Council - Regular Meeting

So, it doesn't mean you're you're tied to what that plan says. It's to help you get going in the right direction. And so, over the years, uh, you can amend the plan. And I would think 10 to 15 years from now, it'll be time to create a whole new plan based on what the village looks like at that time or at that time, the city of Westville. You have any questions for me? I'll turn it over to our consultant who's going to present this draft comp plan.

Thank you very much. Uh good evening everyone. My name is Adam Rosa from Collabo Planning. I believe I've met most of you before. There's a one or two new faces here. So just a little background on who we are and what our role in the process has been. So we are uh an urban planning practice that works with communities, local governments and other you know folks to create visions for the future of of their neighborhoods or their towns or their villages. And what our role in this planning process has been is really been a facilitator. So what we what what we really uh endeavored to do was really listen to the residents of West Milton, the elected officials and the planning board members to help kind of craft this plan over a series of years. So it's a little bit unique in that we didn't do it all in a 9 month to a year period like you would perhaps see in other places. We we took our time. We kind of rolled through various sections of the plan starting with the downtown looking at the parks and the community identity and then we we led into where we are today which is the final document which includes really all of the ingredients of the comprehensive plan itself. And so uh this was distributed to you earlier this week. So, I expect you all to have read, interviewed, and mastered all 200 plus pages of this document so we can have our discussion here tonight. Um, no, but really I'm I'm really going to give you kind of a highlevel overview of what's in this bad boy. And what we'll really be doing from here on out is giving you the planning board some time to review this, provide comments and feedback if we need to make revisions to this draft before that it then goes to the council. uh you know that's the mechanism. So for some of you this may be your first time seeing just about everything in here and

for others you've seen quite a bit of this over the last couple years. But I'm going to start from the top and feel free to stop me at any point. Uh this is really intended to be both like informative to tell you what's going on in this in this document but also a workshop you know a conversation about the various elements of the plan itself. Okay. So, what we're going to do here today, uh, we've kind of gone through introductions. I'm going to tell you a little bit more about kind of comprehensive plan 101 and why we endeavored to kind of take on this plan process, uh, why we wanted to update it, how we used this document looking forward, and then what what's in the various sections like how is this going to guide the future growth and change of the village over the course of the next 10 to 20 years. I'll go through each of the sections of the plan again at a very high level kind of looking at the goals but underneath all those goals there's objectives and strategies that are much more detailed. Okay. So I I explained a little bit about who we are. Uh these are the team members Bonito and and Aisha who are on the line here today. So they're they're listening in to your questions and your feedback. They've been really instrumental in putting this document together and kind of fine-tuning it. So, a lot of what they hear from you all tonight is going to go into any revisions that we we take forward in this process. So, what is a comprehensive plan? It's it's really a long range policy document to guide decision-m here in the village over the course of the next 10 to 20 years. And it's an official document that gets adopted by the local government. So it's it's something that that you can reference and point to and refer to whenever uh a developer comes in front of you and says I want to do this or uh decisions are being made about community facilities or

infrastructure or even the schools you know how that fits into the future of the community itself. So it's really a road map. So the plan itself includes as I mentioned a series of chapters around things like land use, open space, parks, downtown. Each chapter has a series of goals. So the goals are are really kind of the high level what we're hoping to achieve. Underneath the goals, we have the objectives which really get into the measurable actions that the village can take over the next 10 to 20 years to really, you know, steer the ship in the right direction. And then we have an implementation section at the end which includes a series of um I guess uh matrices that have everything listed out. Uh we can check things off as they get accomplished. Sarah mentioned earlier about starting a main street program in downtown West Milton that's actually in the plan. So that's one that's an example of something where the plan is a living document and you can you can check things off. You can revise it. You can refine it going forward. So here are the kind of the core chapters, the core elements. I'm going to move this here so everyone can read this. Okay, let's try that. So we have the community character and identity chapter which really is more of the vision statement uh who we want to be as a village going forward at a high level and what what makes West Milton special and and what we want to represent it as. We have the downtown West Milton chapter which we spent a good deal of time and energy on uh earlier in the process that really creates a structure for downtown improvements and change and growth. Uh what types of improvements to the public realm which includes the parks and the streets? What type of new investment and

development should be promoted in the downtown area? Then we have land use which looks villagewide at where future land where future changes land use means you know residential commercial industrial open space. So the land use chapter helps to guide that future growth and a lot of that has to do with potential future annexation because the village is essentially built out. So when new growth happens at the edges of the community uh that this chapter will help to kind of direct the priorities related to that parks and open space looks at all the inventory of the parks that are here today and then talks about improvements to the specific parks but then also kind of [clears throat] overall guidelines for where we should be looking at investment in new park facilities or improvements to maybe parks park areas that are underutilized that can be a big bigger asset. Transportation infrastructure includes all the streets and the sidewalks uh throughout the village. Talks about improvements to those areas and I'll get into that a little bit. Economic development. We were just referring to the the plan that's in place to recruit new businesses into the community and into the downtown. Well, this has this has goals and objectives related to that. The community facilities are all of the things like the police and the fire and the schools and the library. And then the implementation section which kind of ties everything together nicely. Okay. Okay. So, why update the plan? So, Jeff mentioned the last one was done in 2004. Uh, I think a lot of folks didn't even know it existed. And it's probably I think it was maybe a five or 10 page document. I don't think there were maps,

