of the immediate area just from where it's located directly on Peach Street. In addition to the large lot size, there's a natural buffering reducing visibility and interaction with any of the nearby homes as well. And also, if there are other things that you'd like us to comply to, whether it be occupancy, limitations, parking, property management, happy to do that. Minimum variance necessary. The request is very limited in scope. So we're not asking for any broader zoning changes to the district itself. The only request is permitting for the limited lodging for the single property use based on its unique physical location layout and accessibility focused improvements. And I believe that this represents the minimum variance necessary to allow for reasonable use of the specific property. What I hope the board would also take into consideration is that the property can serve a broader community because it does have some more accommodations for folks that do have limited mobility some of the things that we've done and again that will be in the packet is that we have a permanent ada compliant wheelchair ramp to go into the home and that's a trek so it's not a temporary metal come and go, it's permanently attached to the house that was for my father-in-law intentionally. We moved the entrance of the home. So even if you were to try to come in with a cane, it wouldn't have been very accessible. So we moved the front door. We took off the little out, we'll call it the mudroom that they had, moved the front door and then put in 36 inch ADA compliant door. We improved different areas within the kitchen, put an AI rendering in that because it was still in the process of being completed. And then we even took out the tub and put in a roll-in shower. So when you look at things with Erie's healthcare presence, so LECOM, now we have Cleveland Clinic and some of its affiliations coming to Erie, there's a need for folks that again, might have therapy they need to do. They might have some type of medical procedure that may have a little long-term than a day or two stay. And so a home-like alternative would serve that underserved community. And so in closing, I believe the request satisfies the variance criteria because the property's unique location and physical circumstances, the limited and low impact nature of the request and the lack of negative effect on the surrounding neighborhood This is a very property-specific request intended to provide a thoughtful use for a uniquely situated home while serving an underserved population. And so I respectfully ask that you approve our variance, and I appreciate your time and consideration.

Okay, when did you purchase the home?

August of 2024.

And is it fair to say, like you said, no reasonable use under current zoning? Is it fair to say that everything, the major commercial corridor... everything that you mentioned there hasn't changed since 2024?

For Peachtree, no, none of that. I mean, they are doing some reconstruction on Elevation Point, but it's still for commercial use.

I mean, so as far as no reasonable use under current zoning, I mean, you purchased it as a single-family home. Sure. And you realize you could rent this for... 31 or 32 days, is that how it's, I mean, so it could be rented in its current stays to someone who needs a mobile thing, which I imagine that's probably underserved as well, even for a longer term ADA accessibility. Just wanted to make sure that it was a recent purchase and nothing has been changed that way.

And I believe it's, is it two days, 22 days up to 30 days is considered the limited lodging. Yes, that's correct 2 to 30 days 2 to 30 Okay so means there a reason why the property couldn't be either rented for greater than 30 days or Sold to someone else and if the need like yours We could turn it into a rental a long-term rental those are options but when I was doing my research I If, you know, even to get further, which I didn't put specifically because I couldn't find the exact reference to put in there, but there are out of 1.5 million short-term limited lodging, short-term rentals, less than 1% is any type of mobility friendly. So what happens is folks just don't travel. So they just don't travel. So it was that we've already started putting significant changes into the house. And so when I was doing my research, It just seemed like there would be a community that could be well served if we were to be able to offer that as a short-term rental.

Right, so I'm sure once you realized that your father-in-law wasn't going to use it, you came up with a list of different options, right? You could sell it, you could rent it long-term, you could go short-term. What is the reason for you wanting to rent it short-term rather than those other items that fit within the zoning?

Well, I think it could bring more folks into the community for vacation, traveling. Folks want to go to or if they're coming in for, let's say you come in for a procedure, and maybe you need to stay 12 days for rehab, follow-ups. Your only option right now, essentially, is to go to a hotel. Well, if you have some type of limited mobility, you have to go up to an eighth floor, you have to go down a hallway, you have to wait on an elevator. So it just provides a little more of a, Homelike feel for folks to be more comfortable in a situation like that I'm assuming that financially you thought that was the best route to I didn't even get that far yet Okay. Yep.

We didn't even get that far yet because if that's not an option then okay Do you have questions I don't have any questions if you it's located in a somewhat residential area in that in that area up there across from

Yes, so when you are at the light, if you're going south and you would turn left into Wagmans, you would turn right. That house right on the corner, right before you even get up on the hill, that's the property right there, and that's in the part of my packet, right across from Elevation Point. So the driveway, you're almost, you can't see the other houses, so there's such a buffer on the acreage as well where the neighbors, you don't even really see the neighbors anymore.

