Solon Council Approves Garage Variance, Tables Rezoning Question Amid Ward Veto Debate

Solon City Council approved a variance allowing a Summerset Drive family to rebuild a garage damaged by fire, while a separate charter question that would change how residential zoning gets approved was tabled at the August 3 meeting. Council also pushed back the target date for updating the city's master plan to 2029. Six of seven council members attended. Vice Mayor Nancy Meany, who represents Ward Five, was absent. Fire Damaged Garage Wins Approval Council approved a 10 foot side yard setback variance for a garage addition at 34091 Summerset Drive, the home of Jason and Carmen Burrows. Planning Commission had approved the request three to one on July 28. The Burrows family told council their original garage was damaged in an April 12 fire. Rather than simply rebuild what was lost, they proposed a third bay set back 12 feet from the property line, which works out to 10 feet, 3 inches based on a new professional survey. The couple said they revised their original plan after neighbors raised concerns, shrinking the footprint and adding a fire rated wall facing the adjacent property. A neighboring resident who lives at 34131 Summerset Drive told council she supported the revised plan but wanted written confirmation that a proposed drainage swale would not create runoff problems on her property before construction begins. She also asked to review the final grading plans. Council members noted that the Burrows' neighbor already sits closer to the property line at 10 feet, 4 inches under an existing nonconforming setback. City Engineer John Busch confirmed the Summerset Drive homes predate current zoning and that several lots in the neighborhood do not meet the standard 20 foot setback. Council approved the variance five to one, with Ward Two representative Robert Pelunis casting the dissenting vote. Pelunis said he would have preferred the applicant square off the addition with the existing garage rather than seek a variance. Lot Split Advances Without Debate On the Planning Commission consent agenda, council also approved a lot split and two related variances for a property at 6958 Som Center Road owned by Kevin Egan. The commission had approved the item unopposed, contingent on compliance with planning and engineering department requirements. Council passed it unanimously without discussion. Master Plan Timeline Pushed To 2029 Council gave final passage to an ordinance amending the city charter's master plan update requirement, moving the target date from 2027 to 2029. The Charter Review Commission requested the delay after meeting with Planning and Community Development Director Michael Ionna, citing competing demands on city staff. In the interim, the city plans to form a Land Use Advisory Committee made up of residents to study land use questions ahead of the formal master plan update. Ionna thanked the commission for the extra time and said staff looks forward to working with the new committee starting in 2027. The measure passed six to zero under suspension of the three reading rule. Rezoning Question Tabled Amid Pushback A second charter measure drew far more public opposition. The proposed change would allow council to approve residential to residential zoning changes, such as converting single family zoning to multifamily, with four affirmative votes rather than sending the matter through a broader review process. At the request of the Charter Review Commission's vice chair, council tabled the item until a full seven member council can weigh in. The public hearing stayed open for the next meeting. Several residents used the evening's comment periods to also object to a separate, previously approved decision to place a question eliminating Solon's ward veto on the November ballot. The ward veto currently lets an individual ward's council representative block certain zoning matters affecting that ward. Multiple speakers said they learned about the proposed charter changes late, some only after the Charter Review Commission's third public reading, and asked council to rescind the ballot placement and gather more resident input first. One commission member spoke during the audience comment period in favor of eliminating the veto, arguing every resident's vote should carry equal weight regardless of ward boundaries. Several commenters connected their concerns to an undeveloped, roughly 32 acre wooded property on Route 91 near the South Chagrin Reservation, saying they worry it could be rezoned for multifamily housing without adequate notice to nearby residents. City officials did not respond to those claims during the meeting, consistent with the law director's earlier reminder that the public comment period is reserved for residents to be heard rather than for a back and forth with council. Community Garden Contamination Concerns Raised During general audience comments, a resident described finding roughly two dozen mothballs scattered around the Solon Community Garden's perimeter and under a shed on Jul