The Ohio Planners News | Spring 2023

ON THE COVER

The month of June is a dedicated time for celebrating LGBTQ+ Pride. Let's not forget that planning processes and outcomes create opportunities for people to feel respected, valued, and included.

Cover photo: NYC DOT

APA OHIO PLANNING CONFERENCE

Hello Ohio Planners! Across many countries, Pride Month takes place in June and is a time to celebrate the LGBTQ+ community, as well as Juneteenth here in the US commemorating the emancipation of enslaved African Americans. It is also a time to reflect on our roles as planners working towards achieving thriving communities in which everyone has equal opportunity and freedom to live a safe, healthy, and prosperous life. Equity, Diversity, and Inclusion is a focus and commitment of APA at a national level and here in Ohio.

In our chapter, conversations and dialog are occurring about representation in our profession and our organization. We’ve been working to develop strategies to tackle systemic underrepresentation and to eradicate injustices and inequities in our organization and planning as a practice. In 2020, our DEI Task Force helped the board identify specific actionable steps towards elevating equity, diversity, and inclusion in our organization and profession. Next is a look at our strategic plan. Learn more about our chapter’s efforts at www.ohioplanning.org/equity.

This is a start, but we all must do more. As we continue to strive to right the wrongs of the past and develop solutions that elevate a culture of inclusivity in our communities, I challenge each of you to think about how we are breaking down barriers and advocating for practices, programs and policies that push to create great communities for all. Get involved in an APA Division that focuses on planning issues of underrepresented populations. Bring up DEI in your workplace. Think about how you can elevate equity in your practice.

Some national resources:

• Equity in Zoning Policy Guide: https://planning.org/publications/document/9264386/

• Planning With Diverse Communities: https://www.planning.org/publications/report/9165143/

• Voices of Equity video series: https://www.planning.org/equity/voices-of-equity/

• Planning for Equity Policy Guide https://www.planning.org/publications/document/9178541/

Also, don’t miss out on our upcoming Professional Development Opportunities:

Northeast Ohio Planning & Zoning Workshop: Planners and zoning professionals of Ashtabula, Geauga, Lake, Mahoning and Trumbull Counties, along with APA Cleveland will be presenting the 2023 Northeast Ohio Planning & Zoning Workshop on Friday, June 30, 2023 at the Kent State University Hotel in Kent, Ohio.

Ohio Statewide Conference: The APA Ohio statewide conference will be held in Columbus from September 2729 at the Hilton Columbus Downtown. Keynote speakers include M. Nolan Gray, professional planner, expert in urban land-use regulation and author of Arbitrary Lines: How Zoning Broke the American City and How to Fix It, as well as Majora Carter, real estate developer, urban revitalization strategy consultant, MacArthur Fellow and Peabody Award winning broadcaster and author of Reclaiming Your Community.

Weekly Planning Webcast Series: Need CM Credits? Earn 1.5 AICP CM credits FREE each Friday at 1:00pm through this program sponsored by APA Chapters and Divisions and organized by APA Ohio Chapter. Over 400 video recordings on timely topics and content can also be found on the Planning Webcast Series YouTube Channel www.youtube.com/planningwebcast.

Lear more about our chapter activities at www.ohioplanning.org/events.

Cheers,

Eric Anderson, AICP, is the Director of Planning Services at KZF Design in Cincinnati and APA Ohio President. He can be reached at eric.anderson@kzf.com

MEMBER SHOUT OUTS EXAM RESULTS ARE IN

APA Ohio Members are making moves! Kudos to those who passed the May 2023 AICP exam.

Christopher Urban

Georgia Twyerould

Jordan Selmek

Belkis Schoenhals

Raj Roy

Taylor Mullinax

Patrick Logan

Achieving Zoning Reform in Small Cities & Rural Places LESSONS FROM PIQUA

The City of Piqua did something remarkable in April: We moved on from Euclidean zoning. We replaced our former zoning code in favor of a form-based code packed with all the zoning reform ideas urbanists are cheering for right now. And yes, it feels good!

As another city in the Midwest that has experienced the pains of nogrowth, we as a City organization are really here to support the final result. We do not have the same luxury rapidly-growing cities have to be able to take projects through a months-long procedural tunnel to get the permissions they need to go ahead. We needed our code to give a strong sense of direction early on to all parties

as to what is encouraged where so we can continue to foster our development-friendly reputation. The community also had goals to protect the great urban fabric we already had, and foster walkability and downtown revitalization. We hired Code Studio from Austin, urban designers with a long track record to help us get the job done, and I can’t recommend them enough. Having a bold and visionary team and the ability to just start fresh with the code writing was very freeing. What is also remarkable is that no one opposed this reform. The hordes of vocal NIMBY’s or whatever fearful storm of opposition you might expect to

turn out simply did not exist. Was this an anomaly? Really, who can tell if this result could be replicated, but as the city’s planner managing the project, I think these are the reasons we found such easy success:

• The city (pop. ~20k) is not growing rapidly, and every code change will take a little longer to become visible in the real world, keeping the atmosphere of the reform feeling low-stakes relative to a larger jurisdiction.