Have any of the neighbors been approached, either by you or by them, but to you?

I didn't. This was my first experience at this, so I was even saying to my husband, I wish I would have mentioned something to the neighbors.

Okay.

But I do believe all of the signs and notices had gone out to the neighbors.

Sure. Jeremy? Okay. I think that's all we need from you right now. Is there anyone in the audience who'd like to speak on this? Township?

Thank you, Mr. Tanner. I really won't come surprise too much to the board that I'm here on behalf of the Township this evening as we have generally taken the same position with respect to Airbnbs that are outside of the district for Airbnbs. This is very similar to one that the board heard I think it was last year off of Kunz Road where it was in a residential neighborhood but was close to the commercial corridor of Peach Street and they wanted to utilize the property for an Airbnb. And the board determined at that time not to grant that use variance because it could be used in strict conformity with the ordinance as a single family dwelling or under the existing variance that they had for an at-home photography business. Similarly here, The township feels that this should continue as a residential use and not to allow for the limited lodging use as the township previously has indicated that we do not wish to see that expand into residential districts beyond the MU1, MU2, the limited lodging overlay district and the PI district. And they've not met the criteria because they've admitted that this could be used as a residential dwelling. So it's all five criteria need to be met. There's nothing really unique about the property. It can be used as a dwelling. There's already a dwelling there and would request that the board deny the variance.

Okay. Do we have to say in response to that?

Just the response is to that. It's more looking at the opportunity to serve an underserved community. If you were to, I did search on Airbnb for mobility-friendly residence, your lodging on that, and there's zero in Mill Creek. Okay. That I could find. I could be wrong, but that's what I could find. So it is a unique opportunity to serve an underserved community, and so that's why we're here requesting the variance.

Okay. All right. We'll take it under advisement. We'll discuss it at recess. Go ahead. Oh, is there someone else? Oh. I'm sorry, if you'd like to come up, you can come up and state your name and address. Yes, thank you.

Thank you.

I'm sorry, I don't really understand the whole process. I'm Noreen Sahaski. I live 6132 Spires Drive, which crosses Avon. And I guess My concern is there's so much commercial property that seems to be closing in on us. And I'm kind of just afraid that this is the next step to the rest of that little bit that's left as residential and ending up turning into commercial property. Like I said, I don't really understand the whole process here.

Based on what you heard her say and what she wants to do with it, is that something that would bother you? That that type of venue is there versus when you said commercial property escaping and taking over? It's two different things. What you said and what she said.

Okay, that's what I don't necessarily understand. And I'm kind of concerned that this is, how shall I say it, a step towards it ending up as commercial property.

So it's not a step toward that. It's a step toward a change in ability to rent to someone for a period of two to 30 days. Right now, it would be within their right to rent to someone for 31 or greater days. So what they're asking is that it could be rented for a shorter term than 31 days. Like an Airbnb or VRBO, that sort of thing.

Okay, so it wouldn't be... rented out any longer than the 30 days?

It could be. There's no limit for how long it could be rented out, but this allows it for a period of less than 31 days.

Okay.

Anyone could rent their home for a period of 31 or greater days.

The difference being she stated that it would be available for short-term people in need of a mobility-friendly residence for short-term for whatever reasons.

Okay.

But it doesn't have to be.

So the turnover would be like approximately 30 days?

Less than 30 days. Could be as short as two, as long as 30. Well, any length, I should say.

Okay. Okay, that does kind of clear it up a little bit for me. Thank you so much.

Do you have a position on the matter? I mean, would you be in favor of the variance to allow the applicant the short-term rental?

You know, it's hard, I think, for me to say really one way or the other until you see how it pans out. And that you don't know until after it's in place and then it's too late. So I'm just concerned about, like I said, that it was a step towards it ending up commercial. But if it's supposed to be just family housing, I guess I'm okay with it. Like I said, I'm on the fence there. But thank you.

Okay, thank you. Is there anyone else like to speak on this? So we do have one email. Can I read this into the record or Matt or you?

Matt, do you want to read that into the record?