graphics, photos, drawings. It was very much a series of goals. And so, you know, we took that into account as we started this process, but we wanted to create something that was much more dynamic and uh ready to be used for from 2025 onward. And so this really builds upon those past strategies to respond to challenges. Uh it supports budget and policy decisions as I mentioned. So when we're debating about whether the village should spend funding on this project or that project, we can always refer back to the plan and say well this helps to guide our course of action. Helps to recognize realistic opportunities for growth. Maps out a path to implement desired changes and that this is rooted in community feedback. There's been a lot of uh data that's been collected that's helped inform this. This isn't something that that Jeff and Calabo or the planning board or even the council just did in a vacuum. There was surveys, there was community outreach, there were lots of conversations with staff and other people throughout the village that helped inform what what's gone into this document. Okay, this gets into a little bit of a technical part of why we're doing a comp plan, but uh because it West Milton operates under a home rule legislation, the village can exercise powers of self-governance and the adoption of a charter. Uh and so the charter serves the village constitution, defines its powers, functions, government procedures, provided it does not conflict with state and federal constitutions. And so the charter really allows and and kind of sets up the the directive to create and adopt a comprehensive plan. So that this is all kind of tied together with with the idea of, you know, the the structure of West Milton as a home rural community. So again, this this plan is going to

help with decision-m. It it will really uh there's legal language that talks about that the council shall adopt and and potentially amend from time to time this document and that the uh after submitt of the comp plan by the village manager. It goes to the planning board. You all you know really refine this and providing feedback and then to the council itself. So our process began about three years ago in 2022. We started uh kind of with a series of community conversations and walking tours and learning more about the dynamics of West Milton that that rolled into our existing conditions. So we we looked at the demographics and the maps of various things that were here today and that included as I mentioned two different surveys that helped to inform this this document which I believe overall there were several hundred uh survey results that fed into a lot of the goals that have come out of this plan. So when people ask you, you know, why why we're doing this comp plan or why this decision is being made, you can say this this is really the will of the of the community. This is we've taken all this feedback and that that's informed these goals. So character, community, identity, we did the later half of 2022. The downtown chapter was really an entire year uh 2023. We also then got into the future land use plan. So, we were in front of this this group a few times talking about future land use that was happening kind of around the same time that some of the zoning ordinance work was being done. And so, we were kind of right in the mix with all of that. Parks and open space for 2023. Uh 2024, 2025, we we looked at transportation, infrastructure,

facilities, and economic development. So, all of these chapters have been kind of integrated and reviewed. And then we've taken the last several months to go back to these earlier chapters and update them with new things that have happened since then. You know, we've been able to get a a nature trail built in in municipal park. We there there there's been several uh funding opportunities that have come through for various programs. Uh the amphitheater in municipal park is something that's moving forward and that was a catalyst project that was identified here in this plan. So, we've tried to kind of go go in and fine-tune it and hone in on on the things that have changed over the last couple years. So, before I kind of dive into the different sections, just want to see if there's any any comments or questions or thoughts on kind of the purpose of this plan and how we're going to use it. just keep on going. Okay. So, as I mentioned, existing conditions was the first uh chapter of the plan. And so, as you go through, you'll see a lot of data like this that kind of captures a snapshot. We tried to update this again so it's as current as can be for 2025. But you can see, you know, the population is is fairly fairly stable overall. Uh the age distribution, median age of folks here in the village is about 41 years old. So a little bit younger than me. Uh but it's interesting to see, you know, the the dynamics compared to other communities, which we've tried to highlight as well. The racial composition, the educational attainment, over 90% of village residents have a high school diploma or higher. We looked at the employment of folks

here in the village and and the housing tenure. So it was kind of interesting to me that you think of West Milton as being heavily ownership in in all single family homes, but onethird of the homes here in the village are are rental rental uh households. So over 30% or 31% are renter occupied. So you have homeowners, you have renters, you know, people people come kind of from all walks of life. So then we really uh kind of got into the the community engagement portion and you can see we we've done a lot of popups and inerson things where people had a chance to really weigh in looking at the downtown but then looking at other parts of the community as well. We did things like you know giving people uh fake money to spend on their priorities to help us identify things that were most important. A lot of things with maps and models. So key person interviews as I mentioned uh the surveys that that really focused one focused heavily on recreation amenities that we wanted to see and then the other was much more general about the overall goals downtown walking tour the popups. So we were at the Fourth of July event. We were at um we were at an event here at the firehouse. We a lot of different ways to kind of reach people organically and then obviously a lot of these meetings with the planning board and the council over the over the last few years. The fall festival that was a big kind of milestone and success was opening the nature trail as part of this process and then the public meetings that I just mentioned. Okay. So starting with character, community character and identity. Uh we have a we have a whole chapter on this and it it's really about how Westbon aspires to strengthen its identity as a vibrant riverfront destination, celebrates recreation, music, and local eeries while preserving and enhancing

the vintage and timeless charm of the neighborhood or of the community. So we have this kind of river and recreation theme. We have this vintage timeless charm theme. like thinking about how these kind of get woven together as a overall vision statement for the community character. And we really want to ensure and and really reflect on how the character of the village is really shaped by the people. And so here's another example of something that's happened in the last year. That new mural downtown, this was in the plan and it's gotten done. And so these these are great successes. So, we want to continue to celebrate that, check it off the list, move on to the next thing, and build on that positive momentum. Uh there there's bigger things that we need to tackle like the the former Buzz Theater. Uh but, you know, you you get these small wins and you get rolling and and it it kind of creates that positive momentum overall. So the goals of this chap of this section really to ensure that the village utilizes its natural assets and public spaces to become that river and recreation community. So you want people when they think of West Milton to think of river recreation. This is somewhere I can go and have, you know, a great afternoon or spend several days in and around using the the recreation features that are here. We want West Mill to be a kind of a hub for music and food, offer enhanced hospitality and vibrant public areas. So that would that could be in the downtown, but it could also be, you know, Lowry Fields or other parts of the village where people come together. There's all we we know that there's great like annual events like the Fourth of July festival and the parades and everything that goes on. So continuing to build on that overall is going to not only um draw people here and create economic development but really strengthen the the overall identity of the village. We want to reflect that vintage and timeless character. We have

