City takes fresh look at land use

Officials observing trends, want to re-imagine the lakefront with updates

Avon Lake is looking to reimagine what the lakefront could encompass with fresh updates to its planning/zoning codes and comprehensive land use plan.

Officials say urban and regional planning is much more than analyzing the density regulations and traffic flow concerns often heard at public meetings.

City planners are asked to look at the trends and predict the direction society is moving toward.

Presently, the city is in the process of undergoing a complete re-write of its comprehensive land use plan along with its planning and zoning codes.

Earlier in 2018, City Council authorized agreements with OHM Advisors and Compass Point Planning LLC for $176,482 for the first update since the mid-1990s.

Throughout the process, Mayor Greg Zilka and other city officials have emphasized the

“I think we’re really in a great opportunity and a great inflection point for the economy.” — Jason Sudy, a principal with OHM Advisor’s Columbus office

need for a fresh code and land-use plan.

“It was suggested that by starting over, it would be like building a house from scratch rather than taking an old house and remodeling the kitchen and the bathrooms,” Zilka said. “You just get a better product. A more streamlined and updated product without as much effort.

“Because when you try to replace bits and pieces, you have a lot of work to do that you don’t anticipate.”

Under Avon Lake’s present regulations, development along Interstate 90 is not taken into consideration nor the growth of online shopping and other changes to how people use their collective space.

The 12-18 month long consultative process involves multiple layers including a 13-member steering committee, community input sessions along with public hearings through City Council and Avon Lake’s plethora of boards and commissions.

The steering committee will meet on a monthly basis with intermittent public meetings designed to reach out to residents on changes they would like to see.

In imagining the future of land in Avon Lake, planners are harnessing the city’s strength to set up the city for the next generation.

Jason Sudy, a principal with OHM Advisor’s Columbus office, is working with the city to build the next comprehensive plan.

“I think we’re really in a great opportunity and a great inflection point for the economy,” Sudy said.

Sudy along with senior planner Arthur Schmidt IV, stressed a comprehensive plan will analyze trends in housing, industry, transportation, economic strength and population demographic trends in order to capture the right balance.

In analyzing shopping, national figures show more people are shopping online and moving away from big box stores, begging the question of how cities deal with such projects as society moves forward, he said.

Looking at state trends with more millennials desiring to be within walking distance to arts and culture, only 20 percent of Ohioans have that option, along with a growing number of households without children, representing a dramatic shift in how city planners design and envision urban space, Sudy said.

“One of the things we’re really going to look at carefully as we go forward, is how do we right size these future development opportunities and understand the market we are capturing,” he said. “What we’re going to try and do is find what makes Avon Lake unique.”

Harnessing Lake Erie, the city’s growing industrial base and high median and ample amounts of greenspace, city officials said they have a lot of work to do in designing the Avon Lake of the future.

Since the 2010 census, data indicates Avon Lake has experienced a 23 percent increase in population.

In addition, 2016 figures show a median household income of $88,000.

“We have a lot of economic strength and that’s an easy position to work from,” Sudy said.