• The project took four years, giving the team (and me in particular) a lot of time for one-on-one conversations and adjustments for topics that may have not at first appeared to be problems.

• Piqua’s property maintenance program is getting stronger, and so it was possible to have better conversations about legalizing more forms of housing while emphasizing that high quality housing is better achieved through property maintenance and economic revitalization, not exclusionary zoning

• The reform was wholesale, and when you have the entire land use section of the code to replace, every individual change is less controversial.

So to all of you urbanist developers, if zoning is getting you down wherever you are, come check Piqua out. Move here like I did, we’re a great place to be already and getting better all the time. In our code you will see:

• By-right mixed density zoning in the traditional core of the city (duplexes, fourplexes, townhomes, ADUs)

• In suburban districts, ADUs that are attached are also allowed

• No parking minimums*, just parking management plans (*min. bike parking required

• Higher parking lot standards for reduced heat-island effect and better pedestrian comfort, shared parking required in some cases

• No minimum lot areas in the traditional core of the city

• Legalized corner stores and small scale manufacturing like the good ol’ days

• Administrative approval of common projects within the historic district, more challenging process for demolitions

• Drive thru’s and suburban strip mall forms only allowed outside the traditional core

• Easier transition of buildings in need of repurposing

• Administrative adjustments to help smooth along dimensional challenges, so we can focus on the goal rather than a long drawn-out process for development approvals

• Tree replacement and riparian buffer requirements

• Clear standards for manufacturing development, less restrictive height, so we can keep attracting new job-producing growth back to the city

Every zoning reform success story makes every other proposed change elsewhere seem that much more conventional and attainable. We are rooting for the success of all of Ohio’s cities the way we are rooting for our own. I hope other planners out there can open up our code and show their people – ‘see they did it, and all hell did not break loose.’ Keep fighting the good fight on leading positive change, and please check out Piqua’s Development Code in full at piquaoh.gov/550/CodePiqua.

Kyrsten French is a City Planner for the City of Piqua. She can be reached at kfrench@ piquaoh.gov

kevin buettner aicp

Kevin is the Director of Transportation at the Ohio Mid-Eastern Governments Association (OMEGA) and APA Ohio Board Member.

A Minute with a Member

List five words that describe you. Reliable, Ambitious, Dynamic, Practical and Intelligent

What brought you to the planning field?

Growing up in Ohio, many of the places I lived looked remarkably the same. During my time in the Air Force, I was exposed to different city structures in New Mexico and Alaska, which led me to realize there may be new ways to enrich our towns.

Why is it important to be part of professional organizations like APA?

APA, and other similar organizations, are one of the best ways to develop your skills. Graduation from college is really just the beginning, and you never stop learning how to hone your skills.

What is your favorite place and why?

My favorite place is my hometown of Springfield. Growing up there in the 1990s, the city was facing a lot of challenges. Today, the city has stabilized and turned a corner, with a remarkable transformation of the downtown and surrounding areas.

Kevin was interviewed by APA Ohio Executive Director Christine Dersi Davis, AICP. Kevin can be reached at buettner.kevin@gmail.com.

APA Ohio Biennial Awards Programs

The APA Ohio biennial awards programs honor outstanding planning and planning leadership in Ohio, recognizing the highest levels of achievement. This is an opportunity to highlight the best and brightest plans, projects, places and people in Ohio.

NEW! Beginning in 2023, the APA Ohio Planning Awards and the Great Places in Ohio program will join together. Separate nominations criteria and forms are still in place.

Nominations are being accepted for both programs until July 3, 2023

ohioplanning.org/awardprograms

Cleveland Inner Ring Suburbs

REMOVING DEVELOPMENT BARRIERS

When the Northeast Ohio First Suburbs Consortium met to discuss housing in 2020, they found a new issue confronting them. After years of demolishing abandoned or deteriorating single-family homes, cities were ready for infill construction on the vacant lots, but for many communities zoning requirements were hindering development.

“While some cities have updated their zoning laws over the years, some of our First Suburbs’ building and housing codes are over 100 years old,” says Jennifer Kuzma, Director of the First Suburbs Consortium, a government-led advocacy group of 20 inner ring suburbs around Cleveland. The group recognized that rebuilding neighborhoods would require addressing planning and zoning issues to set the table for development.

The First Suburbs Consortium partnered with the Cuyahoga County Planning Commission, the Cuyahoga County Land Bank, and First Federal of Lakewood to undertake a Single-Family Zoning Analysis to study the problem. The goal of the analysis was to identify issues within zoning regulations that can make constructing desired infill housing difficult or costineffective, and to outline best practices and incentives that can make infill more practicable.

