This month the Board Of Zoning Appeals, City Planning Commission, and the Design Review Committee have met to discuss new business that has been brought before them:
Board Of Zoning Appeals
(Tuesday, November 16, 2010 @ 1:30pm)
CASE NO. 10-10: Mt. Gilead Baptist Church applied for the following variances; 1) To increase the allowable building ratio from 10% to 15.5%; 2) To increase the front yard setback from 60' to 30', the side yard setback from 30' to 15', and the rear yard setback from 30' to 15'; 3) To reduce the required parking spaces from 50 to 44. The property in question is located at 2821 Hillman Ave. in an R-72, Single- Family Residential Zoning District.
Approval Granted
Attended- Chuck Sasho, Angelo Pignatelli, Irving Lev, Heather McMahon
Did not attend- Iris Guglucello, Jason Roller
Planning Commission
(Tuesday, November 16, 2010 @1:45pm)
REF NO. 09-10: The City of Youngstown submitted a request to change the zoning classification form, INS, Institutional to B-2, General Business. The property in question is bounded by W. Princeton Ave., Utilis St., W. Indianola Ave., and Glenwood Ave., City lot number 24495.
Approval Recommended
Attended- Chuck Sasho, Angelo Pignatelli, Irving Lev, Heather McMahon
Did not attend- Iris Guglucello, Jason Roller
Design Review Committee
(Tuesday, November 2, 2010 @9:00am)
Case No. DRC 10-23: Atlas Neon Sign Corporation submitted a proposal for installation of lighted channel letter style wall signage on three sides of the building including logos and lettering reading 'First National Bank'. The property in question is located at One Federal Plaza W...
Measure Approved
Attended- John DeFrance, Chuck Shasho, Ray DeCarlo, Karen Perkins
Did not attend- Summer Barker, Jason Rupe, Phil Kidd, Justin Rogers
Paper copies of the official meeting agendas can be requested from the City Planning Department, located at 9 W. Front St., 3rd Floor, Suite 315.
On Tuesday, November 9th 2010, the first of the new Idora Neighborhood street signs will be hung on the corner of Winona and Glenwood. The public unveiling will take place at 3 p.m. The new custom designed signage depicts the neighborhood name in a raised center arch above the street name. Installation of the new neighborhood-specific signs represents the continued partnership between the City of Youngstown CDA and Idora Neighborhood Association in that area's ongoing revitalization. New signage for Idora is part of a specific strategy to increase neighborhood pride as outlined in the Idora Neighborhood Comprehensive Plan. By taking some extra time to compare pricing, the CDA was able to purchase the new signs at a reduced cost for Youngstown taxpayers. At $48.50 each, the total price for the custom-cut metal blanks and decals is a substantial savings compared to what the city has traditionally paid for its ordinary street signs. The CDA plans to work with Idora residents in installing the signs. Once these new street signs are in place, the CDA would like to target other City neighborhoods for custom signage, such as Brownlee Woods and Lincoln Knolls on the south and east sides of town, respectively. 
Two Professors from RWTH Aachen University in Germany also came to visit Youngstown on Friday October 22nd during their month long voyage through old industrialized cities. They also traveled to Pittsburgh, Cleveland, Erie, and Buffalo. Their purpose is to see how United States industrial cities are recovering from the collapse of industry. Doctoral students and professors Cyryl Garus and Martin Pudlik plan on bringing a group of planners back sometime in the near future to further research Youngstown and some of its old industrial neighbors. This would be to gain insight to bring back to Germany for possible applications on their older industrialized cities.