a lot of great u historic buildings here. You have a lot of great just history underlying that overall. And then you also have the a lot of the shops especially in the downtown area kind of cater to that um antiquey I would say oldtimey charm and that really resonates with people people I think people really find that important and it also draws visitors to come here. Yeah, we got the the downtown section which kind of uh builds off of again the the overall character, but downtown West Mill residents want to see it preserved the qualities and atmosphere that define the downtown area while introducing new features that encourage walkability, gathering spaces, and a thriving business environment. So, those are the kind of the top three things. So walkability would be like how do I how do I walk across 48 really easily without getting hit by a car or truck speeding through, but also how do I easily walk from my home to the to the downtown area with my kids in tow the the gathering spaces. So we know we have a municipal park. There's a lot of investment going on there. But the downtown plan also looks at what we're kind of calling the village square, which is the the municipally owned parking lot where the Christmas tree is. And I think that the lighting is going to be in a couple days. So, it's already like a natural gathering place, but how do you enhance that space to serve not only kind of parking needs in the village, but also uh a space for people to come together and celebrate and have food trucks and festivals, kind of building off of what's organically happening, but creating uh a more defined space. And then the thriving business environment just in the last three years there's been there's been some older businesses that have gone away but then there's a lot of new exciting things coming in at the same

time. So it's kind of the right moment for some positive change overall and redefining what the downtown's going to be for the next 10 years. So, we have a we have an illustrative plan in the in the document, which is really just a a nice pretty picture that shows where new things can happen in in the downtown. And so, it's organized around circulation, connectivity, parks, and open space, and then potential redevelopment of either public or privately owned property. So, sites that may be underutilized parking lots or vacant lots or things like that. So all of that is kind of defined in this vision. The fact that it's illustrative means it's not set in stone. It's really it's intended to show kind of the community's intent for how the downtown should evolve. But just because we have uh a building shown on one side and not the other or a mural shown on one building and not the other doesn't mean it has to be exactly that. It's just the overall intent, the ingredients that we want to put into the pot. So, we want to capitalize on the natural assets. Again, the the the Still Water River is a huge asset uh to the community and however we can better connect to that and leverage that is going to be important. Strengthen it as the quaint vibrant destination with yearround activities, foster a pedestrian friendly downtown, and then enhance local events, festivals, and gathering opportunities. Okay. From the downtown, we zoom out a bit to the the the future land use of the village as a whole. So, the village is taking a proactive approach to assess current land uses to identify how the community is growing and help plan for future growth that accommodates development, open space, and prospective employers. So proactive means setting

the course ahead of time so that you have a you you have a structure instead of just reacting to a developer coming in and and saying I want to build this or this or this and and then saying well we don't know if that's a good idea or not. So the land use chapter helps to is going to help to guide those future decisions for how the village should grow over time. So, we mapped the growth uh looking at areas of future change in areas that that may be purely residential versus more mixed use. And I think we even have a couple of smaller light industrial growth areas where where new employment could take root. And so, this is going to help to guide uh guide decisions when when you know the Still Water Crossings was a unique situation when it happened several years ago. first time a large development had happened in in quite a while here in West Milton and and annexation had to occur. So now there's there's growth happening on the east side of the river. How does that continue to evolve and then what happens on on this side of the river as well and going south and north at the boundaries of the village. So this chapter helps to define that portion of of the plan. So the goals are a mix of land uses that contribute to a stable tax base that advance the local economy that the village can support a variety of activities, businesses, and places to live. So variety is really the key word there that it's not a a one-sizefits-all. Uh you know, we're only doing single family homes. We're not considering other types of housing choices, senior housing, transitional housing, rental housing. This is really looking at everything and thinking about how how we can create choices for all the future families. The preservation of the natural

environment as new development progresses. You don't want to degrade your natural amenities. You have the the river and the hills and the green spaces. You don't want development to impede upon some of those places. So thinking about areas of preservation and areas of change is a is kind of a key objective of this chapter. So parks and and open space was the next uh layer that we that we uncovered as part of this. And so that was really about recognizing the importance strengthening the park amenities and expanding them throughout the community to build pride and to build ownership. And so we have city, we have village owned parks like municipal park, but then there are a lot of other natural green spaces, uh, spaces that are tied to the school. We have the the Cascades, which is owned by priv private ownership, but it's a a great natural amenity. So thinking about how all these things come together in a green network. So we wanted to look at the residential areas of the village which are shown in yellow, the future growth areas which are are kind of outlined in in pink and then think about where park investments should happen to to to connect to those areas. So you want to be able to to you know walk to a park in 10 or 15 minutes with your three-year-old in hand, you know, thinking about how to have have spaces like that. So where can we be like McCall Park was was one that we this is going to but number four there McCall Park it's back behind the IG a lot of people don't even know it's there so we spent quite a bit of time thinking about how that park could be improved expanded invested in to be kind of a green anchor for the southern part of

the village and conversely thinking about over at you know on the east side but it's still water cross it's not called still water crossings anymore All right. I think it's just changed his name. But um thinking about the east side of the river, as more and more residents move into that area, we want to also have park space available or connections to the riverfront uh so people have those amenities. So, kind of looking at all of that in tandem and and really creating goals about parks that are accessible, enhanced entry points for all residents. So, one of the kind of early action items that came out of this plan along with the nature trail was a new park entrance. Uh, the name of the street escapes me. Water street.

