![\"Wooster](\"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-pa\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/09\/1010713.jpg\")
<\/p>\n\n Proposed ordinance remains on first reading as council weighs public input and other city business\n <\/p>\n
\n Wooster City Council introduced a proposed permanent ban on adult-use marijuana businesses while also considering annexation, roundabouts, TIF projects and other city business at its Sept. 21 meeting.
\n City of Wooster\n <\/p>\n
<\/p>\n
Adult-use marijuana operators including cultivators, processors and dispensaries could be banned permanently within the city starting in 2027 if an ordinance introduced at Wooster City Council\u2019s regular meeting Sept. 21 eventually passes.<\/p>\n
Council member Steven Huszai, who introduced the ordinance, said he wanted to keep it on first reading to allow council members to talk with their constituents and do more research about it, as well as allow residents time to offer opinions on it.<\/p>\n
Five residents, three against and two in favor, offered their opinions on the ordinance during the communications from the public portion of the meeting.<\/p>\n
When it comes to a vote, Huszai said he will vote for it while council members Tyler Owens and Jennifer Warden said they will not.<\/p>\n
While no other council members offered how they will vote on the ordinance when it does come to a vote, several asked questions about it during the two-hour-long meeting.<\/p>\n
This legislation was brought up because a moratorium on recreational cannabis operators expires at the end of the calendar year.<\/p>\n
Cooperative annexation agreement also introduced<\/p>\n
Another ordinance introduced at the meeting that also moved to second reading involved entering into a cooperative annexation agreement with Wooster Township of a little more than 74 acres for the provision of waterline infrastructure, waiver of property tax compensation and the commitment of future annexation of township property.<\/p>\n
A proposed fire station at Heyl Road and Columbus Road was the main reason for the ordinance. Because the groundwater in that area is not drinkable, the only other option would be a large tank or cistern with no fire hydrants for use in fire operations at the site, according to the ordinance.<\/p>\n
Seven standard resolutions approved<\/p>\n
Three resolutions approved, split into groups A, B and C, were recommendations from the Wooster Tax Incentive Review Council with respect to existing Enterprise Zone and Community Reinvestment Area agreements, as well as TIF projects.<\/p>\n
Four other resolutions approved allow for advertising and entering into contracts with the lowest and best bidders: one, for the replacement of the boiler chimney at the Water Resource Recovery Facility; two, for the pavement resurfacing of parts of East Bowman and Palmer streets and Long Road; three, for the purchase of certain chemicals for the Water Treatment Plant; and four, for lime and biosolids residual management.<\/p>\n
Two other resolutions approved were purchasing a new pickup truck and agreeing to a Cooperative (Local Public Agency) Agreement with the Ohio Department of Transportation for the construction of roundabouts.<\/p>\n
Roundabouts<\/p>\n
Three roundabouts on Cleveland Avenue between Winter Street and Portage Road being considered were mentioned during discussion of the LPA resolution.<\/p>\n
During communications from the public part of the meeting, one resident asked why three roundabouts in close proximity are being proposed while another said he approved of them.<\/p>\n
A third resident, David Barnett, spoke about a roundabout that is farther along in the process: the proposed Burbank-Oldman-Winkler roundabout.<\/p>\n
At this point a resolution to begin the filing procedures for unsigned parcels of a couple of owners on Burbank Road was on second reading.<\/p>\n
Barnett, who has spoken against the proposed roundabout at several previous meetings, is one of the two owners on Burbank Road with an unsigned parcel.<\/p>\n
Two TIF ordinances have second readings<\/p>\n
Like the Burbank-Oldman-Winkler roundabout resolution, two other pieces of legislation on second readings were TIF ordinances. TIF enables cities to expand public infrastructure, which in turn grows the tax base for all taxing jurisdictions when those projects add value.<\/p>\n
The North End Non-School TIF will fund up to a $144,787 per year reimbursement for a proposed $3.5-$4 million Riffel Road extension project to provide a vital connection from Wooster\u2019s north end to state Route 3. According to the proposed ordinance, the roadway extension would benefit the corridor with improved access, lowering strain at intersections as the new development influences future traffic patterns.<\/p>\n
A nonschool TIF accrues revenues for city infrastructure at a much slower rate than a traditional TIF, but schools enjoy a full 100% revenue gain from the development, and revenues from the proposed effort are still sufficient to meaningfully support a project.<\/p>\n
The Geyers Chapel Non-School TIF may fund between $36,613 and $146,453 per year reimbursement for reconstruction of Geyers Chapel Road with help from an Ohio Department of Transportation $125,000 grant.<\/p>\n
Restaurant openings<\/p>\n
During communication from the mayor and administration, Mayor Bob Reynolds said he is looking forward to the opening of Chick-fil-A Sept. 24.<\/p>\n
\u201cOf all the things I am asked about, like Flock cameras, the one question that I have had more than anything else is \u2018When is Chick-fil-A opening?\u2019\u201d Reynolds said.<\/p>\n
City Administrator Joel Montgomery said the Texas Roundhouse is another restaurant in Wooster expected to open soon, with a projected date of Nov. 16.<\/p>\n
Council\u2019s next regular meeting will be at 7 p.m. Oct. 5.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"Proposed ordinance remains on first reading as council weighs public input and other city business Wooster City Council…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":292994,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[11],"tags":[128,130,129],"class_list":["post-292993","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","category-reading","tag-reading-city","tag-reading-city-headlines","tag-reading-city-news"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-pa\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/292993","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-pa\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-pa\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-pa\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-pa\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=292993"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-pa\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/292993\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-pa\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/292994"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-pa\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=292993"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-pa\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=292993"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-pa\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=292993"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}