Readers React to Rooming House Conversion Denial

Zoning board turns down request for house on East Summit Street

Boarding House Request Coming Back to Zoning Board

Owner of house at 315 E. Summit St. wants to convert it from single-family to boarding house zoning

The owner of a house on East Summit Street will again ask the Kent Board of Zoning Appeals for permission to convert it from single-family zoning to boarding house status. North Royalton resident Donald Vargo asked the zoning board in March for a variance to change the zoning of the house he owns at 315 E. Summit St. to boarding house status. Vargo had asked the board to table their vote on his request last month because only three of the five members were present, and all three present indicated they might oppose his request. Vargo said he wanted the conversion because all the houses adjacent to his property are operating as boarding houses. "My entire retirement fund … is invested in real estate in Kent," Vargo said. "I’m always …

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Boarding House Conversion Approved by Zoning Board

Second request to convert house on Summit Street tabled

The Kent Board of Zoning Appeals voted Monday to grant a request to a Solon man to turn a single-family house on Park Avenue into a boarding house. The three members of the board present voted to grant two variance requests to Steven Kubofcik for the house he owns at 335 Park Ave. The variances, regarding lot size, were granted on the condition that one resident of the house must be a blood relative of the owner. Kubofcik told the zoning board that he wanted the change of zoning status from single family to boarding house only while his daughter attends Kent State University. He said he was OK with the blood-relative condition. "When she’s out in three years I don’t plan on having the property anymore," he said. The zoning board had …

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Boarding House Request Debated by Zoning Board

Park Avenue property owner wants change from single-family to boarding house status

The evolution of Kent's housing stock from single family homes to multi-family rental properties took center stage at the Kent Board of Zoning Appeals. Front and center in the revived debate is the house at 335 Park Ave., which is owned by Steve Kubofcik. The Solon resident wants to convert the house from  single family zoning to Kent's boarding house designation — a change that would permit more than two unrelated people to live there. Kubofcik, who bought the then-vacant house in April 2012 at auction for $50,000, said he bought it with plans to let his daughter live in the house while she attends Kent State University. He is asking for the rooming house status so he can rent the remaining two bedrooms out to pay for his cost to buy the …

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jim

11:03 pm on Friday, February 1, 2013

I'd like to correct "and those that do not comply ..." with ".."those that do comply" ..!   more ›

Single-Family House gets Boarding House Status from Planning Commission

Solon resident plans to turn house into residence for daughter, her friends while attending Kent State University

The Kent Planning Commission voted unanimously Tuesday to give a Solon man permission to turn a single-family house into a boarding house. The approval is contingent upon granting of several variances for the house from the Kent Board of Zoning Appeals, which has yet to vote on the issue. Members of the planning commission and city administration commended Solon resident Steve Kubofcik for asking for the conversion instead of using the house at 335 Park Ave. as an illegal boarding house. "There are many three-room boarding houses operating illegally in the city," commission member John Gargan said. “I think it’s one of the nicest houses in the area, so I don’t think (Kubofcik is) detracting from the neighborhood at all." Kent ordinances …

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