Role of Architecture Board Under Scrutiny

Kent City Council votes to reconsider action lessening board's authority

Should the Kent Architectural Review Board having binding authority or simply play an advisory role in development projects? That's the question members of Kent City Council are struggling with as they try to determine how much power the citizen board should have when it comes to making decisions on new building projects and remodels in the city. Earlier this month, in committee, council members voted to strip the board of it's authority to make binding decisions on such projects on the advice of Kent's law department. But Wednesday during its regular meeting council members voted to reverse that decision and instead put the issue back into a future committee meeting for further review. "There are a lot of questions that are unanswered," …

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Misty Jones

1:47 pm on Thursday, April 25, 2013

Yes and please do vote out some of these wishy washy and questionable council members next vote!   more ›

Architecture Board Signs Off on Karate Sign Downtown

Business planning to open on West College Avenue, facade changes approved

The Kent Architectural Review Board approved plans for new signs on a bare building on West College Avenue in downtown Kent, but not without encouraging more than just a sign. The architecture board gave the OK to plans for a sign advertising a Karate dojo at 122 W. College Ave. Tuesday. The sign will simply say "Karate" in red, all-capital letters. The board approved the new sign with the condition that when the exterior of the building is redesigned that a sign update be included as part of that plan. "Our hopes are we're going to see something better, or different, or revised somewhere down the line," board chairperson Glenn Dryer said. Board member Alan Orashan encouraged the property owner to take advantage of two facade renovation …

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Pizza Shop Told to Change Signs

Architecture board approves facade update with changes

The Kent Architectural Review Board approved facade and sign renovations at Ramella's Pizzeria on Erie Street. The architecture board approved the changes to the pizza shop's exterior this week, but the board also stipulated the business must remove one of its window signs and its internally lit sign. The overall sign plan must also go to the Kent Board of Zoning Appeals for variances related to size. That meeting is not yet scheduled.

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UPDATE: Court Denies All Injunction Requests to Stop Wells Sherman House

Magistrate's order issued Wednesday, made public today

A Portage County magistrate has ruled that several requests for an injunction to stop the relocation of the Kent Wells Sherman House to 247 N. Water St. have all been denied by the court. Portage County magistrate Kent Graham issued his ruling in the case Wednesday, and the order became public for the first time this afternoon, essentially allowing the relocation of the house to the vacant lot between the Scribbles Coffee building and the Standing Rock Cultural Arts gallery. Kent residents under the banner Save the Standing Rock Garden filed requests for injunctions last month against the Kent Architectural Review Board, Kent Planning Commission and the Kent Wells Sherman House, Inc., board to try and stop the relocation of the historic …

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No Banners for Kent State Hotel

Architecture board signs off on comprehensive sign plan for new downtown building

A sign plan for the new Kent State University Hotel was called "mundane" Tuesday by one member of the Kent Architectural Review Board, which issued the plan a certificate of appropriateness despite such criticisms. Glen Dreyer, chairman of the architectural review board, criticized the sign plan presented to the board by the construction firm managing the project and the sign company that will build the signs. Karen Durepo, of The Pizzuti Companies, the construction management firm, and Lou Belknap, of Agile Sign and Lighting Company, the firm designing the signs, presented a comprehensive sign plan to the architecture board different from signs depicted in an early architectural rendering of the building. An initial rendering of the hotel…

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New Wells-Sherman House Plan gets OK from Architecture Board

Friends of Kent Wells-Sherman House presented altered site plan for 247 N. Water St. lot

The historic Kent Wells-Sherman House is one step closer to relocating to 247 N. Water St., the site preferred by the non-profit group working to restore the house. The Kent Architectural Review Board issued a certificate of appropriateness to the Friends of the Kent Wells-Sherman House, Inc., for a site plan that puts the house on the vacant lot between Scribbles Coffee Company and Standing Rock Cultural Arts North Water Street Gallery. The project's site plan will next go to the Kent Planning Commission for consideration on Sept. 4. But there's a catch. The architecture board recommended the house be set back between 12 feet and 15 feet from North Water Street. And the planning commission already voted this summer to reject a site plan …

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Balertwine

12:14 am on Tuesday, August 28, 2012

I've attempted to explain the fundamental reality of these laws. I haven't advocated for or against landowners' rights. In short, everything that has occurred has been legal -- people without current or prospective ownership interest in 247 N. Water St. expressed their concerns to the Planning Board, and the board voted against approving the plans to locate the house onto 247 N. Water St. Like it…   more ›

Kent Courthouse Design Undergoing Several Changes

Portage County Commissioners agree to majority of recommendations made by Kent advisory panel.

Design plans for the new Kent Municipal Court building were altered Tuesday by the Portage County Commissioners in response to recommendations made last week by the city’s Architectural Review Board. The design plan garnered four variances July 17 from the Kent Board of Zoning Appeals. The next day, ARB members suggested changes involving the location of the building’s lone public entryway, the structure’s front-yard setback and the number of parking spaces. Architect Allan Renzi of Richard L. Bowen & Associates in Cleveland shared the ARB’s design-change recommendations with commissioners, who were agreeable to several but opposed to one. Renzi said ARB members suggested constructing the building about 12 feet further back on the property…

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Logan

4:41 pm on Wednesday, July 25, 2012

Teresa - KSU has been trying very hard for years to get Fraternities to move to Fraternity Circle. However, there they are not allowed to have alcohol, and like everywhere else in Kent, the rent is astronomical. Not to mention, many of the Fraternity homes have been there for many years. Mine for example as been a Fraternity House for over 60 years...if that doesn't contain Kent history, then I …   more ›

Kent Courthouse Design Nixed by Architectural Board

Review panel takes issue with location of single entrance; has parking concerns.