By Perry Schaible
Enquirer contributor

LEBANON - Longtime Commissioner Mike Kilburn says it's time to slam the brakes on development in Ohio's second-fastest-growing county.

Kilburn said Tuesday he might soon recommend a moratorium - a prohibition from the issuance of building and/or zoning permits - to freeze residential development.

"We've got a bunch of new subdivisions coming in and this is getting scary," Kilburn said. "We're going to kill this place, and I mean we're going to flat shut her down."

The county's population exploded from 113,930 in 1990 to 158,380 in 2000, an increase of 44,450 residents.Population estimates show no end in sight, with state projections that Warren's population will reach 215,020 by 2010.

"We cannot get 10 pounds into a 5-pound bag," Kilburn said Tuesday during the county commissioners meeting. "This thing's going to eat us up, and at some point we're going to have to say no more."

He said the county is unaffordable for residents on a fixed income and that the growth has an impact on schools and traffic.

Kilburn asked Bob Craig, executive director of the Warren County Planning Commission, to research a housing moratorium.

"It's a tool, but it's not an end in itself," Craig said.

Besides pushing for impact fees, county commissioners also have increased lot size and green space requirements for new subdivisions.

Kilburn believes a temporary moratorium could check growth while the legislature tackles the issue of impact fees - charges assessed to a new development by local government to help recover the cost of services.

His suggestion comes on the heels of the planning commission's decision to approve a development that could bring 970 new homes and 109 multifamily units to Turtlecreek Township near the Shaker Run Golf Course.

Kilburn also asked Craig to put on hold a hearing regarding the site plan review for the subdivision scheduled for April 15.

Commissioner Larry Crisenbery agreed a moratorium might help develop a solution to the growth.