Lincoln Heights committee to revisit 2021 land use and housing plans after residents raise demolition, ethics concerns

Lincoln Heights Village economic development committee members and residents on Nov. 3 discussed plans to revise a 2021 land use plan and 2022 housing study so the village can pursue grant funding and guide redevelopment without displacing current residents.

Lisa Bloom of Bloom Community Partners proposed using the two documents as the basis for a revised master plan and returning with the original team at an April working session to walk through edits. "If we get something that people are comfortable with here, we can go out to the community and say, 'Did we get this right?'" Bloom said, urging a working draft before referral to the planning commission and council.

Village staff and consultants said an updated plan helps when applying for grants and gives the village a clear blueprint to direct developers. A planning director described a land use plan as a way to "say what you want" so developers and grantmakers can see the village’s priorities.

Several council members and residents raised sharp concerns about demolition language and specific property references that appeared in the earlier plan. "The only thing about this document is that it's a conflict of interest for most people around the table and, according to the ethics committee in Columbus, we can't even discuss it as a council," a council member said, urging the removal of concrete demolition recommendations tied to named properties so members could participate without ethics restrictions.

Manager Brown and consultants responded that demolition is not the committee’s immediate priority and that the team could reorder recommendations to focus on new construction on vacant lots and programs to help existing owners repair and retain properties. "We're not trying to take anything from anybody," Manager Brown said, emphasizing a focus on vacant parcels and assistance programs rather than displacement.

Public commenters echoed calls for transparency and resident-first planning. Pastor Marvin of Mount Mariah Missionary Baptist Church urged the committee to "peruse [the] documents carefully" and said residents should be notified in advance of proposed changes. Residents asked how to find references in the plan; staff pointed to the plan posted on the village website and said references are generally by address or area rather than owner names.

Committee members agreed to use the April working session to review both documents in detail, collect markups and public feedback, and produce a clean merged draft for further public review and then planning commission and council consideration. Bloom estimated the team could present a revised recommendation by the June council meeting if schedules align.

The committee also discussed related matters including blight remediation, tangled titles on some parcels, potential acquisition (not eminent domain), prior community surveys (including work by a group called We Thrive), and steps to improve outreach — staff said draft legislation for a digital marketing consultant would be presented at the next meeting and the village has an automated mass-notification system.

No final policy vote was taken at the meeting; minutes were approved at the start of the session and the committee adjourned after announcements.