Water street.

Water street. So, kind of a trail head park entry at Water Street to allow access to the the southern part of municipal park and kind of going down the hill there. So, the public access, thinking about the waterfalls and other natural areas, how can we improve public access to those features? Those are really defining moments in the in the natural features of this part of the Miami Valley and we want to we want to highlight those. People will drive to your town to go see a waterfall and then once they're there, they're going to spend some money at at you know a store or uh you know go visit other things that are available here. So thinking about that additional programming and events. There's a lot of great things that are happening at municipal park, but we want to also think about where where can other green spaces be programmed with with other uses over over time to enhance them, bring people there.

Just generally more parks and open space. Yes, Sarah. Um, so that lot at water park where the new entrance is to the park. Yeah. Like to the trails, we're actually working on putting a park in there. [cough] Is that part of the plan? Yes. So, we we identified that as as kind of an entry point trail head. We know that the village owns that whole property. I don't think we we have specific recommendations for like a design for that space, but it it really fits in with we're working on it. We're going to we're going to have something ready in January. We've got an event planned for October for that spot, but I just wasn't sure if that was in that comprehensive land use plan.

Yeah, turn that lot into a park. But we do have intentions of putting parking spaces there. Um, I would point out too that it's not just access to the park. It's also access to the founder cemetery. Yeah. Which really is the when you say a cornerstone of the community, that's where the people that built this community are uh interred. Yeah, absolutely. So, it's kind of a will be a cool way to safely access that. So when you say when you say this will be a park, what what else are you thinking what happens in that space? I'm just curious.

So the plan I believe we're going to have permanent cornhole boards. Mhm. And if anybody's listening, we want to sponsor. So um the other thing we're going to have some picnic tables. So our thought also is making it super ADA accessible. Yeah. So not just like minimum standards, but like really ADA accessible. um to have an outdoor basically just seating area. It's not a huge location and then maybe like a like a swing a big kind of porch swing swing. Yeah. The pocket park concept. Yeah. Okay.

Well, that's great. Yeah. We we've identified it as like an entry point, but I don't think we really called it out as like a new park space. But knowing like what you all are planning, we can make some amendments to that section to make sure it reflects that. That's great. Thank you. It was Casey.

All right. So, community facilities and services. We sat with staff from a lot of the the various departments here in the village and uh organizations like Milton Union schools and the library and the daycare center try to get a a handle on future growth and needs for for the community overall. So the village just prioritized community facilities and services to identify improvements to meet current and future capacity needs an essential component to support future growth and development. So this really got into thinking about the overall infrastructure, the sewer, water, um the streets, the sanitation, how that kind of evolves and where investments are needed to support future growth. [cough] Oops. Uh looking at the the space here at Village Hall, but also, you know, a plan that really prioritizes the vitality of of the downtown area. We also made some recommendations on staff and resources uh for the village. So kind of like whether where staff might be needed to help fulfill certain goals. Public works really looked at community facilities and services that are designed to meet the needs of both residents and businesses. And so we sat down with staff and and really went over where investments are happening today, the capital improvements that are planned for the next year and then looking forward. And then the same thing with the police getting their their take on on things like recruitment. Uh looking at the resources and personnel that will be needed as the village kind of continues to expand. The fire department, they talked about their their equipment that they have today, what they could envision needing in the future, thinking about supporting the village and the the township as a whole, and then the staff and resources that really to really respond to emergency calls. the school district

awareness of programs. Pause you [clears throat] for a second. Yes. Go ahead. So, we got police and fire, but we don't have rescue in there. Okay. Um and that's kind of a to me the third leg of the stool that kind of meets that public safety realm. So, maybe if we could add add that in there in some way, shape or form that we're focused on it, aware of it, and addressing it. Yes. Yep. In all fairness, no, it's a great great recommendation. Thank you. Fire chief had made like his 10 year 20ear plan, didn't the police chief do of things that they want to buy over the next. Is that something that would go in this plane do or that live somewhere else?

It it could, but not necessarily. Yeah, I think we kept it a little bit vague, a little vagger um than having like each specific piece of equipment and such, but this is all based on conversations with both of the chiefs and them kind of relaying their information. Um, but yeah, we should make sure that that there's nothing in there that we we're not reflecting overall in this document. I think he might have done Adam. Yeah, Adam. Yeah, go ahead, Denita. Sorry. Uh I couldn't really um hear the question, but I might be able to provide some insight. Would you mind repeating it one more time?

So, the the question was just about the uh the fire department or the fire chief and the police chief have kind of a laundry list of specific items and equipment that they would like to purchase, I would say, over the over the short term. and just making sure that that was kind of uh clearly connected to what we have in the comp plan the fire.

So I I don't know if they can hear me. You I think they can repeat this. Uh okay, great. So hello everyone. My name is Benito. I have been leading this comprehensive plan update and have been working with um Jeff and Adam to connect the dots and bring other um additional substance into the plan that makes it useful for everyone and and and allows everyone to understand it. Um but in terms of the uh to you know to answer your question um the the the specific chapter um uh does uh just talk about like Adam said um high level information. We do provide some specifics again according to the conversations that I had with um uh the fire and and and police chiefs. Um and but we do uh but Adam is right. We don't get into the specific detailed list of uh equipment or items needed but we do uh you know emphasize that that uh type of equipment and services are needed so that they can perform their job accordingly. Um and again respond, you know, have the resources uh that uh respond to emergency situations. Um so again, if you uh go back and and and look at that plan um at your convenience, uh you'll be able to see some of that information there. Um and at which at that point if you feel like it requires uh a few more uh details or edits here and there um you know we can certainly make those um adjustments u as needed.

