NORTHFIELD CENTER TOWNSHIP — The Northfield Center Township Board of Trustees approved two significant actions at a March 16 special meeting, resolving a long-running zoning dispute and reinstating its zoning inspector.
Trustees voted to authorize a settlement agreement with property owner Craig Skorepa drafted by the Summit County Prosecutor’s Office. Under the terms of the agreement, Skorepa will consolidate two parcels — identified by parcel numbers 4002247 and 4001907 — by Dec. 31, 2026, and will dismiss two pending legal matters at his own cost: an appeal at the appellate court level and an administrative appeal of a Board of Zoning Appeals conditional use permit decision.
Scareffa will pay the township a total of $15,887. That includes $3,887 within 30 days of the settlement to cover the cost of a replacement thermal imaging camera for the township fire department, and two installments of $6,000 each — the first due approximately six months from the settlement date, the second by Dec. 31, 2026.
Under the agreement, Scareffa is permanently barred from seeking to split the consolidated lots. The restriction will be recorded with the Summit County Fiscal Office and run with the land, not the owner, meaning any future buyer would be bound by the same terms. The settlement does not provide immunity from any future zoning violations on the property.
In a separate action, trustees voted to recognize that the resignation submitted by Zoning Inspector Scott Peters on Feb. 17, 2026, was never formally accepted by the board. Peters was returned to work under a modified schedule with limited hours and duties as appropriate.
