BY RICHELLE THOMPSON
The Cincinnati Enquirer
WAYNESVILLE -- The village's first industrial and commercial park is bound to change this northern Warren County community. That's why village leaders want residents to have a say in the park's development.
Tonight is the first of three public meetings designed for residents to voice concerns and make recommendations.
"If you get people involved, then it becomes their idea and they can't complain about it," Councilman Pat Irelan said.
The industrial and commercial park is part of a 500-acre parcel council annexed in August, increasing the village's size by one-third.
When finished, the proposed 100-acre park along Ohio 73 could generate as many as 700 to 1,000 jobs, said Rod Smith, vice president of the Waynesville Industry and Commerce Corp., the group spearheading the development.
Property taxes from new companies are expected to help prop up the budget for Wayne Local School District. And a commercial strip with such businesses as dry cleaners or a hardware store should make life easier for the residents who now have to travel outside the village for such services.
Already, one commercial and two light industrial businesses are considering the site, Mr. Smith said. The group plans to develop 20 acres with commercial businesses and the remaining 80 with light industrial companies or office buildings.
In November, the corporation will go before the village zoning board to request a "planned unit development" designation. That would change the current agricultural zoning to allow both commercial and industrial facilities.
The development of the industrial and commercial park comes at a time when Waynesville's population is exploding. It jumped from 1,949 in 1990 to an estimated 2,500 today. The village's growth is attributed in part to its prime location on U.S. 42 near Interstates 75 and 71.