Yes, I can read that into the record for you. I can also give you a copy after. Okay. So I received this email Thursday, May 14th, 2026 from Joe Wojcik. Thank you. Mr. Puz, concerning a letter you sent me about the property, not sure what limited lodging means, but if it involves short-term stays of some sort, I am respectfully against it. The property borders on Highland, which also borders on my property. Last thing I need is people cutting through my yard to get to get-go. I am already constantly picking up trash leading from get-go to rental properties. Last time this neighborhood Excuse me, the last thing this neighborhood needs is more people that do not have a vested interest in it and therefore do not take pride in it. I already have lodged a complaint about 6198 Crestview being abandoned with trash, just sitting outside for months. Another address on Crestview is also the subject of many police calls. The renters have finally been evicted. And of course, there's the house in Crestview that had a man murdered and cut up and put into a fire pit. Meridian had a crack house that was so bad it had to be demolished. This area has had enough. Just wanted to pass my thoughts along because I am concerned about the neighborhood. I am a second shift correction officer and cannot attend the meeting. Thank you for your time and I would appreciate a response. Side note, I did speak with him on the phone. So I did respond back to the email and I hope this can somehow be submitted slash considered in the decision. Joe Wozniak, 1930 Hershey Road.

Okay. Anyone else? Moving on. So second appeal. If Jasmine, I'm sorry, but is Almeida, I believe for property located at 3966 solar drive seeking a use variance for non commercial keeping of chickens ducks in the are one single family residential district.

Hi, thank you for your time. I didn't realize this might be a contentious issue. I just moved to Mill Creek from Erie in January.

Could I have you state your name and address, please?

Yes, I'm sorry. It's Jasmine Almeida, 3966 Solar Drive. Thank you. 16506. My kids wanted to get chicken, so I looked up the map, and when I first looked at it, I erroneously thought that the property was in the green conservation area. So I told them I would see if we could get our house put into the green conservation area. So just kind of following through on my word to my kids, they're 10, 12 and 14. We just wanted to get a few backyard hens in walking through the neighborhood. I saw that there's a few houses like within walking distance that seemed to have a few chickens outside. Yes?

On her behalf, I'm going to say slow down.

Oh, I'm sorry. Sorry. Keep it up. Good. Thank you.

You're doing good.

Okay. Thank you. So I won't get into all the nuances and benefits of a few backyard hens. I think you're all familiar with the subject. The website has a lot of information on it. It just seems like that conservation area is pocketed, and my house seems to fall, like, between two pockets of it and so just hoping to get it switched over so that we can have like four or five hens in the backyard just to kind of give my kids a learning activity, feed my 14 year old all the dozens of eggs he eats. I also just bought Avanti's so we go through a lot of eggs at the restaurant but these are just for home use. So that's kind of just my stance on the subject and wondering if you'll be so kind as just to review where the conservation area is and where that address falls. It seems like something fairly common in districts similar to ours in Erie and in the surrounding areas. So I don't see the difference of adding another loop of houses to that area and respect your decision either way.

Just as a point of clarity, it wouldn't be, the variance request is, to get a variance to be able to do this, it wouldn't be changed into a conservation district. That would be at a supervisor level. So that's not something that would happen.

Oh, it would just be for my property.

It would be for your property, yeah, solely. Just as a point of clarity.

Okay. The property is fairly large and has a lot of room in the backyard that we could kind of go about our backyard business with a good degree of privacy, I guess. And there's woods around the back and it's a pretty large lot.

Okay.

Would any of these chickens be free range or would that just be in a coop?

I was just going to get like a small backyard coop and let them around the backyard area.

My neighbor next door has ducks and chickens. They come and visit me every morning.

Oh, do they? I guess I would just follow whatever rules you said. Well, that works for you then.

Jeremy.

If not granted the variance, would you do anything differently? Just not have the chickens?

Yeah, I just wouldn't have them and just tell my kids that I tried my best. So just kind of following through on my word to the kids.

And then Matt, in terms of the zoning district,

It's near, I wouldn't, maybe quarter mile. Correct, it's not adjacent to a CR district, but there are some conservation residential districts around there, but those tend to be larger lots, not in a subdivision. Okay.

I think that's all we have for you right now. Okay. Thank you. If you'd like to please come up, state your name and address.

I'm Norma Faven at 3939 Stellar Drive. This is a residential area. It's not for chickens and ducks. They recently moved in. They could have moved to a bigger house somewhere where they could have had chickens and ducks. This area is not suited for that.

Okay. So safe to say that you're opposed?

I'm opposed to it, definitely. Okay. And other neighbors are too, but they couldn't come to the meeting.

