Present for the last Village Council meeting, Monday, Oct. 20, were, from left, Brian Housh, Carmen Brown, Gavin DeVore Leonard and Kevin Stokes and Village Manager Johnnie Burns. (Video still)
Village Council wavers on Short Street future
- Published: October 30, 2025
The results are in — and they’re mixed.
At the most recent Village Council meeting, Monday, Oct. 20, Assistant Village Manager Elyse Giardullo presented the findings of a survey regarding the state and future of Short Street.
Since June, the downtown road has been closed to vehicular traffic, and through Village-led efforts, has become a community gathering space — one that has since drawn both considerable criticism and praise.
Of the total of 969 individual responses to the survey, 47% respondents said “yes” to making the pedestrian-only space permanent, 42% said “no” and 11% were unsure.
Assistant Village Manager Elyse Giardullo compiled and presented at the last Village Council meeting, Oct. 20, data collected from a community survey regarding the future of Short Street — namely qualitative and quantitative impressions over the pilot project of closing the road to vehicular traffic for the establishment of a community space. There were 969 responses to the survey, which was conducted over the last month. (Data courtesy of the Village of Yellow Springs)
“Can the space be beneficial?” 53% said “yes,” 31% said “no” and 16% were unsure. Of the respondents, 55% identified as a “user” of the community space, 45% were “non-users.”
Among those who filled out the survey — which was open Sept. 19 through Oct. 13, and included both single choice and open-ended questions — over half of the respondents were baby boomers, or 55 and older; 18% identified as Generation X, 24% as millennials, 2% as Generation Z and 4% preferred not to say.
Generally, generations younger than baby boomers responded positively to the year’s changes to Short Street and said they would support making the community gathering space permanent.
Giardullo’s presentation also included “top themes” raised in the survey results: The most statistically significant “negative” themes were toward the ways in which the Short Street pilot has affected downtown parking, traffic flow, businesses and usage of the physical space itself.
Following Giardullo’s presentation, Council members, administrative staffers and villagers spent the next hour going back and forth over the next steps — mainly attempting to answer the questions: “Should Short Street be reopened to traffic or not? If so, when?”
None of the four Council members present were able to suggest a definite path forward and directly answer those questions; Trish Gustafson was absent.
In a memo to Council, Giardullo outlined three potential decisions Council could make: Reopen the street to vehicles after the conclusion of the pilot; maintain the space as temporary/special-event use, allowing flexibility to open and close as needed; or, close the space permanently and pursue upgrades or further visioning for the area.
Since closing to vehicle traffic in June, Short Street has seen its fair share of planned and impromptu gatherings of villagers and visitors. (Photo by Reilly Dixon)
“Based on observations from the pilot and survey feedback, the village manager recommends permanent closure,” the memo reads. “Permanent closure would allow the Village to make improvements and install features that are not feasible in a temporary setup. Certain upgrades, fixtures and long-term amenities require a fixed space to be effective.”
Among those upgrades precluded by the presently impermanent status of Short Street are permanent bathrooms. Manager Burns said the Village was turned down for grant funding to replace and upgrade the portable toilets, and was told that money would be more accessible if funders could be assured Short Street would remain closed.
Much of Council’s indecision on Monday stemmed from the lack of a definite plan for future improvements, should the street remain for pedestrians only in perpetuity.
“It would be great to have some kind of plan,” Council Vice President Gavin DeVore Leonard said, addressing Village Manager Johnnie Burns. “We still don’t know how much it’ll cost and how it’ll be managed.”
To that end, Council members directed Manager Burns to return to Council at an upcoming meeting with a more concrete plan on how he would ideally reconfigure Short Street, if it were to remain a community gathering space.
Short Street has been closed to vehicular traffic since June. (Photo by Reilly Dixon)
To some villagers who attended Monday’s meeting, that charge to Burns indicated that the permanent closure of Short Street was a foregone conclusion, and flouts the initially proposed timeline of the pilot project.
Downtown business owners Matthew Kirk and Marsha Wallgren reminded those at the dais that the Village said earlier this year the closure of Short Street was touted as a finite experiment.
“Part of this whole exercise is a trust-building exercise between the community and the leadership, the Council and the administration,” Kirk said. “That means we have to be good on our word. It was said this project was going to be taken down after fall Street Fair — it was going to be a trial. We all did that. Now to say you’re going to leave it open-ended seems like a violation of the trust the community put in you guys.”
Already, some Short Street events past the previously stated expiration date of Saturday, Oct. 11 — fall Street Fair — have been planned. Local tattoo parlor Lucky Bunny aims to host a family-friendly Halloween gathering on Oct. 31 in the community space.
