ONTARIO — Housing development was a hot topic during a Richland County mayoral panel hosted this week by the Richland Area Chamber.
A countywide housing study conducted in 2023 outlined a dire need for housing development. Based on trends from the past decade, the authors projected Richland County will need to add 2,475 owner-occupied units and 3,364 renter-occupied units by 2032.
The report also found that new home construction rates have failed to bounce from the Great Recession. Most of the county’s new home construction in the last ten years has been for single family residences in rural parts of the county.
But Mansfield Mayor Jodie Perry said she believes high prices and housing shortages in Columbus are causing developers to take a second look at Richland County.
“We have had several conversations with folks from all levels — luxury housing to affordable housing, workforce housing, everything in between,” Perry said.
“I think we all sit far enough away from Columbus, we’re not going to get swallowed up much like Delaware County and some of the closer ones have. We can maintain our identities if we do it thoughtfully.”
So what are local communities doing to address the housing shortage?
New housing developments underway in Mansfield, Bellville
Mayor Teri Brenkus of Bellville said the developer behind Urban Meadows is gearing up for a second phase of home construction on the village’s south end.
The neighborhood currently includes 20 custom built homes, equipped with eco-friendly and smart technology features.
“We have a lot of people coming from out of town to purchase those homes, as well as local residents,” Brenkus said.
Bellville officials are also working with local housing developer Valley View Farms Development, who hopes to construct between 1,000 and 1,200 housing units near the State Route 97/Interstate 71 interchange. The proposed development would include a mix of townhome condos, patio home condos, apartments and single family homes.
Steven Haring of Valley View Farms Development said the project would be spread out across around 100 acres of land. He and village officials have been discussing the project for several years.
“It’s going very slow to this point, but we’re excited,” Haring said. “We think we’re very close on getting the zoning approval.”
Developer plans 277 new residences at former Butler ski resort
In Butler, Mayor Wes Dingus said village council is set to vote a New Community Authority incorporation next week. The NCA will pave the way for a new development at the former Clear Fork Adventure Resort. Dingus said construction could begin as early as March.
According to the mayor, the development will include a combination of condos and single family homes — around 277 new residences in total — constructed over the next 15 years.
“I think it’s going to be a going to be a major plus for all of Richland County, not just for the village of Butler,” he said.
“These were catered originally for people’s second homes. We tried to scale that down so it could be people’s primary home, or maybe it is their second home that becomes their first home that they fall in love with southern Richland County.”
Perry also highlighted ongoing developments in the Mansfield, including a senior living community on Cline Avenue, an expansion by Tower Lakes Condominium Association and a series of condos near Westbrook Country Club.
Several other mayors said they’ve spoken with housing developers about potential projects.
“We have had some developers recently approach us about housing. Unfortunately, that’s about all I can say at this point in time on that,” Mayor Bob Jarvis of Lexington said.
Smaller municipalities consider strategies for housing growth
One challenge facing some Richland County towns is a lack of vacant land available for new home construction.
Jarvis described Lexington as “landlocked” — meaning there’s not much land available for residential or commercial development.
It’s an issue the village is looking to resolve by extending Ohio 97 towards Hanley and Lexington Springmill roads. The village recently received a grant to do a feasibility study on the project.
Jarvis said he hopes the extension will create more lots that can be zoned for light industrial and possibly residential use.
Dingus said Butler is considering expanded tax abatements for new housing development.
According to Dingus, both residential and commercial new builds are eligible for a 10 year tax abatement from the village. He hopes to expand it to 15 and allow a shorter, one-time abatement that can be transferred from a developer to the first owner occupant of a newly-built home.
Plymouth Mayor Cassaundra Fryman said she hopes to pave the way for more development by clearing blight and divesting of several vacant lots owned by the village.
“The village of Plymouth doesn’t have a whole lot of areas to allow development, but we do have a few spots . . . homes that have been demolished recently, as well as a couple that are going to be demolished hopefully by the end of this year,” she said.
“We’re looking at just getting rid of the homes that can’t be salvaged, cleaning up the ones that can,” she added.
“We just passed some nuisance ordinances to give some more teeth to our zoning officer, so that they can help clean up more blighted properties that people are living in currently that really need taken care of, for the sake of their neighbors and the sake of the look of Plymouth.”
Legislators work to update zoning codes, streamline development
Several municipalities like Ontario and Mansfield are also re-examining their zoning ordinances, a recommendation outlined in the Richland County Housing Study.
“We have seated a whole new planning commission and we are also working with our codes and permits team to really try to take out any roadblocks and smooth the way, so that when developers come into the city of Mansfield, they can get to work much faster,” Perry said.
Mayor Steve Schag said Shelby is seeking to streamline development with a “blitz team.” It’ll include the city’s zoning inspector, utilities director and economic development manager Jessica Gribben.
“Just recently, we had a landowner and a regional developer that was looking at maybe developing a nice section in town, and within a matter of a day or two, we were able to get in one room,” Schag said.
“He was so favorably impressed that everyone in the room had the information he needed and had enthusiasm about the project.”