Perrysburg studies the cost of new developments
7/19/2006Perrysburg's comprehensive plan is getting an update.
What makes this update different from the last one, which was completed in 2001, is its emphasis on analyzing economic development, Tim McCarthy, chairman of council's planning and zoning committee, said.
The city is trying to identify the costs of new development.
While the cost for utilities to a new subdivision might be easy to calculate, the cost of extra police, fire, and other services is more difficult, he said.
"It's really more of a fiscal analysis of various land uses to help us assess the impact on the community as it grows," he said.
The city is supposed to update the plan every decade. Mr. McCarthy said the 1993 plan was updated early because the city had grown.
That update began in 1998 and was done in 2001.
The city decided to start the next update this year rather than in 2003.
The plan will determine what types of land uses are needed and where they should be. A community with too much residential development and no economic base would have income problems, Mr. McCarthy said.
It will also examine transportation and include some parts of the city's proposed regulations on big box stores, such as requiring an economic impact analysis, setting restrictions on national chains, and creating policies to prevent buildings from remaining vacant when stores are closed.
City officials waited until the zoning code rewrite was completed earlier this year to begin the comprehensive plan process, which should be finished in 14 months. Council awarded a $145,000 contract to ACP Visioning and Planning Ltd. of Columbus last week.
The city had budgeted $125,000 for the project, but the price went up when it asked for more economic and land use analysis.
A steering committee of 12 to 15 people will review the plan, which must eventually be adopted by both the planning commission and council.
Contact Elizabeth A. Shack at:
eshack@theblade.com
or 419410-5055.