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Youngstown residents urged to speak up on zoning
YOUNGSTOWN
City officials are inviting Youngstown residents to help develop a new zoning code.
The code will replace the city’s zoning law, written in 1969.
The Youngstown Redevelopment Code will be discussed at a meeting at 7 p.m. Wednesday at Trinity United Methodist Church, 30 W. Front St.
At the meeting, residents will hear how they can assist with creating and implementing the code, said Bill D’Avignon, the city’s community development agency director.
City officials plan a series of public-input meetings starting July 11 in various neighborhoods, he said.
The schedule calls for the code to be in front of city council for adoption by December, D’Avignon said.
The code will complement the city’s Youngstown 2010 land-development plan adopted six years ago, D’Avignon said.
It will be a tool for regulating the location, form and appearance of land use and buildings. The purpose of zoning is to provide clear, predictable and fair rules for the use of land that promote the public interest, D’Avignon said.
“With the same level of zeal and participation that made the inauguration of the Youngstown 2010 visioning and planning initiative such a success, citizens who care about the future of Youngstown should participate in the redevelopment of our city redevelopment code,” said Mayor Jay Williams. “This is a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity to shape the future of development in the city.”
The city hired Clarion Associates to write the code, and the company will do so after the public provides input and recommendations.
Clarion is a land-use and real-estate consulting firm with seven nationwide offices, including one in Cincinnati. Other companies also will provide the city with assistance on the code.
It will cost about $250,000 for the new code to be written. The city received a $200,000 grant from the Ohio Housing Finance Agency to pay for most of that cost. The rest comes from the city’s federal Community Development Block Grant money.