Public Meetings

Accessory Dwelling Units discussion scheduled for August 2

The 29 page packet for this meeting is attached HERE.

By Andy Chappell-Dick

Bluffton Village Council met at Town Hall on July 24 with a familiar agenda (pages 1-2):  hear committee reports, vote on legislation, and oversee the activities of Village administration. I would have said there's nothing better to watch on a Monday night, but while we were four in the public gallery, I have it on good authority that at that very hour several hundred citizens had packed in cheek to jowl at another hall two blocks south to watch a movie about Barbie. I took heart; few of them were voters.

ORDINANCE COMMITTEE
Reporting first for the Ordinance Committee, Councilor Mitch Kingsley raised the topic of Accessory Dwelling Units (ADUs). The committee has long wanted to address a possible update to the Village's zoning ordinance. With the near-completion of the collaborative Bluffton Beyond Tomorrow comprehensive plan, said Kingsley, "we ask with apprehension, is zoning now on the table?"  ADUs have long existed in Bluffton, and with some inquiries about building new ones coming in, Village Administrator Jesse Blackburn was asking the committee if the present rules might need a modernization. 

A systematic look at how other communities have handled the trend is underway, and the committee meets again on August 2 at 5 p.m. to continue talks.  Like all Village meetings, it's open to the public.

The Richland Township Zoning Board of Appeals has announced a public hearing: 

- 7:00 p.m. on Wednesday, August 2
- Meeting at 8435 N. Dixie Hwy, Bluffton

Contiguous property owners bordering 8350 Bixel Road, Bluffton, OH 45817 and interested general public are invited to attend.

The Swiss Community Historical Society at  8350 Bixel Road, Bluffton, OH 45817 is requesting a previously approved conditional use permit change to have a newly constructed building with a 20’ set back from the southernmost property line, changing from 30’ that was approved in 2022.