Okay. Thank you. Is there anyone else? Please come on up.

Wendy Meeker. I live on 4011 Stellar Drive. My property backyard is adjacent to this property. So my southern border meets the northern border of this property, right? So immediate impact. My husband and I are against this variance. My opposition is without bias to Jasmine because these variances live in perpetuity. We have to be very selective in how we make these decisions. Excuse me. So really, it lives on two main purposes. This neighborhood is 50-some years old. It is without sidewalks. It is without street lamps. It is, I'm going to say, 30%, 40% wooded area, natural buffers in many of the properties. Properties are maybe an acre or less on average. There are some larger, some smaller properties. My backyard is a highway for animals, predators and prey alike. We live alongside deer and let's see, raccoons and skunks. And let's see, we have some coyotes and some foxes and some possums. And the black bear made a nice little segue through last year that we finally caught on camera. It is not without predators, and I fear while I have a highway now with a convenient chicken coop, now I might have a rest stop in my backyard. So I live without fear of wildlife in my backyard now. I don't want to wonder what I'm going to stumble upon waiting on potential prey of chicken. Um, and part number two is the CR district, right? So there are CR districts and there are not, this neighborhood is not people can, if they wish to have non-domesticated animals, livestock whatsoever can choose to live in those districts. This one is not, I choose not to live by non-domesticated animals. This is why I live in this neighborhood. So for those reasons, um, I oppose and I ask that you guys please deny it.

Okay, thank you.

Thanks.

Anyone else? Please come on up.

Kevin Hartley, 5271 West 52nd Street. I am in favor of the variance. but I would really rather see Mill Creek change the zoning to allow chickens in R1. I follow a group out of Pittsburgh that has quite the guidelines and rules, so I don't want to just see it, okay, you're allowed chickens in R1. I would like to see a group of people form and get rules and regulations. Backyard chickens are a big thing right now. They show you the cute little fuzzy chicks, few chickens pecking out on the grass. But what they don't show you is coming around the corner of the house and seeing a hawk eating one of your chickens. So there's a good side and a bad side. I don't, like I said, I don't want to just see it opened up straight, okay, you're allowed. I think there needs to be education also.

Okay. Thank you. And what, can I ask, what is your proximity to this site?

I don't... Milfair Heights to there.

Okay. Understood. Okay. Thank you. Anyone else?

Good evening. My name is Edward Betza. I'm an attorney in Erie. I represent Thomas Hagen, whose address is 5727 Grub Road. Due to some mobility issues, Mr. Hagen could not make it tonight. I do have with me Roger Richards, who is his legal representative. I don't see a need to offer testimony. I would just simply urge this board to deny the request. There are specifically 12 permitted CONDITIONAL OR SPECIAL EXCEPTION USES IN THE R1. ONE OF THEM IS NOT CHICKENS. I'VE BEEN HERE BEFORE YOU TALKING ABOUT CHICKENS AND WE WERE CRYSTAL CLEAR THAT YOUR CONCLUSION WAS THAT'S NOT ONE OF THE 12. One of the obligations of a property owner given that situation is to show that they cannot use the property in strict conformity with the zoning. And the property owner has already testified that she's able to do that. And so for that reason, we would ask that you deny the request because there is a strict conforming use that is going on with the property. It is developed. There's no problems with development. Thank you. Thank you.

Anyone else?

Lydia? Again, won't belabor the point on this. Township's position, again, would be that they've not met the criteria for variance for chickens in the R1 district, and I echo many of the comments made by Attorney Betza relative to the standards.

Okay, thank you.

Okay, and then we have another letter.

Matt, if you could read that in.

