Zoning – Westfield Township

Zoning Department

Zoning Commission meetings and the Board of Zoning Appeals hearings are always open to the public. We welcome and encourage your participation in these proceedings. Please refer to our meetings page for dates and times.

Why Zoning?

Zoning is the legislative process for dividing land into zones for different uses. Zoning laws are laws that regulate the use of land and structures built on the land, and are created for the simple purpose of protecting the health, safety and general welfare of the people as relates to land use.

Ohio is a home-rule state, which means that cities and villages have local self-government. These municipalities have the power to enact zoning and land use regulations directly from the Ohio Constitution.

Zoning Commission

Trustee Mike Schmidt serves as liaison to the Zoning Commission, along with Jack Franz as chairperson. The Commission meets once a month and consists of five residents appointed by the trustees to a five-year term.

Responsibilities include:

Review and recommend updates to the township Comprehensive Plan
Make recommendations for zoning changes. Changes can be initiated by the Zoning Commission, Trustees or applications received from residents or other public entities
Review site plans to ensure they comply with Zoning requirements and regulations

Once the committee receives an application/proposal, it is reviewed and thoroughly discussed with involved parties.

The application is also forwarded to the Medina County Department of Planning Services for their recommendations
The Commission then holds a public hearing, which is publicized at least ten days prior to the hearing
During the hearing, the proposed changes are discussed and voted on by the Commission. If approved, the application is forwarded to the Trustees for final review
The Trustees must also hold a public hearing with a ten day prior public notice. If the proposed change is approved, it goes into effect 30 days later

Board of Zoning Appeals

Trustee Mike Schmidt serves as liaison to the Board of Zoning Appeals (BZA), along with Greg McGlashan as chairperson. The BZA consists of five residents appointed by the Trustees to five-year terms.

Public hearings are scheduled as needed by the chairperson for administrative appeals, variance appeals and conditional zoning certificates.

Notice of hearings are communicated to all involved parties and published to the public at least 10 days before the date of the hearing
Within 20 days after the public hearing, the BZA will either approve or disapprove the request for appeal