Thanks Bonito. Sarah, did you have another question or comment? Okay. Did somebody else hit that? Somebody was jumping in. I just feel like the your plan could just say basically this already exists sort of thing, right? Make a reference to it. Yeah. So if someone was reading it, they would know maybe that it is out there. I don't know. It could be incorporated to it as an attachment. Yeah. Appendix. I think that's actually a really good idea. I feel like he probably did that after you guys have spoken with him. Mhm. Cuz you guys had those conversations like in 22 and I think you did this kind like last year. Yeah, I think we actually spoke with him in the past six months. Oh,

so this should be fairly current, but I don't know that we got all that detail. That's okay. So, yes, send it to us and we'll at least like reference it and and kind of connect the dots. Okay. Uh, school district. So, awareness of programs and services provided funding to reinstate learning programs and bus services that were previously cut. So, these were goals [snorts]

uh for Milton Union Schools in addition to the existing school building to potentially increase space for learning activities and staff. Uh the library, the overall goal would really be a strategic plan that outlines the the key initiatives for the evolution of the library. They would love to have a new building that accommodates the needs and operations of library staff and patrons over time. And so, you know, we we wanted to to outline those goals. Uh daycare center that goes above and beyond to provide services and meet the needs of West Milton and the surrounding communities. uh additional staff and resources for for child care of all ages, economic development. So, efforts are underway by village staff to nurture local businesses and bring new economic opportunities to the community. And that's great. Like there's there's actual momentum going on through this to to really recruit the right types of businesses. [cough] [clears throat] We want to promote economic growth. a lot of the events, the assets and community community characteristics to help strengthen the lo local economy. And that gets back all the way back to the community identity and building off of that identity for economic development. We want to have a robust and strong tax base that supports local services and more. analysis of employment opportunities to identify potential employers that can be located in West Milton and partnerships with organizations to help strengthen the village's local economy. The the Main Street program would be a great example of a, you know, partnership, a structure to help strengthen the the economy in the downtown area. So, transportation infrastructure,

pedestrian safety is a primary concern. We heard that loud and clear. And so the the comp plan looks at places where pedestrian improvements can happen, crosswalks, uh sidewalks, etc. We've identified those areas. We've also identified areas for for bike improvements, bike facilities, could be a bike lane or a trail, road intersections, and then thinking about the overall trail network that we've begun to establish and how do we connect into the regional trail network here in the in the Miami Valley. So, there's some big moves in the transportation section. We've we've shown illustrative plans of two different I would say roundabout areas. One at 48 and 571 uh and then one at the southern part of the village at 48 and Frederick Garland Road. So these would be obviously big investments, big improvements, but these are the two areas that not only residents have identified as being trouble spots for circulation, but the data supports the the accident data that's happening at both of these intersections supports uh significant improvements. So really want to use that as as something for to start conversations with ODOT and other uh folks to really start to envision uh you know get the engineers in the room and start to define what some of these bigger public improvements can h can really look like in terms of street uh connections or improvements. So we want an accessible sidewalk, trail and bicycle network really promote that idea of connectivity. Uh the trail network encourages non-motorized vehicles in and beyond the village and kind of connecting regionally. And then the road network that's really designed to meet the needs

of residents, visitors, businesses, and the village services. So fire, police, rescue, making sure that um they can all navigate the road safely. Then we get into the the implementation section. This again gets into a little bit more of the the nitty-gritty, but really thinking about that the goals and recommendations here can be met through various different approaches. So it's dependent on changing priorities. There's timesensitive agendas for uh you know leadership changes every every uh year or so here. So there's different dynamics at play, but we want that the comprehensive plan to be kind of a foundation. We this implementation really reflects the community needs and potential development opportunities. It's contingent on funding. So Jeff and I have had a lot of conversations over the last few years about applying for different funding opportunities and grants and how do we strategically uh go after different funding layers that we can kind of put on each other to build to build a project up that the amphitheater and the park is a great example of this. Uh we have some funding in hand today. There's other there's other resources and partners that can kind of be brought into the fold to expand the scope of that project. So the uh the plan will require periodic review uh and and kind of commitment from the planning board to to look at this and revise it over time as especially as big changes happen. You know, if a new development goes in on the south side of town that's say 100 new homes, we want the plan to kind of reflect that and and be able to evolve with with something like that. The goals are dynamic and should be revised as needed as as the plan changes. I think in 2004 it was a much different world than what we're living in 2025. It's going to look a lot different in 2045.

So, you know, the plan needs to to continue to evolve over time. Okay, I said a lot there and I know that there's a lot more information in this document here. Um, but just want to open it up again to more kind of general questions. Uh if there's something that you think really needs to be kind of highlighted or emphasized in this document, if there's something that you really like that you think, you know, we really we're really representing it the way that you would all want to see it, you know, that's that feedback is good as well. Um but I'll stop talking for a second and just kind of open the floor up. more of a comment or an observation of the opportunities that have come our way. It seems like sometimes they come last minute, last second. Like the community block grant thing.

Yeah. I feel like we I feel like that came at us fast and furious last second. And the same thing with some other uh oh like somebody came in and talked to us about the the um Garland and uh 48 intersection and the possibility they were outside groups coming in and talking to us and it was always very pressured to get on somebody else's agenda or someone else's uh um thing had to be done by a certain time. What do we do as a community to be more at the forefront? Yeah.