Yes, I received this email Tuesday, May 26, 2026 from Rob Morris. It states, my name is Robert Morris and I have lived at 3988 Solar Drive for over 20 years. I care deeply about this neighborhood and intend to remain here for many years to come. I am speaking tonight to respectfully oppose the request for a special exception to keep chickens and ducks at 3966 Solar Drive. My opposition is not about someone's hobby. but about whether this type of use is appropriate in a densely populated residential neighborhood. Our community consists of closely spaced homes and many young families. Introducing livestock in this setting fundamentally changes the character of the neighborhood and affects all of us. I have several serious concerns. First, safety. Poultry can attract nuisance wildlife such as raccoons, foxes, and coyotes. While this may be manageable in rural areas, it creates a very different level of risk in a neighborhood where children, including my own grandchildren, regularly play outside. I'm also concerned about sanitation and maintenance. Residential properties are not equipped to properly handle agricultural waste. Without strict and consistent management, this can quickly lead to odors, pests, and hygiene issues that impact neighboring homes. Additionally, many homes in our area rely on private well water. The introduction of animal waste so close to residential properties raises legitimate concerns about runoff and potential groundwater contamination, a serious issue for families who depend on wells for their drinking and bathing water. Finally, noise and neighborhood character matter. Many of us chose to live here because of the quiet, family-friendly environment. Allowing farm animals would significantly alter that peaceful setting. Granting this exception would also set a precedent that blurs the important line between residential and agricultural uses. The distinction our zoning regulations are designed to protect. I respectfully ask the board to uphold the intent of our residential zoning and deny this special request, excuse me, special exception request. Thank you for your time and consideration. Sincerely, Robert and Melissa Morris.

Thank you, Matt. Anyone else? Okay, moving on to our last appeal this evening. Appeal number 26-15. Hay set reinforced plastics LLC for property located at 5599 New Perry Highway seeking a parking variance for an addition in the I-1 Light Industrial District.

Good evening. Again, my name is Edward Betza. I'm an attorney in Erie. I represent HaySite Manufacturing, or HaySite Reinforced Plastics. I have with me David Janis, who is the managing director of the company. I also have to his right Mark Diekmann, who's an architect with Hasen Staub Architects working on this project. And also in the back, I have Jordi Casanes, who is the president of the company. As I think this board may be aware, we were here before regarding a tower issue, but it's really exciting and I think very positive news for Mill Creek. The company is expanding and it's expanding rather significantly. One of the processes that we needed to get addressed was the height of some towers for material flow, and that's been done. What we're here today for is a little bit different. In essence, the short version is that there's a massive expansion, but Mill Creek Township's ordinance assumes, and it's built in, that with every expansion there must be more people coming to the facility. And to a limited degree, that's true. The plan right now is that there will be 29 additional jobs, but there will not be additional visitors. And so with the current expansion that's proposed, there are currently – I have two witnesses, and I'll be very brief. But what they're going to tell you is that there's 107 employees right now. We're going to go up to 136. The company currently allots five spots special for visitors, and I'll suggest you can go there any time, and there's always a couple of those spots open. They don't get significant visitors.

I'm sorry, can you repeat again? There's 107 current employees? 107.

The plan is to add 29, which would take us to 136. 136, okay. Of that, in addition, you need to have some spaces for visitors. They've historically, throughout their existence, have had always five that are reserved right up front for visitors. The problem is, so you could say, well, you need 141 or somewhere in that ballpark, maybe a few more. Our proposal is 151. The problem is that the current ordinance would require 282. And it's nobody's fault. Summit has the same issue, Mill Creek. You've got to protect it because depending what's going in there, you may have a lot of people coming and then you run the risk of congestion. This expansion just won't do that and doesn't need that parking. And so in short, we would suggest it's not good for Mill Creek, it's not good for the environment, and there is a cost to the company that doesn't have any returns. Sure. And so we're seeking a variance to allow us to go down with the expansion or set to 151 space.

Will somebody be speaking to the expansion project?

Yes, yes. My first witness would be the gentleman to my far right, Mr. Diekmann. Sir, would you please state your, and does the board have the drawings? Yes. Okay. Mr. Diekmann, would you please state your name?

My name is Mark Geekman. I'm an architect from Akron, Ohio. I'm project manager for Hassenstab Architects.

And sir, are you familiar with the expansion project going on at HaySite?

Yes, we are. We've been involved on it through since master planning.

Can you explain what's going on with the expansion or how many phases and how that's going to work and what's going in?

There's multiple phases. Part of it is a new mixing facility to improve that condition. It's not a newer expansion, really. It's a replacement of existing. Another addition is going to provide more warehouse space and a little bit of plant space. I want to say the total addition was covered in the drawing, and that one left me... I want to say about 40-some thousand square feet of total addition. But those phases will be occurring over probably the next, it's like five, six years. They're not all at once. Many of those don't really require additional employees, for example, storage space. But the current facility had 162 spaces. We took 11 of them away because we needed that for truck unloading, a couple other minor things with the additions, leaving us about 151 spaces. The calculation of 182 comes from the zoning code applying for light industrial at 500 square feet per space and for about 36,000 warehouse using the thousand square foot per space which is how we arrived at 282 which is outlined on the drawing AZ-5 that you have.

