Lucas County Plan Commission approves proposal for Sylvania Twp. housing development

Oct. 28—The Lucas County Plan Commission on Wednesday approved a proposal to split several parcels in Sylvania Township into lots for residential development.

The approval, which is pending a legal review, came after a discussion about whether the number of splits violated state law and concerns about setting precedents that officials might not agree with when it comes to future development.

"If it's not legal, we can't approve it," said Don Mewhort, commission chairman. "If it is, we can vote on it."

The property in question is located at 4651, 4721, 4761, and 4781 Holt Road. Ryan Wamsher, owner of Millstream Development Company and owner of the property, said he plans to develop the land into a seven-home housing development called Hammock Creek.

Part of the plan was to split the parcel at 4651 Holt, located behind the other sites, into smaller lots and then merge those lots with the residential properties. Rather than have the space be a common area behind all the homes, Mr. Wamsher said the split would allow each homeowner to fence his or her own segment of that area off and use it privately.

The problem was that county regulations prohibit splitting parcels of a certain size into more than five lots. Bill Harbert, county planner, said those rules help to ensure good planning practices and prevent issues such as houses being built behind each other.

"Otherwise, you end up with a mess over time," he said.

Commission members on Wednesday also questioned whether such a split would violate state law as well.

During the meeting, Don Feller, consulting engineer with Feller, Finch, and Associates who is working with the developer on the project, argued to the commission that while approval might set some precedents, they wouldn't be bad precedents.

"This is the kind of thing the market wants," he said.

Ultimately, Mr. Wamsher agreed not to split the parcel at 4651 Holt and instead seek to establish easements on that parcel for each residential lot. It would, he said, essentially end up allowing him to enact his original plan but without running into potential legality issues.

"Everyone's happy," he said.

First Published October 27, 2021, 3:31pm