I mean, what do how do we identify the things we don't know that we need to know? Like those are just two things that I felt like came at us from the sides and weren't weren't in our windshield, but of great potential for our community and glad they made it in our lane. But how do we how do we find those things and and coordinate them um like like this is supposed to be proactive? Yes. Yes.

No, I I I understand that. So, the plan actually identifies a series of resources for various projects that can be looked at that are uh local, state or federal grant opportunities for things like trails or bike lanes or or things like that. So, I would I would encourage, you know, when there's a conversation around a topic like that to take a look at this. Uh you might need to do a little research and kind of figure out deadlines for various things. Uh I think the the other thing is really just being really if there's a developer that comes in and is really interested in maybe doing something in the village like send them this document so that they understand they have a clear expectation of what the community or what the community's expectations are and what what your expectations are before they get too far down the road with something. you know, it the plan really talks about, well, you know, we we would accept or promote light industrial uses in a couple pocket areas here, but we probably don't want it right in the center of town. So, that that's just an example. We you want to be able to to use this to help inform some of those decisions, use it as a tool, give it to people. Even if it's not the whole thing, you can take out a section and say like

our comp plan, yeah, our comp plan says this. The other thing that we've we've already begun to do is for things like the the amphitheater grant application, we've lifted text and graphics directly from this plan to go into a grant application. So you can kind of say like, "All right, if you really want to do a new bicycle lane, we can we could pull out a section of that of this document, put it into the grant application, say that the comp plan is directing, you know, the the investment in this way, and you're already like halfway there for applying for whatever it is." And so you want to be able to like use it in that way, too, strategically. There's always going to be things that come out of left field and you're going to have to like jump on it and and align. Um, but I guess in the case of like the CDBG, we weren't successful this year, but there will be other rounds going forward. So now, you know, and you're kind of plugged in and you can prepare a little bit.

Yeah. just felt like our our our the staff uh uh did a great job of pulling together a quick survey and whatnot, but it it was all like, man, if we'd had 6 months, would we have been more competitive with uh what we put out there um on that? Uh

yeah, I mean, more time is always better, but you're in the same boat as most communities where it's like every everybody's so busy doing a million things and it's like, oh, there's an opportunity. Let's jump on it. We got to like we got to hit it quick. Pull everything we can pull together uh to put something in. But obviously if you know if you have more lead time and you can you can kind of like with the amphitheater idea get it get a little subcommittee together have a smaller group working on it and tracking those opportunities. That's that's a good example of you know how I would suggest going forward. when when you mentioned the parks and the the water street uh entrance and whatnot. Um I would also point out that the the village owns

was it 30 acres Jeff on the north or the east side across the river from the park and I think the that's in the plan. Y that that's such an awesome untapped resource that that could bring those two together. And I don't know where it's been left off, but the developer at the beginning of it, there was supposed to be some common use green space and I thought some some type of park within the development that so water crossing south. Yeah, with with the HOA or something. I was thinking back

there been in plans that I've seen since I've been here. I I don't know why I'm going back to the original sales pitch, but maybe in my head, but I thought there was something that was supposed to be again that would be within that neighborhood and not necessarily a city park, but

and that's a great example where the plan outlines the need for a park space on the east side of the river. If there's a large development coming in, like you can you can leverage you can leverage conversations with these developers to uh you know ensure that that a portion of that property gets used for a public space. You know figure out whether it's going to become a village amenity or something that's maintained by another group or whatever it may be. But like the intent is as development happens on that side of town, we need to identify a park location for these these folks that are living there.

So to me, this is invaluable, right? This is one of the reasons that we need this comprehensive land use plan so desperately, honestly, is to be able to identify to I mean, if you don't have a plan, you and you don't know where you're going, we're just kind of guessing. Yeah.

Um, and I've read some of the stuff in the comp in the other chapters, so I'm aware of like certain situations, but I think that this is really like why this is so valuable. One question that came to mind when he was talking about grants. So, you've obviously put in a lot more time than you guys probably do with other cities that you work with cuz typically I think in Troy it took like less than 18 months to get theirs completely done and adopted and we're at almost year four. Um, so when we have like opportunities because I know us on council, we all have full-time jobs.

Yeah. So to research grants and find this like that's just not it's just not feasible. Um but how long are you available for us to be like hey like we're at this point in the plan. We've got we've got these things done. Can you help us to identify some grants that may be available? Is that something that you guys can help us do?

Yeah we that that's something I I feel really strongly about. Like a lot of what we do is helping to go beyond planning and action. So I'm always, you know, whenever I see an opportunity for something that I think fits in with like a plan that we've worked on, I always send it to the client and say like, "Hey, this would be a great thing for um whatever it may be." Again, like going back to a a bike lane or a trail. This is a great opportunity I just saw. You guys should consider applying. It fits in with the goals of the comp plan. um you know, we're h we're happy to help write a grant application just at like an hourly rate if needed or we can connect you with somebody who can assist. Like we want to we want to, you know, play that connector role. Um but obviously there there's going to be a lot to kind of keep kind of keep your your head around in terms of different opportunities. A lot of villages and cities have like a grants manager position who who kind of tracks a lot of those things and applies for things every year. I don't know if that's something to consider. Maybe it can be folded into another role with somebody on staff, but that's not a unique position. That's something that's pretty fairly standard.

Would it would it be too far out of the realm? And again, not trying to um not to put planning board on the spot, but is that is that the group that is uniquely positioned to take us from a dream list or wish list to an action list? Is is that within the scope and realm of a planning board? You want to speak on that at all?