Burns also indicated that some community members have expressed interest in hosting Thanksgiving- and Christmas-related events on Short Street in the coming months.
The original rendering of the Short Street pilot project. (Rendering courtesy of the Village of Yellow Springs)
Owing to the unclear state of Short Street in the months ahead, Chamber of Commerce Director Phillip O’Rourke beseeched Council for some clarity as he plans holiday programming around the downtown business district.
“The level of uncertainty is great,” O’Rourke said. “Having no deadlines perpetuates the chaos.”
Ahead of Monday’s meeting, O’Rourke penned a letter of support for the community space project on Short Street.
“The Chamber recognizes the importance of maintaining this area as a non-commerce-driven space, ensuring that its purpose remains rooted in community connection and cultural enrichment,” he wrote.
Another letter of support came from YS Schools Superintendent Terri Holden who noted that the district has seen a “marked improvement in both safety and efficiency during arrival and dismissal” at Mills Lawn Elementary since Short Street closed.
“The elimination of vehicles turning from Short Street onto Walnut has significantly reduced congestion, confusion and potential hazards,” Holden wrote. “In years past, we have unfortunately witnessed several instances of near-misses between cars and pedestrians. … As we prepare for the addition of a district preschool in Aug. 2027 … maintaining the highest standards of student safety becomes even more critical.”
Police Chief Paige Burge echoed that emphasis on safety.
“It is the most compelling thing to me,” she told Council members. “Before you make a decision, I want to make sure that safety is the number one thing you consider.”
Village Council will revisit the topic of Short Street — potentially making a decision on its permanent closure, temporary reopening or permanent reopening — at the group’s next meeting, Monday, Nov. 3. The News will continue to provide updates.
In other Council business, Oct. 20—
These 58-plus acres are connected to two other parcels — all three amounting to 185 acres of contiguous farmland owned by the Welch family. Working with potential buyers of this land, Tecumseh Land Trust aims to place one or more conservation easements on the farms, keeping it agricultural in perpetuity. (Submitted photo)
$113,000 to be released for TLT
By a unanimous vote, Council approved an ordinance that authorized supplemental appropriations for the fourth quarter.
Among those appropriations was the acceptance of several monetary donations, including $4,078 generated from T-shirt sales and parking fees from Street Fair, a $1,000 donation for a forthcoming public safety event, as well as a donation for coats and school supplies for village youth.
Perhaps most significant among those authorized appropriations was the withdrawl of $113,000 from the Village’s Greenspace Fund — money slated to be donated to local farmland conservation nonprofit Tecumseh Land Trust, or TLT, upon the passage of a resolution at the Nov. 3 Council meeting.
$113,000 was requested by TLT Executive Director Michele Burns for the purpose of allocating a conservation easement on 185 acres of farmland directly west of Village limits on Dayton-Yellow Springs Road.
A conservation easement on the land, if executed, would keep it agricultural in perpetuity, preventing any kind of industrial or residential development.
Reached for comment on Tuesday, Burns was unable to specify the finality of the preservation of the farmland — known locally as the Welch Farm, after the family who has owned the three agricultural parcels for several generations. However, Burns did say that the land is under contract with a buyer who is working with TLT to place a conservation easement on the property.
As the News has reported in the past, the Welch farm — specifically the largest and easternmost parcel — contains around 1,800 feet of the Jacoby Creek, a source for the village’s drinking water.
The land has long been identified as a “priority area” for preservation by the Village’s Comprehensive Land Use Plan, which states in part: “the Village should continue to support farmland preservation and conservation efforts, particularly in the northwest quadrants of Miami Township.”
Village crew member Bryan Rogusky made the annual drop of flour and sugar at Barbara Hartwick’s home in 2024. (Photo by Reilly Dixon)
Flour and sugar for more?
It’s nearly that time of year again — time to honor the legacy of 19th-century Yellow Springs resident and philanthropist Wheeling Gaunt by passing out flour and sugar to all the village’s widows and widowers ahead of the holiday season.
By a unanimous vote, Council approved a resolution to approve the annual distribution of the baking supplies, thus taking $1,000 from the municipal “Widows Fund” for the gesture.
Ahead of the vote, though, villager and Council hopeful Scott Osterholm requested that the Village consider expanding the flour and sugar distribution to include those widows and widowers with close personal ties to Yellow Springs, but who live just beyond village limits.
“I’m going to leave this one up to Council,” Manager Burns said.
Council agreed to review the policy “offline” and bring it back for potential revision at a future meeting.
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