GOVERNMENT AFFAIRS
While State and Regional Leaders Talk About Housing, Local Work is Needed By Malcolm Porter
T
here continues to be increased understanding of the reality of the housing deficit in central Ohio. Greater awareness comes from ongoing regular news coverage of Intel and other new business expansions, record high home prices, record low time on the market to sell homes, and double digit rent increases. At its core, our housing market has a supply problem and is unable to meet the constant, and increasing, demand of the approximately 60 new residents who move to the region every day. Awareness is the first step to addressing any problem. So, it is a necessary step to have increased understanding of our housing challenges by elected officials, economic development professionals, business leaders and the non-profit community. As necessary as awareness is, it is not sufficient. To achieve a healthier housing market, real change needs to occur. Change needs to occur in many ways. We have more control over some areas of needed change than others. Inflation, material costs, supply chain delivery time challenges, tariff policy and general labor market
24 BUILDING INSIDER QUARTER 2 • 2022
realities are difficult to influence in the short run at the local level. While we must work to do what we can in these areas, there are other challenges that our region has direct control over, and we must work to address these problems as quickly and completely as possible. In this local category, we are referring primarily to issues related to land use, development plan approvals and transportation. These are areas where the BIA is fully engaged in trying to shape outcomes and catalyze new policy to better support our housing market. What are some of the key local agenda items around central Ohio? • Columbus Zoning Code: in April the City hired two consulting firms to provide staff capacity for a comprehensive rewrite of the City’s 50-year-old code. The City is considering focusing its initial efforts on specific transportation corridors where federal funding for new transportation efforts could support increased in-fill development opportunities. The BIA is working to further engage the City with some policy changes that could reduce the prevalence of the most common zoning variance requests. • Columbus Development Plan Approval Process: this ongoing challenge has received new focus from department directors in the City and a new public/private working group has convened to work on common issues related to review and approval timelines. • Licking County Planning and Zoning Updates. The Intel announcement has highlighted
numerous challenges at the county, municipality and township levels. The BIA is an advocate for state resources being interjected into various communities to increase the much-needed professional capacity at all levels of local government to do the planning, development and building reviews and approvals. Significant utility infrastructure capacity increases will be needed for the next decade. • Regional municipal updates to comprehensive plans, zoning codes, appearance codes and subdivision regulations are needed. Work is underway in communities including Grove City, Delaware City, Plain City, Fairfield County and Circleville, as well as in selected townships. More of this work is needed and the BIA is working to encourage and support each community to update their plans to better define their role in the region’s growth in the coming decades. The BIA seeks to be a catalyst to help convene new solutions to serve our region. However, Ohio’s home rule provisions mean that meaningful changes have to occur in local communities. The BIA is committed to working on both fronts. The Board of Trustees will lead both the Builders and Developers Council as well as the Multi-Family Council, in working through details of new policies and initiatives. All BIA members are invited to these forums to share ideas and input. Malcolm Porter is Public & Government Affairs Consultant for the BIA.
