At the Windham Township Board of Trustees meeting last Thursday evening at the Windham Town Hall, the Board was presented with a proposal from Windham resident Colleen Thompson to amend the Windham Township Zoning Code to allow residents who live on parcels of 10 acres or more to have the option to build a second residential dwelling.
Thompson said that her proposed amendment was in response to an administrative search that Zoning Inspector Jake Sweet conducted on her property in May, citing a violation of the zoning code by having multiple dwellings on a parcel of 10 acres or greater.
“In response to this, I am presenting this to our Zoning Inspector and our Trustees, a petition for the amendment to the Windham Township Zoning resolution,” she said. “I am presenting this resolution. I propose that we add on parcels of 10 acres or greater that are bona fide in agricultural use as per Ohio Revised Code 30301 and 51901.”
According to Thompson, her proposal calls for a second residential dwelling to be permitted under following conditions; that the parcel must remain under single ownership, the second dwelling shall be occupied only by relatives of the owner and both dwellings should have approved water supply and sewage disposal systems in compliance with the Portage County Health Department.
She added that that the amendment was a necessary change because it involved agricultural operations in Windham and ensured the continuation and preservation of family farms.
“This provision helps preserve the landscape by preventing unnecessary subdivisions and maintaining large agricultural parcels which is consistent with Windham Township heritage,” she noted. “The amendment ensures that health and safety standards for water supply and sewage disposal and property access are maintained and safeguarding the wellbeing of our residents in the surrounding community.”
She requested that the Board present her amendment to the Windham Township Zoning Commission so they can schedule a public hearing to consider her petition. She added that she also included the signatures of several Township residents who also supported her proposal.
Board Chairman and Fire Representative Dan Burns was not present for the meeting, so Vice Chairman and Cemetery Representative Rich Gano served as the acting chairman in his place. He told Thompson that her proposal would be passed along to the WTZC.
Windham resident Darryl McGuire offered a few remarks in support of Thompson’s amendment.
“I always thought that the government was for the people,” he said. “If the people speak, then I think we need some change.”
Gano assured Thompson that he would keep her apprised of every step throughout the process, which was going to be a long one, as after he presented it to the WTZC, it would then move to the Portage County Regional Planning Committee.
Board of Zoning Appeals Vice Chairman Todd Phillips said that the WTZC had within 20-40 days to schedule a public hearing. He added that the PCRPC served only in an advisory role, so their opinion did serve as a final decree.
Gano said that the measure would then be passed back to the WTZC, which would convene a public hearing and then the Board would also schedule a public hearing.
The Board would issue a public notice about the hearing in The Record-Courier and The Weekly Villager, but Phillips suggested that they also post a public notice on the State of Ohio’s website.
Nelson Township resident Eric Miller asked the Board about obtaining a call service report from the Portage County Sheriff’s Office the same way they receive reports of service calls from the Windham Fire Department.
Although having only become a Nelson Township resident five years ago, Miller said he was trying to familiarize himself with the local policy as he was considering running for the position of Portage County Sheriff in the next election to unseat incumbent Bruce Zuchowski.
“When I was looking at these minutes and I saw the fire district had 387 calls for service in 2025, how many calls for service have we had from the Sheriff’s office in 2025?” Miller asked the Board.
The Board acknowledged that it did not receive frequent updates from the Sheriff’s Office about how many calls they responded to each month.
Miller noted that he asked a similar question at a Nelson Township Board of Trustees meeting at the end of 2024 and received a similar response.
“What is going on in that jurisdiction? If I was a new homeowner and I was going to come in here, I would show up at this meeting with questions that I want answered about what is going on in my county,” he said.
Miller said that he had recently heard back from Windham resident Jason Kline, a paving contractor from Hard Labor Paving, about how much the township would be charged for a chip & seal project on Bryant Road. Miller presented the board with an estimate of $12,380, which would cover the entire 1.85 miles of the project. He added that Kline notified him that he could reduce the price if the township was willing to perform traffic control work themselves.
Gano said that the township had not performed a true overlay of Bryant Road since 2000.
Gano made a motion to approve the cost of the project and Miller seconded it, and the motion carried.
Miller added that the township road workers were having difficulty with the roadside cutter, as despite having a new motor, they could not cut as deeply as before.
He also updated the Board on the issue of removing a tree from Colton Road that had already lost two larger branches within the last three months and a resident requested that the township remove the tree. Miller said he had not asked for a quote on that, as said resident said they knew of someone who could perform the work. Miller added that he was in favor of removing the tree.
“It looks like it was jeopardized,” he said. “I think it should come down and it is in our right of way. It leaves a little bit of judgment because we have helped some others because they are right on that edge of Colton. I say we should do that if we can get an affordable price.”
Miller said he consulted with the Portage County Prosecutor’s Office and the guidelines provided that the Township had the right to remove a tree that was within 25 feet of its right of way.
Gano said that it may be a long process to remove the tree, as it was 150 years old and probably interfered with some existing power lines.
Phillips asked if the County or Village would get involved in removing the tree. Miller responded that he did not think that either entity would lend a hand.
Gano said that the township had performed several burials in the last month and that the cemetery was still being maintained in good condition.
Gano informed the board that he had recently received a list of streetlights from Ohio Edison First Energy concerning the Township’s impending LED-conversion project, to be paid for by a grant from the Northeast Ohio Public Energy Council. Gano said he was in the process of speaking with Ohio Edison First Energy Regional External Affairs Liasion Amy Hopkins to remove lights from the list that were not in the township’s jurisdiction.
He noted that he had already removed three lights from the list that may have been listed under a Windham zip code but were not lights that the township wanted replaced.
“They sent me what they are telling me is mine and I already disagree with some so I will review the whole list,” he said. “I said this is pretty easy, we are not paying for it. We are not paying for it.”
The issue was once again raised on how Windham had responsibility for paying for streetlights that were on Township roads but intersected with State and County roads. Board of Zoning Appeals Member Becky Phillips said that the State or County should assume responsibility for those lights.
Phillips asked if the Board could request Hopkins to attend the next Board meeting. Gano replied that he would investigate it.
Miller informed the Board of another road issue, explaining that the township assisted the Village with some roadside work on Wolf Road and discovered a pile of brush had been dropped from a tree onto a resident’s property. He said that he wanted to remove it, but it was being used as a hiding spot for police officers to track potential speeding violations. Miller voiced his displeasure at Township residents being issued speeding tickets on Village roads.
“I just think it is a big money grab not only on our Village residents but our township residents as well and I don’t know what we can do as a Township to show opposition to what they are doing in the Village,” he said.
The Board will reconvene for its next meeting at Windham Town Hall on Oct. 2 at 6 p.m.
