Recordpub.com - Sluggish home sales hurt roads Area developments not finished

By Mike Sever

Record-Courier staff writer

The snail’s pace of new home construction and lot sales is leaving some developments around Portage County with unpaved roads and incomplete drainage work.

It also leaves homeowners wondering who will take care of their orphan roads.

It could fall to the property owners to keep them in shape unless the developer is still around or unless the county can get the money to do the work.

Suffield trustees brought one example — the Whispering Meadows development off Martin Road north of U.S. 224 — to the Portage County Board of Commissioners this Tuesday.

Township Zoning Inspector James Albertoni said a $261,000 letter of credit meant to guarantee that work was done expired two years after it was signed.

Developer Kenneth Coffman said he had 11 homes in the 16-unit development that was started in 2002 and was waiting for more to be built before doing the finish paving.

Coffman said he should have known, but was unaware he had exceeded the 18-month time limit set by county subdivision rules.

He said he was getting bids from paving companies.

“Yes, it is going to get done before winter,” Coffman said of the finish paving.

Commissioners have instructed the county prosecutor’s office to set up a process to get a bond and get the work done at Whispering Meadows.

Officials need to act to protect the homeowners who bought lots in the developments, Commissioner Chris Smeiles said.

Smeiles said there “are about a dozen developments in similar situations.”

Dan Jendrisak of the county engineer’s office said there are a range of issues. Some subdivisions require minor work to bring them into compliance. In others, there has been no lots sold and no roads built at all.

In some cases, like in Whispering Meadows, money was set aside but was released by the bank.

In the case of S&H Development LLC, the developer of the second phase of New Milford Estates in Rootstown went into receivership.

There was $65,000 in an escrow agreement to ensure everything was completed, but First Merit Bank returned the money to the developer without county approval.

Something similar happened a couple years ago with a development off Bolender Road in southern Suffield.

In that instance the bank settled with the county, paying for final street paving and some minor excavation.

Commissioners acknowledged there is no single office to watch over the developers. Escrow agreements and letters of credit are set up, but have been released by banks without county approval. Developers sign pacts with the county engineer’s office and must abide by subdivision regulations from the Portage County Regional Planning Commission.

“We need to tighten the process,” said Commissioner Maureen Frederick.

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E-mail:

msever@recordpub.com

Phone: 330 298-1125