Megan Jennings, city planner, told the Affordable Housing Commission that the city is advancing a rezoning proposal covering an area bounded roughly by Columbus Road, Lancaster Street and Columbia Avenue to create a walkable business hub and address reuse of the old fire station headquarters.

Jennings said the area previously included a mix of R-1 and R-3 zoning, which prevented many commercial uses. The proposal adds a B-1 business designation at the center of the map to create a neighborhood hub and increases residential density to the west of Columbus Road to better buffer nearby single-family streets. She said the Dairy Queen parcel will remain B-1 and that the proposal was adjusted after public meetings in June and July and follow-up neighborhood representatives’ meetings.

On the Welcome Home Ohio program, Jennings said the city owns 93 Hudson Avenue and has identified it as a good site for housing, but the parcel sits in a floodplain and will require about six to seven feet of fill to elevate future structures. She said the city plans to use excess soil from a new fire-training building on Kenny Drive as fill; that soil is being temporarily stored on an old railroad right-of-way owned by the city near the American Red Cross building.

Jennings also reported on the Sunset Motel/Shelter project. She said the property has completed an abatement and that construction bids will be opened the day after the commission meeting; staff expect the shelter could be ready for move-ins in the latter part of 2026, barring unforeseen circumstances. She said the shelter will provide roughly 40 bedrooms, based on currently available planning information.

Jennings emphasized that some portions of the rezoning map remain under discussion—particularly a small section near Lancaster Street that includes Job and Family Services property and other parcels—and that the city plans further neighborhood conversations before finalizing that segment. She said the primary impetus for the rezoning is to open options for leasing the old fire station building to business uses so it does not remain vacant.

No formal action on rezoning or land purchases was taken at the commission meeting; Jennings said rezoning has been transmitted to city council and was presented to the planning commission and neighborhoods, and that additional neighborhood-level dialogue was expected.