I think it can, but it it all depends. Uh the charter's not very specific other than they're the guiding body to the council on growth and and that means that's that's where the comprehensive plan comes in. Certainly uh we've talked about adding staff. There's several different areas that the village could benefit from additional staffing when you're ready to to make that addition. But uh uh we do the best in terms of looking for grants and applying as we can as well as all the other responsibilities that that Ben and I and the whole staff have.

Yeah. And things change constantly with every new administration in Washington DC kind of turns everything on its head. Different opportunities, different grants, different priorities. You have to be able to kind of roll with the punches too year after year. Yeah. Um, I'd love to kind of hear any thoughts from you all as well. I know you're kind of digesting this as we go through, but there anything you see in here that that you wanted to comment on or questions you might have?

I had one like um I like the idea of this being a living document and everything. Is there something that could be set in place for like to benefit the life of the document for the community maybe like um to help community members if they maybe see have access to the document um where they could I don't know put their two cents in anywhere um just as years go by 5 10 years down the road. Yeah, that's a good idea. I mean, I think a lot of communities obviously they post their comp plan on their website, but a lot of them kind of peel it apart into different sections like click here to look at the parks and recreation, click here to look at this.

Yeah, you could have a comment um you know box set up at each section for people to give specific comments on any of those things or if the city is doing other I know that you all did another survey recently. So there there could be ways of saying of saying like we want to ask you some questions about these things. This is what the comprehensive plan is showing like use that to to inform some of the questions and and feedback that you're getting from residents over time.

Okay. Um, yeah, I think that that's an interesting thing for the planning board to consider like how to how do you utilize this document with the public and and make sure that people understand it and they're they're um able to digest it because not everyone's going to take this big thing and through it, but there could be bite-sized pieces.

We talked about this whole the whole thing with the sidewalks and sidewalk improvements. So, There's a little bit of education that goes into that and then there's there's kind of like, well, these are the rules and this is the guidance and this is what we're hoping to achieve. And if people don't see the big picture, then they're going to be more reactive to proposals, but helping them understand what this big picture is, I think, could be beneficial. Yeah, I Yeah, that's just important to me being someone that can um kind of thrive, I guess, as years go by. I I really like that idea of combining what both of you said and the the idea of it being posted and and uh comments and feedback uh

even a QR code on a second page or something. I'm not sure if there's already a space for public comments on so you know the worldwide web, but I I would have it broken down maybe in chapters wherever we post it so that people don't get overwhelmed like they can literally click open up that chapter and maybe digest that and give feedback on that if they want but not have to scroll through the entire document. Yeah. If you don't want you don't want to search. Right. Right. take it on in digestible chunks if they're if they're so moved to do so. Yeah. But getting that community feedback, I think, is is an awesome idea. I think great suggestion. Um, yeah,

sorry, I I sorry, I had to move spaces so that way I can talk clearly. But, um, that is a a good idea. uh when I was talking to a couple of representatives from the school district, uh the library, um even the police and and fire uh departments. Um you know, it would be they they thought it would also be a good idea to somehow disseminate this information or make a copy available, you know, once the you everyone reviews it and it's formally adopted. uh but to have a copy at the at the library um to have a copy uh with the school district. And I think um there was just very preliminary uh discussions or just ideas being thrown out about, you know, um uh for example, the school district using that plan with their student body uh as well as uh staff, right? Um that's one way to get you know effective um uh uh or quality um comments on the plan and somehow um you know have that information relayed over to the village and again you get that you know u substantial information that that is that that brings value. Um, as uh Adam mentioned, you if you issue out surveys here and there, again, you can uh another good idea is just to tailor um some of those questions according to uh the information that's in the plan. So, there's several possibilities that were discussed. Um some are mentioned in the plan. Um but again, it just depends on uh village uh leadership and what you think is appropriate. Um these are what's in the plan are just you know the initial steps that you all can take. I know it is overwhelming. Um but you know uh you know collabo has been working

with um West Moon for for some time. uh uh you know um Jeff has been very instrumental in um helping to fill in some of those gaps and the people that I talk with you know always uh held him in high regard because he was able to uh identify additional funding for some of their initiatives. I know there were there was a grant that the daycare center was able to u receive because of Jeff's help. So again, uh it just depends on on the ideas that you come up with. Uh having the staff and the capacity to um execute um some of those strategies, but uh as Adam mentioned, we are here to help as needed and and again so so is uh so is Jeff.

Thank you, B. I think we need to do a better job of having a council and planning board joint meetings. I think this is the first one I've been to in five years. Um, you know, we do it with the school in the township quarterly, but when ODOT, I think, came and presented about the traffic situation at Frederick Garland in 48, you know, that was something I think these guys could have benefited from being there. Um, I don't think we know what they do. And I don't think they know what we talk about.

And I think there's a lot more that we could get done better if if we had established roles or met together and identified like, hey, do we want to pursue this park on the east side of the river? Well, what steps do we take? You know, you guys run with that and, you know, get Jeff to talk to Ron to, you know, do those things. But I don't think we do a good job at I think that's a great idea. We can do it quarterly, semiannual. You decide how often you want to meet and we'll put it together. I mean, I would see this being more important than our school meetings at this point that we don't get a lot accomplished from them, but this I think would be pertinent to actually make some real things happen.

Just let me know what my I think it be cool to do the meeting in the park, you know, do the meeting. Oh, yeah. I'm a huge fan of that idea. Yeah, I I'm just saying when weather season appropriate, you know, not a sledding event on the hill. In the summertime, it would be I think that's a great idea actually to like get out and just invite the community. I mean, obviously it's a public meeting, but invite the community to, but to get out and have a meeting out somewhere would be awesome.

Have you connected with retail strategies? Uh I'm not sure. Bonito, have we spoken to retail strategies directly? I know we're we knew that they had their study underway.

