BEAVERCREEK — Beavercreek City Council voted 5-1 in favor of a rezoning request for a real estate agency on Dayton Xenia Road after hearing opposition from its neighbors Monday.
Beavercreek resident Donna Sayles spoke against the rezoning request, which, if approved, would allow Home Experts Realty to begin operations at a residence at 4230 Dayton Xenia Road. The proposal for the site, which is currently zoned as “family residential,” would see it rezoned to “residential office.”
“I’ve learned that Beavercreek is running out of available space for new housing and business development, so the city has approved ways through the [City of Beavercreek Land Use Plan] for small businesses to use residential areas to help with the problem,” Sayles said. “I feel the city is more concerned with improving the tax base and not the economic effect that it might have on the family occupied homes.”
Sayles also presented council with a petition signed by other neighbors opposing the business on safety grounds.
“A large majority of the homes surrounding this house are occupied by families with young children,” the petition states. “We are concerned with the safety of the children because of increased traffic.”
Home Experts Realty representative Tiffany Lobertini said Monday that the business’s agents usually meet with clients at other locations.
“We seldom have agents come in because we provide them with technology tools for them to work as mobile agents anywhere from mobile devices,” she said. “Because of our unique business model, there will be very little traffic at this location, because there will only be three employees working there. With only three employees the traffic and noise at our office will not be much different than the traffic to a house with two or three cars and occasional visitors.”
Lobertini also said that the business has already invested about $50,000 in improving the property’s interior and exterior.
Council member Melissa Litteral was concerned with businesses in the city making investments prior to receiving council’s zoning approval.
“I’m just concerned that when we see that investment, then it’s brought to council and, ‘Oh, by the way, we would like to change the zoning’…,” she said. “I’d like to see the horse first instead of the cart. I think we’ve had this on a couple of occasions lately, and I don’t like it, quite frankly.”
Vice mayor Julie Vann said she thought the business would be an improvement to the neighborhood and potentially be an advantage to property values.
“It will be maintained, and it will thrive compared to if it just was left to deteriorate,” she said.
Council members Vann, Zach Upton, Deborah Wallace, Bob Stone and Chad Whilding voted to move the issue to a second reading at council’s next meeting while Litteral voted in opposition.
