Ordinances Committee Meeting

May 30, 2012
Thomas Worthington High School

The Ordinance Committee of the Council of the Village of Riverlea met on the above date at the Thomas Worthington High School, Worthington. The Following Committee members were present: Chair Jenny D. Jones, Co-Chair Scott K. Gordon, Carolee Noonan, Michael Jones. Also present was Pamela M. Colwell. The Chair called the meeting to order at 7:05 pm.

The minutes of the previous meeting were not read since each member had received a copy. Mike Jones moved and Carolee seconded a motion to approve the minutes as submitted by the Committee Chair. The motion was approved unanimously.

The Chair discussed a recent U.S. Court of Appeals ruling in the Ohio Citizen Action v. City of Englewood that limits the ability of villages to restrict door-to-door canvassing in a non-commercial context. The effect is that some of the restrictions contained in Riverlea’s Code may no longer be enforceable. At its last meeting, the Council requested that the Ordinance Committee review Chapter 111 in light of these changes and submit its recommendations at the next Council meeting.

In addition to striking language requiring permits for non-commercial canvassing, the group also recommended removing language requiring permits and fees for commercial solicitation as it served no purpose and imposed an administrative burden on the Clerk-Treasurer.

The Chair agreed to edit/add language to reflect the intent of the group and share with the solicitor for review and feedback. She will then share a final draft with the group ahead of a special meeting scheduled for June 13, 2012, for a vote. This will allow the group to submit a final proposal to the June session of Council as requested. Carolee suggested including information about the change in the newsletter and website to inform residents.

The group then reviewed draft changes to Chapter 150 resulting from the previous meeting and made a few more edits.

The committee then moved on to Chapter 151. Again, this topic revealed significant differences in opinion and debate continued regarding the extent of the Planning Commission’s authority. Carolee suggested that we obtain a copy of the building code for reference. Pam suggested the creation of a checklist for fences/walls and other construction that residents could complete and send in to the Planning Commission for a certificate of appropriateness rather than attend a monthly planning commission meeting. Carolee agreed to create a first draft for the committee’s review.

The Committee adjourned at 9:01 pm.