The site "currently has no design guidelines, so any type of building can be constructed," Miami Township Deputy Director of Community Development Kyle Hinkelman said.
The plan "brings us in a unified nature" with development in the nearby Austin Center area, said Mike Cross, environmental engineer for Dayton International Airport.
The rezoning is set to be considered by township trustees next month.
INITIAL REPORT
Dayton wants to rezone more than 300 acres at Dayton-Wright Brothers Airport, continuing to lay a foundation for growth there with standards similar to nearby Austin Center, where development has flourished.
The city is seeking the change on about 321 acres to expand development “to non-aviation uses that complement the office and industrial needs” of Miami Twp., as recent studies have suggested.
Austin Center includes hundreds of acres on and around the Interstate 75/Austin Boulevard interchange. The district employs thousands — about 2,500 at Austin Landing – and is just west of the general aviation airport in Miami Twp., where about 320 people work.
RELATED: FAA approves runway expansion plan at Dayton-Wright Brothers’ Airport
“No specific business or tenant has been identified at this time,” but Dayton’s rezoning request seeks to create standards consistent with “other Austin Center office and commercial areas at the nearby Austin Center interchange,” according to Kyle Hinkelman, Miami Twp. deputy director of community development.
“This allows for the airport to amalgamate into the design style of the Austin Center area over time with new buildings having to meet these stronger requirements,” he added.
The move, Dayton Director of Aviation Terry Slaybaugh said, “helps ensure that development on and around the airport does not conflict with the aviation uses of the airport.”
The rezoning aims to accommodate airport “development as well as future development opportunities around the airport,” according to Dayton records.
“Future development of an industrial area to the east is anticipated to accommodate airport manufacturing uses, high-tech industrial uses, and/or corporate office uses,” records show.
The request going before Miami Twp. Zoning Commission tonight follows a pair of studies focusing on best ways to use land at DWB airport, which has seen more than $20 million in private and public investment since 2014.
It also comes after federal approval earlier this year of the airport’s layout plan, which includes a 500-foot runway extension.
RELATED: Runway extension may not require realigning part of Austin Boulevard
The rezoning is not related to the runway extension and involves only property inside “the general boundary of the airport” at the southeast corner of the intersection of Austin Boulevard and Ohio 741, according to the township.
It would allow the construction of a digital billboard along Ohio 741 similar to those around the Dayton Mall, according to the township.
The six properties proposed for rezoning range in size from 12 to 118.9 acres, according to Dayton records. The proposal calls for them to change from airport district to planned mixed use, records show.
The request groups the land to be rezoned into three areas. The first area includes the runway, taxiway and hangars on the airport’s west side. The second includes parcels at DWB’s northwest corner and southwest property near the Warren County line.
RELATED: Report outlines scenarios for business park next to airport
The third area is the airport’s eastern property, which is largely undeveloped.
In recent years, studies and discussions on DWB future land use have involved the Miami Twp.-Dayton Joint Economic Development District Board operated by the city and the township.
A report by Juniper CRE Solutions examining the “highest and best” use of land east of the runway — potentially as much as 80 acres — recommended flex research and development, and light industrial.
Those uses present “an excellent opportunity for the township to capitalize on the strong aviation and defense sectors present in the Dayton market and capture the higher paying wages that come with these types of sectors,” according to the study.
RELATED: Study: Land near airport can capture defense, aviation jobs
The second study, by LJB Inc., outlined options for that land that all include a light industrial park housing at least 500,000 square feet of building space.
The study suggests three configurations for light industrial park scenarios ranging from 11 to 18 buildings.
About the Author