Uh no, we did not um have the opportunity to talk with them. I believe when um they were contracted to work with the village. Uh this plan was already uh nearing its uh towards the end of its drafting um draft phase. Um and I I don't believe any well again at the time when we found out that retail strategist was working with the village there wasn't enough information to um you know to to to get from them. Um so it's still an option that we can pursue at some point. Um, you know, although we we we we do have an economic development chapter. Um, that that information is incorporated into it, but once again, uh, it doesn't go into a lot of detail because it it wasn't a topic that was, um, you know, fully expanded, uh, like it was fully discussed by a village leadership. Um, so short answer is is is no. Um but uh you know uh we at at some point when this plan is is reviewed and and updated in in the future um [clears throat] you mean the that that specific chapter obviously could be amended to include whatever findings um that retail strategies finds and correct me if I'm wrong uh Jeff but I believe it there you're it's contracted for like a 5year uh uh strategic plan. It's a threeyear initial.

It's a three-year plan and they will work with the comprehensive land use. They have the chapters that have been completed. But I was just wondering I I will make that introduction. I'll send everybody an email just to introduce you guys because I mean it all works together, right? Like they're not writing comprehensively and use plans and you're not attracting businesses. So it works together. And I think I'll just I'll make that connection. Yeah. No, for sure. And and we should once this gets approved, we should send them, you know, a version or even if they're feel comfortable sending them a draft and saying like, we want you to be looking at business opportunities that reflect this community identity and character and this these specific areas that are outlined in the comp plan.

That would be awesome. These things do need a job together. Yeah, they and what's cool with them is they've also been working with Heritage Ohio. So like everybody's on the same page about I mean I'm talking specifically on the main street but everybody's on the same page about what we're trying to do. And so I think just having this comprehensive land use plan is like the foundation of what we're trying to build. And so if everybody has that even if it you know changes I can't see it changing drastically. I mean it might but if that then we'll just pivot. It's fine. But um I'll make the connection. Yeah, absolutely. That'd be great. Good suggestion. Thank you.

Anything else? Yeah, I have a question on like the efficiency aspect of it. Sure. So, have you found that it's more efficient for a group of playing board of like four people for example? Was it best to like maybe for each of us to pick our own one or two things that we find most important and kind of go divide and conquer approach or do you find it more efficient that maybe a group of us like a group of four people kind of picks the two or three things out of the hundred that are in here and like put more

Yeah, that's a good that's a good conversation point. Um, it might be most efficient for each of you to take two chapters and say like, I'm going to really review the parks and wreck and the whatever it is, the um, transportation chapter and share my thoughts with the other planning board members and then you guys could kind of like combine your comments based on that. It's however you really want to do it. Uh, it might be more efficient than having everyone go through the entire document, right? And if you have specific areas that you're you're most interested in or you have knowledge about, then it would make sense for for you to look at that chapter in a little bit more detail.

And there's and there's probably mutual ones like there's two to all of us might have mutual sure like find there's one or two things in here that we definitely all agree on the most that needs the most focus or some things in here that maybe can be pushed aside a little bit longer than other things. So

So I would say yeah, I would coordinate with the other planning board members on on kind of that evaluation and what that might look like going, you know, I would say like between now and mid January, it would be good for you all to take a close look at this. send the holiday season is right in the middle of everything. But if there's a way for you all to give it a fairly thorough review in the next month and a half, I think that would put everything on the right track to then have it go to council for further feedback, comments, and approval. I don't I don't want to set your schedules for you or your process, but that's a good suggestion for sure. Anything else? [clears throat]

Thank you very much. You're welcome. Thank you all. I know this is a lot.

Um, but it's been really awesome working with you on this. I love that there's been so many things that have been achieved over the last 3 years as we've been doing the plan. We're moving in the right direction. We got to build on those wings. And so just, you know, we're excited to kind of put the finishing touches on this, get it rolled out, make it very usable for you in the future and make, you know, have a great tool, help guide the the future growth of the village. So, thank you for allowing us to participate in this. Um, you know, I'm sure we're going to stay in touch on on many different things going forward, but just wanted to say thank you and um happy holidays to everyone. Thank you. Thanks, Adam. Okay. Thanks, Bonito. Signing off. Take care.

Is there [clears throat] any other business that you wish to conduct, Mayor? Is there any other business you wish to conduct? Um, is there any old business? Nope. No. The only other item I had for new business for the planning board, there will be a resoning request on the agenda for the January planning board meeting. I could obviously get you that information. Is that the only thing that we have

as of now? Now, um, can I give everybody an update, uh, on the zoning code? Uh, Councelor Fogle, uh, completed his review, um, and he and I went over it and it's been turned over to choice one to incorporate all of the comments and changes that he suggested. Once that process is complete, it will be provided to all of you to begin your review. There are still a handful of key decisions that have to make be made. Uh probably the most important will be coming to a consensus on what the appropriate distance for setbacks. As you all have learned uh 90

that that 90% of your business has been dealing with variances to modify the setback for sheds. Sorry for [clears throat] sheds for sheds and fences everything. So So um who actually deal with Exactly. [clears throat] Yeah. That's that's that's what you're supposed to do.

So, um so the point will be uh obviously you're reviewing this. We'll get you the new zoning code. We'll start working through it. Have as many meetings as we need uh and and hopefully sooner rather than later come up with a final version to recommend to the council to adopt as the new zoning code. Okay. Any other questions? That's all I have. If you're ready to adjourn. Uh, is there a motion to adjourn? Motion. Second. All in favor say. All in favor? I. Very good.