“This is a gateway property,” Washington Twp. Trustee President Scott Paulson said. “We can’t imagine how this is going to work well.”
Similar concerns were voiced about a proposed rezoning for an 87-unit residential community comprised of 49 townhomes and 38 paired patio homes on 14 acres on Dayton-Lebanon Pike on the east side of Ohio-48.
Initial plans from the developer - Cincinnati-based Fischer Homes - called for 150 units and included condominiums.
Residents have filed a petition with the township against the development, citing traffic worries and concerns that multi-dwelling housing will drive down property values of the surrounding neighborhoods.
“We don’t like the idea of the density,” said Dawn Bell. “We’re concerned about them becoming rental properties.”
Trustees have tabled further discussion on both projects until the developers resubmit plans to address traffic and density concerns.
Both rezoning requests put the spotlight on issues that rapidly developing townships like Washington Twp. face as the cities that surround them run out of space.
“Washington Twp., like many mature suburban communities, does have a limited number of undeveloped parcels that appear as small ‘pockets’ or ‘islands’ within the community,” said Washington Twp. Development Director Ryan Lee. “In most cases, these areas are remnants of earlier subdivision patterns, property ownership boundaries, or infrastructure decisions made as surround land developed over time.”
The proposed residential care facility sits on a parcel of land squeezed by Speedway and a subdivision. The proposed townhome property is zoned for business but is surrounded on all sides by subdivisions.
Both properties present challenges to developers and the township because they are too small to make single-family home developments economically viable but too large to not develop.
Fischer Homes representative Amanda Webb said she sees the townhome project addressing a need within Washington Twp.’s housing stock: small-lot, easily-maintained homes.
“These are really geared toward empty-nesters and in some cases first-time homeowners,” Webb said.
About 71% of Washington Twp.’s housing stock is single-family detached homes, Lee said, reflecting the community’s suburban development pattern over the past several decades.
“Over the last decade, we have seen increasing demand for diversified housing options such as attached units, villas, and smaller-lot single-family homes,” he said. “While entry-level and smaller-footprint homes remain limited across much of the region, the township’s role is not to dictate the market, but to ensure that when proposals come forward, whether single-family, attached, or multi-unit, they align with the community’s long-term land use goals and infrastructure capacity.”
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