The city of Springfield could soon allow small houses on smaller lots, first-floor businesses with upstairs residences, and accessory dwellings that could be rented to college students adjacent to Wittenberg University.
Those are some of the possibilities being considered as the city updates the zoning code for the first time since 2001.
Springfield City Commissioners received a report from Urban Fast Forward and Cincinnati Urban Design and Architecture Studio (CUDA), Cincinnati consultants who are assisting in revising the current codes to become more appropriate for the challenges the city is facing in 2024.
Since 78% of the buildings in the city are residential, the vast majority of citizens will be impacted by the new zoning guidelines.
Jeff Razor of CUDA said the need for affordable housing for all income groups was expressed across the entire city, as well as the need for more flexibility in zoning to address that need.
“We heard people asking for permits to build smaller houses on smaller lots, or the ability to combine smaller lots to build multi-family or larger homes,” Razor told commissioners.
He said many people also expressed a desire to have walkable business districts in multiple areas around the city.
“We’ve asked them to identify some of those locations,” Razor said. “People don’t want it all over. They want it in very specific places.”
Credit: Bill Lackey
Credit: Bill Lackey
Consistent broad concerns
So far, research into what citizens want to see in the revised codes demonstrate several consistent concerns across all sectors of the city:
* The need for housing affordable for people with average and below average incomes;
* The ability to develop smaller houses for smaller lots and small homes in a cluster or Cottage Court style layout;
* More duplexes and accessory dwellings available for rent;
* Construction of more units on single-family lots and permits to allow large houses to be converted for multi-family use;
* Designated areas for first-floor commercial space with residential availability on the second floor, so business services can be provided to people who can walk to those services.
Ideas for downtown
Community feedback has also generated recommendations that the downtown area should:
* permit more housing in a wider variety of types;
* encourage redevelopment of historic buildings;
* provide amenities to encourage people to live and stay downtown such as playgrounds and additional entertainment offerings.
Specific to southside
Southside residents said they would like to see:
* improvements to the shopping center and vacant land at Sunset Avenue to offer business services and housing to the people living in the area;
* development of small commercial and mixed-use residential and business opportunities along Selma Road;
* Mixed-use development and business services along South Yellow Springs Street, along with more residential development;
* Zoning to permit conversion of larger houses for multi-family use;
* Protections to maintain manufacturing and warehouses along Kenton Street;
* Preservation of green space and agriculture when possible.
Survey still open for comments
Some Springfield residents suggested there should be expanded opportunities for community gardens in residential areas and permission for composting waste. Currently composting is illegal in residential areas.
Other ideas that were mentioned included using parking lots more efficiently and encouragement of sharing parking space when possible, while others wanted regulations that allow city staff to quickly help resolve neighborhood conflicts such as what animals or livestock are permitted under what conditions.
Area residents are encouraged to add their voices and weigh in on some of these ideas in an online survey available on the city’s website, https://springfieldohio.gov/take-the-survey-about-the-citys-zoning-code-update/.
The survey will remain available to people through August.
City officials say the goal is to complete the process and have the new zoning code complete by the end of 2024.