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CONTINUED FROM THE FRONT PAGE S E N I O R E V E N T S • Volunteer Wendy Levitch will lead par- ticipants in playing bean bag toss games on Thursday mornings, 10–11 a.m., beginning Jan. 9, at the Senior Center. • A series of screenings of the films of villager and filmmaker Julia Reichert will continue at the Senior Center on Monday, Jan. 13, with a screening of “Union Maids” at 3 p.m. The 48-minute film follows three women who left their small farms for job opportunities in Chicago and joined the battle for better conditions for factor y workers. The film was nominated for an Academy Award for best documentar y feature. • The Third Thursday Potluck and 80+ Birthday Lunch will be held Jan. 16, begin- ning at noon, in the Senior Center great room. Those 80 and older with a birthday in January will be celebrated with dessert and song. The Membership Committee asks that birthday persons sign up in advance by calling the Senior Center at 767-5751. The guest speaker will be Terri Holden, superintendent of Yellow Springs Schools. Holden will speak about the village schools and answer questions from those attending. To request a ride to the event, call the Senior Center at least three days in advance. tunities in Yellow Springs.” ‘Existing conditions’ Before looking at the village’s future, Sorrell started out his presentation last September with a look at the local present. “You’re getting older, you’re getting wealthier and you’re getting whiter,” Sorrell said, summarizing local Census data. Those figures, from July 2019, show a town of 3.565, with a median age of 50.6, a “significantly low” diversity index measure and a median household income of $75,836. “From the document’s I’ve read, that seems to be a concern,” Sorrell added. “Some of those trend lines need to be reversed.” Sorrell zeroed in on what he sees as the single biggest concern for the community’s future — affordability. “There is an affordability issue here,” Sorrell said. Specifically, the median home value, at $230,000, puts much of the housing market out of range of those living here. “[The average person] doesn’t have the income to support the cost of a house,” Sor- rell explained, “so they become house poor or are house burdened,” when they spend 30% or more of their income on their house. But it’s not all bad news here, according to Sorrell, who noted that more younger adults are moving to the village. “The one bright area of growth is when you look at the population, you’re going to see it’s tending more towards 30- to 40-year- olds moving into the village,” Sorrell said. “That seems to be your sweet spot.” In addition, Sorrell later added, the town’s share of people who walk or bike to work is twice the national average. Community weighs in The September meeting, attended by around 60 villagers and a dozen Village employees and elected officials, went on to include small group and large group discussions. Participants responded to such ques- tions as, “What’s the best thing about the village?” and “What challenges and oppor- tunities does the community face?” and participated in a mapping exercise where they marked places in town they want to be developed or conserved. Sorrell also set up meetings with “key stakeholders” to hear their thoughts on local land use. “Those focus groups enable us to have a really frank and detailed conversation to get at their needs and desires,” Sorrell said at a Council meeting in November. Special meetings were set up for the following groups: downtown businesses; Antioch College; large employers (Cresco, YSI/Xylem, Antioch Midwest, Yellow Springs Brewery, DMS Ink, Morris Bean); the Village Manager’s Housing Advisory Board; Yellow Springs Schools; local and regional developers, and local and regional homebuilders, including Home, Inc. Finally, Sorrell has received feedback from the comprehensive plan steering committee, a subcommittee of Planning Commission. Those committee members are Frank Doden, Marianne MacQueen, Susan Stiles, A.J. Williams, Dino Pallotta, Lisa Kreeger, Chris Mucher, Alex Kleine, Sarah Courtright, Ari Greenwald, Rick Kristensen, Terri Holden, William Ran- dolph, Karen McKee, Hannah Spirrison, Jeannamarie Cox and Stella Lieff. As a result of the public input he’s received up until now, Sorrell is starting to get a sense of where the community wants to go, he said. The meeting later this month will help refine those directions. Initial public feedback What has been said so far? Responses to the “best thing about the village” question at the September meeting yielded a variety of answers. A downtown that is the “mark of a vital, intact community,” a location close to major cities, tourism, the Glen, “community feel,” PHOTO BY MEGAN BACHMAN At the comprehensive plan kick-off meeting in September 2009, villagers, from left, Matthew Kirk, Jon Barlow Hudson, Alan Raney and Susan Stiles answered a survey question on the best thing about Yellow Springs. Another opportunity to weigh in on the future of local land use will be Thursday, Jan. 23, from 6:30–8 p.m. in the Mills Lawn gym, during a more casual, open house event. excellent schools, intellectual resources, and “the whole package” were some answers to the query. “A downtown that’s the envy of every town in Ohio,” one attendee said. “It is a place that has things like a pharmacy, a hardware store, a grocery store, a movie theater, coffee shops, restaurants.” “We’re an Ohio version of an old, tradi- tional New England village,” another chimed in. “That’s why we get so many tourists.” Although someone from the crowd said that “tourism itself” might be a threat to the village, another responded that “we need tourism.” “I think we’d be cutting ourselves off at the knees if we discourage tourism,” an attendee said. “We have to manage it. We need to have a balance.” Others agreed with Sorrell’s suggestion that the biggest problem with tourism is “vehicular management.” Asked, “what challenges does the com- munity face over the next five to 10 years?” attendees responded: infrastruc- ture (especially with climate change); Antioch College’s sustainability; the need for higher-paying jobs, affordable housing and housing for seniors; more interracial engagement; the need for long-term finan- cial planning; and support for