Bexley land use strategy presented to Tree Commission, highlights pocket parks and corridor goals

Megan, a city staff presenter, told the Bexley Tree Commission the city—s Land Use Strategy was developed over about two years and was introduced to city council three meetings ago for further consideration.

She said the strategy is a high-level policy document intended to guide how limited land resources in Bexley are used, and that it was designed to work in concert with the city—s commercial design guidelines. "It's been over 2 years in the making," Megan said, adding that public workshops, two rounds of surveying and a market analysis informed the recommendations.

The strategy, Megan said, reflects public preferences identified in outreach, including requests for more green space and for commercial areas that generate pedestrian foot traffic. "We heard again and again that they would like more green space," she said, and staff noted the plan includes pocket park recommendations along Main Street corridors.

Megan told the commission the document is organized by commercial corridor—such as East Main Street, West Main Street, North Cal City and Livingston—and also incorporates work previously completed for the joint Livingston Avenue plan and the Southwest Bexley framework. She said those corridor and neighborhood recommendations intersect with the Tree Commission—s priorities on canopy, connectivity and tree health.

Commission members were asked to review the residential sections and consider whether the commission's objectives are reflected and whether there is additional work the commission should do to support implementation. Megan suggested commissioners pair their comments on the Land Use Strategy with questions staff are developing for the commercial design guidelines and submit feedback to council; she said council hopes to consider the strategy at its next meeting.

The presentation did not include a formal vote by the Tree Commission. Commissioners asked clarifying questions about where the commission's priorities best fit in the document and whether specific implementation steps would come back to the commission or be handled by staff.

Megan encouraged the commission to read the plan and noted a section recapping progress on the 2011 strategy: "If you're looking for a recap of exactly what was accomplished there is a pretty nice section in here starting on page 16," she said. She also emphasized partnerships with the CIC, developers, the schools and Capital University as central to implementing land-use recommendations in the two-and-a-half-square-mile city.

Staff did not present a formal schedule of next steps beyond the advisory suggestion that commissioners submit their comments in advance of council's upcoming consideration. The commission will consider any follow-up at its next meeting or as staff directs comments to the appropriate plan or guideline process.