The Village of West Union recently passed new zoning measures to protect the village from the emergence of ‘tiny houses’ that have been erected inside of the village corporation limits over the past several years. According to village officials, the tiny houses were not the exclusive reason for updating and strengthening zoning regulations, but they were part of the discussion.
Village zoning regulations already required that no building or other structure could be erected, moved, added to, structurally altered nor demolished without a zoning permit. The new regulations create several districts in the village such as the central business district, mixed used district and residential districts. All new districts created in the village are subject to zoning restrictions.
For multi-family housing units, the land area or lot size shall be 10,000 square feet for the first two dwelling units and an additional one thousand square feet for each additional dwelling unit. The minimum width of a lot on which a multi-family unit is located shall be 50 feet at the front of the building line for the first two units and an additional ten feet for each additional dwelling unit. Multi-family building units also have a minimum square footage requirement. In addition, there are front side, back yard, and side yard requirements for multi-family housing units, as well as parking requirements.
Currently, the village is accepting applications to serve on the newly created Planning Commission. Duties will include to advise on the map and text of the Village’s Zoning Ordinances, make recommendations to the Village Council, and conduct an annual review of the fee schedules contained in the Zoning Ordinance. More information about the Planning Commission can be found here.
The village has also created a Village Board of Zoning Appeals that may hear and decide appeals where it is alleged there is an error in any order, requirement, decision, or determination made by the Zoning Administrator in the enforcement of the Village of West Union’s Zoning Ordinance. More information about zoning in the Village of West Union can be found at https://www.westunionoh.net/zoning.
Applications are also being accepted for the Board of Zoning Appeals. Interested citizens of West Union can mail or deliver a resume to the attention of the Mayor of West Union at 33 Logans Lane, West Union. Resumes will be accepted until 4:00 p.m. on February 3, 2023. More information about the Board of Zoning appeals application can be found here.