businesses. “Antioch used to be the number one employer in town, so we lost a lot of tax base when they closed down and came back as small as they have,” one attendee noted. Another raised a concern about the future of some “private spaces that function as public spaces,” such as the First Presby- terian Church and the Senior Center. “There are a number of places in town where we rely on the goodwill of the people who own them in order to support our expectations of quality of life,” they said. Tourism again came up as an area of disagreement during the discussion, with one person suggesting a survey of tour- ists to see if they are actually supporting the shops and lodging establishments. In response, one person called out, “If they’re in town, they’re spending.” A third person suggested that some busi- nesses in town could actually be negatively impacted by tourism, specifically those that cater to the local population or that don’t serve food. The final question of the evening was about what opportunities villagers see over the next five years. Finding ways for people to live and work here, especially with high-paying “white- collar jobs,” was one response. Other sug- gestions were to look at siting new busi- nesses at Millworks, organic hemp produc- tion, making town more walkable and the “potential thriving” of Antioch College. “The main reason Yellow Springs is what it is today is because of Antioch College,” another attendee said. “If we can bring Antioch back … everything else will fall into place.” There was some debate whether the vil- lage has been successful at — and should focus on — attracting outside firms or not. One person said that as a rural commu- nity the reality is to “grow our own business here.” Another contended that the village was successful in attracting Cresco and might be able to find others that “fit the values of Yellow Springs.” A third person said “it’s a fantasy” to think the town will be able to “re-create the past” with large industrial manufacturers. Local zoning over time How is the plan likely to get used? For one, several of those interviewed noted that this year’s plan won’t “sit on a shelf” as past plans, but will live online, where it can be more regularly consulted and updated. Comprehensive land use plans are not legally required by the state of Ohio, although a process showing reasoning and forethought about local land use is. And, according to Swinger, such plans can help local communities better draft — and implement — their zoning regulations. Over the course of Yellow Springs’ his- tory, such regulations swung back and forth between eras of encouraging and restricting growth, Swinger noted. For instance, in the 1960s and ’70s there was much concern about whether the village was growing too fast, with projec- tions of exceeding the limit for a village of 5,000 people. Zoning was changed and the “greenbelt” was established. “So they put in policies in the zoning code which made it more difficult to grow,” such as requiring larger lots and frontages, Swinger explained. “Then they realized the reverse is hap- pening,” Swinger said, as enrollment fell at Antioch and fewer school-age children were attending local schools. The pendulum then swung again. “The visioning and comprehensive plan of 2010 then said we really need growth,” Swinger said. As result of that, the village’s most recent zoning code update, in 2013, made accom- modations for more infill by allowing more flexibility in regards to lot splits, accessory dwelling units and lot frontages. In addition to zoning changes, “guiding legislation” and changes to other local regulations could come out of the new plan, Swinger said. For instance, the local plan- ning code hasn’t been updated since 1991, and references Greene County subdivision plans from 1982. But times have changed, Swinger said. “We’ve had climate change and more rainfall, so we want to give people the opportunity to mitigate the water on their property before it goes into our storm system,” she said. When it comes to development in 2020, Swinger sees a need for more businesses and residences. “We need more people to help spread the costs,” she said of local infrastructure. There are growth opportunities on both the south and west sides of town. But first the community’s voice needs to be heard. “We really need the community’s input on what they want to see,” she said. Those who can’t attend the meeting can still participate in the process by visiting www.sustainableyellowsprings.com , where they can take a land use survey and par- ticipate in a mapping exercise to share their ideas for specific properties in town. Contact: mbachman@ysnews.com Planning the future of the village PLANNING COMMISSION MEETING AGENDA Tuesday, Januar y 14, 2019 at 7 p.m. Council room, second floor, Bryan Community Center, 100 Dayton St., Yellow Springs, OH 45387 REVIEW OF MINUTES • Minutes of December 10, 2019 Regular Meeting PUBLIC HEARINGS: • Conditional Use Application – R-C, High Density Residential District – Property owners: Kim and Todd Lemkau. Applicant Kim Lemkau has submitted a conditional use application for a Transient Guest Lodging (TGL) establishment at 114 S. Walnut Street per Yellow Springs Zoning Ordinance Chapter 1248 Residential Districts, Chapter 1258 Schedule of Uses by District, Chapter 1262 Conditional Use Requirements. Greene County Parcel ID # F19000100100007300 OLD BUSINESS • Review of Subdivision Regulations: Choice One Engineering • Sandwich Board Signs NEW BUSINESS • Report on Upcoming Recommended Change to Noise Ordinance AGENDA PLANNING • Pocket Neighborhood Development — YS Home, Inc. • Mobile Vending Conditional Use • Subdivision Regulations Text Amendment • Sandwich Board Signs Text Amendment • Noise Ordinance Text Amendment • Parking Minimums • P&Z Annual Report to Council ADJOURNMENT — Public Notice — The Village of Yellow Springs is committed to providing reasonable accommoda- tions for people with disabilities. The Council meeting is wheelchair accessible. Any person requiring a disability accommodation should contact the Village Clerk of Council’s Office at 767-9126 or via e-mail at clerk@vil.yellowsprings.oh.us.com for more information. Bauer Stoves and Fireplaces America’s best place to buy a stove or fireplace. 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