Heritage of Brimfield development project continues despite concerns over Kent Bog State Nature Preserve habitat
When Kent resident Maya Niesz Kutsch toured the Kent Bog State Nature Preserve in September, she said she couldn’t miss the construction site right next door on Route 43. As a junior botany major at Kent State University, she couldn’t help but wonder about the environmental issues a construction project like this might pose.
After speaking with a representative from the Ohio Department of Natural Resources, her concerns only grew when she learned about common beliefs in the community that the builders failed to receive proper permits for the construction project.
“He said that basically, he had only really found out about when he came to check up on the bog, one time and notice that next door [the construction] was happening” she said. “He didn’t like hear about it through some of the permits and ways that he usually would.”
However, the lack of permits proved to be a misunderstanding.
The development project saw its early stages in December of 2019, when the LTC Brimfield LLC purchased a 9.3-acre parcel of land adjacent to the Kent Bog State Nature Preserve at 5113 Route 43. Though they were not allowed to move forward with any early construction plans at this time, director of Portage County Building Department Randall Roberts said the owners were permitted to prepare land for future use.
“I’m sure people saw dirt being moved, which they were doing, which does not require an approval or a permit for that to happen,” Robert said. “It’s only until the be put they put shovel in the ground to start the foundation is when they absolutely have to have a permit from our office, and they did get that permit before they started the actual construction of the building.”
However, contrary to beliefs held by city residents and ODNR representatives, the LTC Brimfield LLC completed the permit process leading up to the construction of what would become the Heritage of Brimfield commercial assisted living facility in a way that aligned with the typical standard of practice in the state of Ohio, Roberts said.
Typically, the owner of the property or affiliated applicant must submit an application to the county’s building department that includes documentation detailing the owner’s construction plans. In the case of LTC Brimfield LLC, this application outlined plans for an assisted living community equipped to house 96 residents and support up to 40 staff members according to the Record Courier.
“We receive those applications, and as required in law, under the Ohio Revised Code and the Ohio building codes we are required to perform what is called a comprehensive review of the construction plans,” Roberts said. “And in doing so, we compare those plans based on their design criteria to the codes to determine if everything is applicable, and is in compliance.”
However, the review conducted by the county building department focuses on internal code regulations, such as the number of fire alarms in the building and proper HVAC and electrical setup rather than environmental code regulations.
Following the approval of the construction plans, the building department has the option to issue one of three partial approvals for the building project, which Roberts said allows the builders to begin applying for necessary construction permits at varying degrees of access.
Audio here of Roberts talking about different approvals
Typically, the first of the permits to be filed is the zoning permit, which communicates to the township or municipality zoning department the intent to build on the property and ensures the construction project falls within the zoning departments regulations, Roberts said.
“As in this case, Brimfield Township found that [Heritage of Brimfield] was compliant, and they issued their zoning permit to construct the building, and use it as designed,” Roberts said.
The LTC Brimfield LLC issued their zoning permit to the Brimfield Township Zoning Department on January 15, 2021.
The next step in the process would be to file a sanitary sewer permit with the Portage County Water Resources Department, and getting approval from the Ohio Environmental Protection Agency to install the sanitation system, which is customary for all commercial projects in Ohio. WIthout these permits, the building department will not issue the approval to construct, Roberts said.
The Portage County Building Department received sanitation permits from LTC Brimfield LLC on July 27, 2021. After receiving these documents, the building department issued a permit to construct, giving the builders full approval to begin the construction process.
When asked about resident concerns over construction starting prior to permit approval, Roberts said it’s likely a misunderstanding, since the property owners were within their rights to prepare land prior to permit approval, but that process is different from officially breaking ground.
Or audio here? “That’s where the confusion comes in that people see big, big earthmoving equipment, dozers and everybody’s moving dirt around and there was a giant pile of dirt as they scraped the land and prepared it for the construction and that was very obvious to everyone … but that work was prior to the actual building permit being issued, and a permit to do that work is not required.”
Though it is unclear what specific impact the Heritage of Brimfield project will have on the Kent Bog habitat, Niesz Kutsch expressed concerns over potential invasive species planted on the facility grounds or drainage pipes contributing to water runoff into the bog.
“They’re planning to have … two spots where drainage goes,” Niesz Kutsch said, “but it is going into a parking lot, so it will just kind of funnel up more towards the blog, and due to like the bog’s nature, all of this, like outwash will be one more harmful to it because the blog is like a pretty delicate ecosystem, and it’ll just get like trapped there because of the like underground shape of the bog.”
Most of all, she’s concerned about any potential disruption to the “unique” ecosystem within the Kent Bog and what damage that might bring to local plant species, such as the Bog’s 3,500 tamarack trees. The Kent Bog State Nature Preserve has the state’s largest, southern-most population of tamarack trees. The native species presents yellow needles in late fall, filling the bog with warm yellow hues.
“And the trees themselves are just so beautiful and weird interesting when you look at them up close, just the way the, the needles just like whirl out, it’s really interesting,” Niesz Kutsch said.
Niesz Kutsch said she enjoys seeing other species of plants, such as the xx, or the xx on visits to the bog with her father, something that’s been a favorite family trip of hers since she was a child, and she hopes that following the construction of Heritage Brimfield, the secluded enviornment of the Kent Bog State Nature Preserve won’t be disrupted.
“I know that like factually like whether you saw the building or not, whether they like painted the building like a bright pink or like a natural green, that in and of itself doesn’t harm the bog” she said, “but actually seeing construction and seeing buildings … you don’t feel like you’re in the wilderness as much. You kind of remember there’s a major road right over there.”
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