MANSFIELD — Mayor Jodie Perry said one of the first things potential developers want to see when they come to town is a land use plan.
The City of Mansfield currently doesn’t have such a comprehensive document.
That’s why the city is joining with Richland County and the City of Shelby in funding a joint comprehensive land use effort, an effort coordinated by the Richland County Regional Planning Commission.
Mansfield City Council on Wednesday evening approved spending $100,000 toward the effort, which will include the hiring of a consultant to help develop the plan. Shelby and Richland County will each pay $50,000 toward the $200,000 overall study.
“Rather than all three of us paying for three separate plans, we’re proposing to work together,” Perry said.
The City of Ontario and the Village of Lexington have recently done such studies on their own.
RCRPC Executive Director Jotika Shetty said the comprehensive plan is more than a land use document.
“It’s really a guiding document that speaks to a region’s desire for its future growth and development. It not only acts as a visionary tool because it talks to the community’s overarching vision for the community, but also the goals as it relates to infrastructure, housing, economic development and quality of life,” Shetty said.
“Land is limited, right? We’re not creating more land. What is the best impactful way that we can make decisions for that land?” Shetty said.
RCRPC will work to select a consultant for the project in November and the overall project will take 12 to 15 months, according to Shetty.
She said such plans need to be “living documents.” The earliest Richland County comprehensive plan that’s been located was done in 1975.
“Back then, the area was booming. We were expected to have 250,000 (residents) in the next 25 years. We even had a bypass (around Mansfield considered), so that comprehensive plan looked very different from a comprehensive plan that we created in 2006,” Shetty said.
“Since then, we had the economic recession and the region kind of has had its challenges. I think we’re finally at a strategic point where we feel like we’re turning a corner. We’re seeing an upward trend.
“We’re seeing development around us. We’ve seen growth in the central Ohio region that we’re really experiencing some impact on on the county. So I think it’s a strategic time for us to kind of come together as a community,” Shetty said.
“We want to have something that you as policymakers can rely on to make decisions and a comprehensive plan is really that guiding document to help you do that,” she told council members.
She said a joint city/county plan is a unique opportunity to look at the area from a regional standpoint.
“Everything that the city does impacts the county and decisions that all the individual communities make impact each other. So we just wanted to make sure that we’re having those discussions in a collaborative manner,” Shetty said.
Both Perry and Shetty said public involvement in developing the plan is also crucial.
Shetty said the project will include surveys, workshops with stakeholders, retailers and business owners, participation in public events like the Richland County Fair and more.
“It’s going to be a multi-pronged public participation effort,” she said.
Perry, looking at a large group of residents at the City Council meeting, asked everyone to take part.
“Since we have such a great crowd in the audience tonight, I do hope that you will keep an eye out for (the public participation opportunities).
“Obviously, City Council, we want your input, as well, but it’s really important (for the public). The plan is not as powerful if we don’t have that input,” the mayor said.
Funds for the project are in the 2025 city budget lawmakers approved in March, so no additional appropriation is needed for the work.
