Consultant presents draft comprehensive (vision) plan; trustees hear recommendations on land use, housing, four focus areas and connectivity

Jay Stewart of Stewart Land Use presented the first-draft update to Fairfield Township’s comprehensive plan during the trustees’ June 17 meeting, summarizing major recommendations on land use, housing, four focus areas and pedestrian connectivity.

The central takeaway, Stewart said, is the future land use map: “The future land use map, is the single, probably most important page of of any comprehensive plan or vision plan in terms of how it affects, and directs, and informs, rezonings,” he told trustees, urging close review of parcels along corridors such as Princeton Road.

Why it matters: the plan will guide rezoning, long-range capital and economic-development decisions. Stewart told trustees Fairfield Township is approaching buildout, so remaining developable parcels merit careful, selective decisions.

Plan highlights and process

- Chapters and timeline: Stewart said the draft has six chapters, with four containing most of the substance (land use, housing, focus-area plans, connectivity). He told trustees one steering-committee meeting remained and that the plan would proceed to a public hearing before the zoning commission and then to trustees, likely in late summer or September unless trustees direct a different schedule. - Land use and zoning: Stewart said the draft cleans errors on the zoning map (for example, portions of the Princeton Road retail corridor that were incorrectly listed as manufacturing) and focuses the future land use map on a few parcels and corridors where redevelopment or reinvestment could produce revenue. - Housing: the plan notes Fairfield is predominantly residential and approaching buildout; Stewart recommended being “very, very choosy” about future rezonings and suggested tools such as planned-unit development (PUD) requirements and architectural design guidelines to raise housing quality and to encourage senior housing where appropriate. - Four focus areas: Stewart described recommendations for a Five Points district (small-scale retail/cafés and neighborhood connections), a Route 4 gateway (branding and reinvestment), a Gilmore Road mixed-use district (the township's largest remaining tract, including property currently owned by Kettering Health), and the Princeton Road corridor (protect, upgrade and reserve road-front parcels for revenue-producing retail/restaurant uses). - Connectivity: the draft adds a pedestrian-first connectivity chapter with a sidewalk/pathway map, destination hubs (parks, schools), and phased implementation recommendations to address safety and incremental costs.

Trustee reaction and next steps

Trustee Harkenmeyer, who served on the steering committee, praised the process: “This was a very worthwhile project that we did here at Fairfield Township,” she said, thanking volunteers who participated in steering-committee meetings, an open house and online survey. Trustees discussed posting the draft online and providing chapter PDFs to make public review easier.

Stewart said the implementation chapter compiles recommendations into a spreadsheet with priority tags (year 1–4) to help trustees and staff sequence work. He estimated roughly two to three months to incorporate steering-committee edits and prepare for formal public hearings.

Ending

Trustees thanked Stewart and staff for the draft and said they will circulate the plan to the steering committee, host public hearings through the zoning commission, and return final recommendations to the trustees for adoption.