Beginning in 2021, the Cuyahoga County Planning Commission undertook Phase 1 of the project, which identified the opportunities and obstacles for infill housing. The analysis found more than 5,300 single-family zoned vacant lots in the First Suburbs—the vast majority of them individual lots within builtup neighborhoods.

Importantly, zoning was not always aligned to allow development on these lots. Of all single-family zoned lots in the First Suburbs, 41% did not conform to minimum lot size requirements, and 48% did not conform to minimum lot width requirements.

Mary Cierebiej, Executive Director of the Cuyahoga County Planning Commission, explained, “Zoning in many First Suburbs was not designed for infill housing. Even rebuilding the same house that had been there before often required multiple variances, which take time, money, and effort.”

To address the obstacles, the Cuyahoga County Planning Commission developed resources for communities as part of Phase 2. These include a Code Update Options document that describes how to approach changes to zoning, an Infill Incentives Options guide that outlines various ways to incentivize new development, and a Design Guidelines Guidebook that describes best practices and example code language for design guidelines. Additionally, the project includes an online tool that allows communities to test zoning changes against existing lots.

The Cities of Berea, Euclid, and South Euclid were active participants in the process to ensure local buy-in and expertise. Two of those communities—Euclid and South Euclid—are partnering

Infill homes such as this house in Maple Heights are important to rebuilding neighbhorhoods that experienced significant demolition after the Great Recession.

with the County Planning Commission to update their singlefamily zoning districts as part of the study.

In South Euclid, the community is working to add an infill housing overlay district to ease the process of building infill single-family homes. The overlay district would reduce minimum lot size and minimum lot width requirements across four zoning districts. In one district alone, reductions in required minimum lot sizes and widths would bring approximately 1,170 more lots into code compliance.

As the analysis concludes, the partners look forward to additional communities using the resources to adjust zoning and ultimately attract more infill housing. “We want to see more homes, more people, and more investment in our neighborhoods,” says Kuzma.

For more information on the project and to download the final documents, please visit www.CountyPlanning.us/ Singlefamily

Patrick Hewitt, AICP is the Planning Manager, Strategy & Development for the Cuyahoga County Planning Commission. He can be reached at phewitt@cuyahogacounty.us.

APA OHIO LEGISLATIVE

NEWS

A SNAPSHOT OF WHAT YOU NEED TO KNOW

The Ohio Budget. The state of Ohio enacted its two-year transportation budget, effective July 1st, which appropriates $13.5 billion in state and federal revenue to infrastructure investments for fiscal years 2024-2025. Provisions include $198 million allocated to public transportation, $964 million for local government programs and projects, $2.9 billion for the Brent Spence Bridge Corridor Project in Hamilton County, and a $10 million statewide transportation systems needs analysis. A controversial change impacting local decision making on bike lane infrastructure was removed. Despite opposition, the final transportation budget did include a mandate for Interstate highway interchange construction under certain circumstances. The parameters would require an interchange be constructed on I-71 between Medina and Cuyahoga Counties.

The APA Ohio Legislative Committee is made up of a volunteer group of APA Ohio board members and APA Ohio members. If you have an interest in policy and advocacy and would like to hear more/join the committee, please email info@ohioplanning.org.

The main operating budget remains in negotiation between House and Senate versions and needs to be signed and enacted by midnight June 30. More information on the budget, including line item comparisons, can be found on the Legislative Service Commission’s website: https://www.lsc.ohio.gov/budget

Senate Joint Resolution (SJR) 2. The Ohio General Assembly passed legislation requiring at least 60% voter approval of constitutional amendments, rather than the current 50% threshold. Because the measure was passed as a joint resolution, it does not require the Governor’s signature for passage, but will instead appear before the public in a special election in August. If approved by the voters, future constitutional amendments would need to reach the new 60% approval threshold to amend the Ohio Constitution.

Legislative Action on Behalf of Planners. We continue to monitor several other pieces of legislation as guided by our policy platform, including changes to eminent domain law, affordable housing, economic development tools, and more. APA Ohio remains actively engaged in collaboration with our partner, Greater Ohio Policy Center, on developing a program to provide financial and technical support for zoning code reform across the state. The issue is currently under consideration as part of the operating budget process through the Housing Technical Assistance Fund appropriations. The Legislative Committee is also planning APA Ohio’s first legislative advocacy day as part of the statewide planning conference in September. Stay tuned for details on how you can get involved in the legislative process!

Learn more at www.ohioplanning.org/policy

Sam Perry, AICP is the Director of Community Development for City of Oxford, Ohio and Chair of the APA Ohio Legislative Committee. He can be reached at sperry@cityofoxford.org.

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