ONTARIO — Glenn Grisdale recommended Ontario City Council begin with “small things in a great way” for the city’s 20-year comprehensive plan.
The Reveille LTD principal of planning presented a comprehensive community action plan at the Nov. 20 council meeting, informed by more than a year of community insights and a 13-person steering committee of local leaders.
The comprehensive plan is meant to look ahead 20 years and help the city prepare for developments, as well as preserve its positive traits.
“When we analyzed your surveys, people said they want creative downtown spaces —those third spaces that aren’t their schools, their work, their church,” Grisdale said.
“They want your community to do small things in a great way. They’re good, humble, honest, conservative people that just want greatness through simplicity — they want to be better connected. They want sidewalks.”
Grisdale and Adam Hoff, a professional engineer at Reveille, presented a community action plan to council members including an analysis of 1,412 total community member and student surveys.
One of the key focuses was the “Old Ontario” area — the oldest residential area of the city that includes where Park Avenue West meets Shelby-Ontario and Lexington-Ontario roads near The Cove coffee shop, Ontario schools and the senior center.
Grisdale presented a rendering of a potential “downtown” park situated near the Springfield Township Fire Department station #1, west of the Park Avenue West and Shelby-Ontario intersection.
He said the land is currently owned by four different private property owners, but not in use.
Middle and high school students from Ontario Local Schools made up more than half of the total initial survey responses, with 623 submissions.
Keith Strickler, Ontario Local Schools superintendent, said gathering spaces outside of school were important to them.
“Growing up in Ontario, I look back and think about going to the mall and that being our common space,” he said.
“I didn’t realize the difference between what kids today grow up in and what I experienced. Our kids don’t have those common spaces outside of school anymore.”
While the city of Ontario has never had a formal strategic plan before, city leadership has participated in countywide planning studies, which Grisdale said Reveille also accounted for.
“One thing a comprehensive plan can’t do is implement itself,” Grisdale said. “I’m pleased to know that there’s a lot of great energy in this community, so I don’t think that’s going to be a problem.”
Downtown space proposal inspired by connectivity
Three planning themes emerged from the planning process, Grisdale said — community growth and revitalization, connectivity, utilities and infrastructure — which each have individual implementation strategies.
“You’ve got a good thing going here,” Grisdale said. “We did notice it’s a sprawling community, Ontario almost feels like an urbanized township — and we’ve worked with many of them.
“In the middle, you have this industrial center, you have the neighborhoods on the east side and on the west side, and no downtown. People want to be better connected physically to things, but they also want to be better connected socially.
“Activating a CIC and implementing something like this can improve the synergy and connect it with the bike trail, Marshall Park — it could be a great placemaking opportunity and it’s much easier to make it happen than you might think.”
Council president Eddie Gallo asked about grants and funding opportunities the city could pursue to build a downtown area like the rendering.
“That looks incredible, but the city alone is not affording that,” he said. “I’d be interested in figuring out where private and public financing mesh to champion that.”
Gallo also mentioned the city’s interest in connecting the southern end of North Central State College and OSU-Mansfield campuses to the city, where the campus meets Lexington-Springmill Road.
“We’ve been discussing that idea for a long time,” he said. “It would be great if we get the land owners on board to connect Ontario to the college, and bring in the college population to the city too.”
People want to be better connected physically to things, but they also want to be better connected socially.
GLenn Grisdale, Reveille certified planner, planning & community development consultant
At-large Councilman Dave Rehfeldt asked if survey results indicated how much population and development growth residents supported.
“Do you think they want us to be better at what we have, or to grow?” he asked. “I think step number one is asking what we want our population to be in 20 years. Let’s assume for a second we had an unlimited budget, how big could we grow, and how big would we want to grow?”
Rehfeldt also noted the city’s aging utility systems of sewer and water pipes and needing to fund upgrades for 60-year-old systems as an expense of any major projects.
Reveille’s suggested next steps include zoning, connectivity, infrastructure
The community preferences survey results revealed support and interest for pedestrian-friendly and connected spaces.
“The way we set this plan up is based on certain planning areas can absorb growth in different uses, either because of environmental considerations or their infrastructure,” he said.
“Growth is very important in this community, but to service it, the infrastructure conditions need to be ready. That’s important when you come to budgeting as well.”
Grisdale also noted low-cost initiatives like updating zoning codes and code enforcement, legislation on vacant property registration and maintenance standards, and updating the city’s community reinvestment act program.
“Many of these things you can do with resources you already have, and others you can pull in external resources for,” he said. “We didn’t want to recommend something to you that would set you up for failure. Every one of these strategies are very actionable.”
Grisdale said the next steps after city council adopts the comprehensive plan should include focusing on zoning code updates, connectivity improvements, economic development and infrastructure.
He also suggested establishing a community improvement corporation to establish public-private partnerships, buy and improve land from property owners and enjoy tax benefits to support development.
Mayor Kris Knapp said he is already talking with the Richland Area Chamber on establishing a CIC liaison that could work with the city for eight hours a week.
“I am pushing forward strongly with that initiative,” he said. “I think we have some key components and economic development factors in place here. I’m excited to see where this goes and to help move it along as much as we can.”
Council to consider plan recommendations in 2025 budget, implement short-term goals
Economic development committee chair and councilman Josh Bradley said city leaders will work to identify which goals to prioritize and which to implement first beginning as early as next council meeting.
“It’s important to emphasize that this was a community-based project,” he said. “Our residents and city employees were vital in the development of this plan.
“I want to thank Glenn and his team for all of their hard work and fielding a lot of phone calls. Lastly, to the members of this council, without your foresight and vision for the future of this city, none of this would have been possible.”
Council president Gallo echoed his sentiments.
“This work is far from over,” he said. “This is just another launching point.”
Grisdale suggested an annual review of the comprehensive plan with opportunities to reprioritize different initiatives based on community feedback and initial outcomes.
He noted the community surveys (both the initial survey and community preferences survey) are still open and will remain open throughout the planning and implementation process.