The Man with the Plan

Longtime public servant is invaluable member of Planning Commission

GERALD DoMANIK USUALLy tALKS of the future as he walks down memory lane.

For Domanik, who most people know as “Gerry,” memory lane is a pathway lined with mileposts of his volunteer public service over 33 years – planning and zoning, tax levy and bond issue campaigns, fire department adviser, provider of canine cheer to the ailing elderly.

Still going strong, the silver-haired Domanik, 70, is perhaps best known for his 14 years on the Westerville Planning Commission, which has influenced much of the development within the city. He has stayed at it so long because the commission contributes to the good of the community and because, he says, “it’s not political.”

The chatty and personable retiree –he spent 30 years with Ohio Bell Telephone, AT&T and Lucent Technologies –immediately begins an interview session discussing the smallness of Westerville when he, along with wife Joan and sons Craig and Christopher, settled on the northeast side of the city in 1979.

The city had “10,000 to 12,000 people max,” Domanik says. “Now we’re pushing 40,000.”

His commitment to service began with the Olde Mill Civic Association and a successful effort to head off a proposed apartment development nearby. He has campaigned for fire and safety levies and a bond issue for development around St. Ann’s Hospital construction in the 1980s. He has served on the fire board and twice on committees interviewing prospective firefighters. He helped review the zoning code and is on the city’s Tax Incentive Review Council.

That apartment project skirmish was “kind of a first blush with those things,”

Domanik says. “I got to know some people on (Westerville City) Council. One thing led to another,” and he was named to the Board of Zoning Appeals, where he served five years as chairman.

The board deals with issues that involve violations of or variations to the zoning code. For instance, once a homeowner, without approval, built a front porch that extended well beyond the required setback line. The upshot was that it had to be removed and was rebuilt to conform, Domanik says.

In 1991, he was named to the Planning Commission, the seven-member body that considers proposals for zoning or master plan changes, or modifications to and compliance with one or both. Some matters are contentious, some are not. Domanik says he believes in finding the right solution, regardless of what it is.

“I’ve always believed in compromise,” he says, because “sometimes the book has a hard cover, sometimes it’s soft.”

The commission helped create the 941 Plan, a development plan for that many acres north of County Line Road, the area between Africa and Worthington roads, most of which is south of Polaris Parkway. “We had a blank slate. We had a chance to think this out,” he says, quickly admonishing that any such plan “should be dynamic because it continually changes.” Large parts of the area are vacant, but development proposals still are evolving that might require some change in the plan. Roads planned by the city are part of the dynamic.

In recent years, the Walmart development at Schrock Road and State Street has taken up a great deal of the commission’s time. It wrestled with the developer and neighbors before approving a redevelopment that allows the store but calls for far more improvements to the nearly vacant shopping center site than the developer originally proposed.

The issue, Domanik explains, was that the commission could not stop Walmart from being a lessee. It could deal only with other issues, such as access, screening and appearance.

“That was a good fight. It really was,” Domanik says. “The precedent was set a long time ago. … We deal with property use, not who’s using it. We make sure we get the best we can get for Westerville and its citizens as a whole.”

Getting the best for Westerville and its citizens involved a lot of work by the city’s development staff, whom Domanik more than once refers to as “a fantastic staff of people.”

Most of the time, the commission’s recommendations go to City Council for approval, and few have been sent back in Domanik’s time on it. He doesn’t regret any vote he has cast, with two minor exceptions: a garage ended up too big after receiving a zoning variance and a home builder was allowed to sell lots to another resulting in homes of lesser quality than had been proposed.

But that’s not all Domanik is about. Domanik is a member of the Westerville Uptown Merchants Association and its signage committee by way of owning a building at 59 E. Home St. where his wife has had a beauty shop for 20 years. The second floor is rented for offices and Domanik says he’s “director of maintenance.”

“That’s ‘janitor,’” he clarifies.

He has high hopes for Uptown through redevelopments, such as an upscale delicatessen that’s coming and a city-backed plan to improve the façade of many buildings to help retain the ambiance of an older, friendly neighborhood. The commission and area have had ups and downs in recent years, Domanik says, but he’s optimistic, particularly with the upcoming façade improvements.

Domanik is preparing to resume what is perhaps his favorite activity: taking his Irish setter to visit the sick and elderly. He lights up talking about it.

For eight years, Domanik and registered therapy dog Killian visited patients at Mt. Carmel St. Ann’s, an Alzheimer’s center and the Village at Westerville. The Ohio Chapter of the National Alzheimer’s Association once named Killian Volunteer of the Year.

Domanik fondly tells of Killian resting his head for 20 minutes on the pillow of a terminally ill relative who was cheered by his presence. He also remembers when an Alzheimer’s patient, otherwise unresponsive, reacted happily to pet Killian.

Killian had to be euthanized two years ago. Now, Domanik has 2-yearold Trev, a distant nephew of Killian, who he’s training as a therapy dog after spending many months traveling to dog shows to make Trev a grand champion. Domanik, who had to be trained to retrain Trev, describes him as friendly, receptive to what he’s learning and eager to be petted by strangers.

Domanik – whose health is excellent, memory sharp and knowledge and experience irreplaceable – is not sure whether he is willing to serve a fifth term on the Planning Commission. Down the road, he doesn’t foresee much if any annexation or major single-family home development in Westerville. More apartments would be good, but overall, he does not want to do anything to dramatically change what Westerville is.

Meanwhile, he’s looking toward returning to the canine therapy visits. He terms it “the greatest experience of my life.”

Duane St. Clair is a contributing editor. Feedback welcome at gbishop@cityscene mediagroup.com.

By Garth Bishop