And sir, just for clarity, is that captioned parking data? Yes.

That's the parking data on the drawing.

And one question, does 42,171 square feet, is that for all of the phases? Yes.

Yes, that's the combined total and we're in the process of land development plan, which would encompass all of those.

And we are saying... What are you saying is required?

With the addition, there would be 282 parking spaces. Okay, that's what I thought. I thought you said 182, but it is 282.

I was going to correct, yeah. Okay, yep, thank you.

That's correct. We also included, again, on the drawing, we looked at the shifts because there are... which was first shift being there, second shift coming, and the salaried personnel in the office space all being there at the same time. That is also low, I think about 109. I'd have to look at the chart again, but it's around 100, maybe even under 100 people at the worst case. So there is plenty of parking available.

That's currently before the 29 extra.

No, that's after the 29 extra.

Sir, if I show you. On the far right, can you explain what that far right column is?

Yeah, under the max on the chart for the shifts, we have a current and a future. So the current is 94. That is first shift, second shift, and the salary personnel all there at the same time. We didn't include the third shift because it's either second or second. Right. Uh, in the, in the future condition, that's still only 113 employees. So that plus, you know, five or 10 visitors is still well below the 151 spaces that we have.

That's all the questions that I have for Mr. Deepman.

Okay.

Um, do you want me to proceed with Mr. Janice? Sure. Sir, would you please state your name? Uh, David Janice. And Mr. Janice, what is your position with the company?

I am the managing director.

How many employees does Hayside currently have?

Roughly 107 full-time employees.

And with the expansion, how many employees do you anticipate adding?

We project around 29 to 30 full-time employees.

With this expansion, um, Do you anticipate any additional visitors to the site?

At this time, we don't anticipate any additional visitors.

And how many visiting spots do you currently have reserved by signs for? Do you have any reserved spots with signs specifically for visitors?

Yes, they're located in the south parking lot next to the flagpole entrance.

How many of those spots do you have?

There's five.

How long have you been with the company?

19 years.

And in your 19 years, has there been a problem with those spots filling up?

Never.

That's all the questions that I have for Mr. Janus. I would just also point out, if you were to even take, Mr. Diekmann's done the, I think, the logical thing of taking two shifts that might overlap plus salary people, but I would suggest that even if there was an emergency of some sort where everybody had to come, you're only going to be at 136 employees plus the five visitors. You're still never going to get to 151. So for that reason, we would ask that you consider granting the variance to allow the parking to meet the needs of the company, but be lower than what the ordinance requires.

And obviously, you have to provide a place for your employees to park so that they can work. They're not going to park on Perry Highway. I mean, the onus is on you to provide a place for your employees within the site to park. You have a lot of long driveway areas, like you say, emergency situations, emergency vehicles, things like that. I understand. I was going to ask about the shifts, but you brought up the shifts. So even if you said, even if all employees were there for some reason or a employee meeting or anything, it's still a situation where you're underneath. I understand that. You guys have any questions?

Just, I guess, if you were to expand the parking areas, I mean, is there any natural impediments? I mean, I see on the map there's gas well

Yeah, I can answer that. They have several spaces near their existing parking lot. I wouldn't put it too far away from the building because that just creates other problems. Just taking a wild guess, I think I could almost add like 50% more without even trying, you know, around the existing parking lot. We do have to stay away from the backside to some extent due to it's forested and we're discovering wetlands back there. So we would not go back past that, the gas well, for example.

Anything else? Okay, I don't have anything else. Lydia, anything? Anyone from the audience? Okay, thank you. We're going to take a brief recess. Okay, let the record show that we reconvened at approximately 6.58 on appeal number 26-13, Stephanie Wagner for a property located at 6108 Peach Street. I make a motion to deny. Do I have a second?

I'll second that.

All in favor of denying, say aye. Aye. All opposed? So moved. Appeal number 26-14, Jasmine Almeida for a property located at 3966 Solar Drive. Do I have a motion? I make a motion to deny that one. I will second. All in favor of denying, say aye. Aye. All opposed? So moved. Appeal number 26-15, Haysite Reinforced Plastics, probably located at 5519. Do I have a motion?

I'll make a motion to approve.

I'll second the motion. All in favor? Aye. All opposed? So moved. Do I have a motion to adjourn?

I'll make a motion.

I will second. All in favor? Aye. So moved.