Committee hears Experience Mill Creek plan, residents press anti-displacement protections

The Cincinnati City Council’s Housing & Growth Committee heard a detailed presentation on Experience Mill Creek and its Beekman, Lick Run and Lower Price Hill focus areas, and members pressed presenters on policies to keep current residents from being priced out as new trails and development arrive. Chair Jeff Jeffries opened the session and framed the project as resident-led planning tied to the city’s housing goal of 40,000 units in 10 years.

Daniella Beltran, planning team lead at Yarden Company, said the initiative began with phase 1 data collection in 2024 and progressed through phase 2 design work; a public report and visuals are available at the project website, she said. “We’re compiling revitalization plans for these focus areas,” Beltran said, describing 10-year small-area plans and a set of activation concepts intended to build momentum and make residential and commercial investment more viable.

Gus Ricksecker, capacity development manager for Homebase Cincinnati, outlined Homebase’s role in community engagement and operations and named Tri State Trails and Mill Creek Alliance as partners. Ricksecker said the project intentionally focused work on three neighborhoods where public land and port-owned parcels create short-term opportunities. “This has been really intentional and long planning that has brought the ability for people to give input so early in the process,” he said.

Local residents and nonprofit leaders gave the committee on-the-ground context. Derek Fagan, president of the South Cumminsville Community Council, invited councilmembers to imagine paddling the creek in five years if the plan succeeds. “We hope to have all types of amenities,” he said, naming a floating stage and evening events as possibilities. Reverend Sandra Davis described completed local efforts — a housing study, a traffic plan and a community garden that received a $1,000 urban agriculture grant — and said residents want resources to repair and preserve homes so longtime neighbors can remain.

Council members focused their questions on two practical concerns: what “accessibility” to the creek means in physical terms and what policy tools will protect renters and low-income households from displacement. Beltran said accessibility includes sidewalks, safe crosswalks and clear wayfinding — features intended to make creek access visible, safe and convenient. On displacement, presenters said they are compiling policy options and studying protections that have worked in other cities, and they flagged ongoing conversations with philanthropic partners, including the Greater Cincinnati Foundation, to support implementation.

The committee also discussed funding and near-term activation. Jeffries said the committee previously allocated $150,000 for phase 1 and $275,000 for phase 2 and noted that $500,000 is devoted to an initial build phase, though presenters said the mechanics of that build funding and additional partner leverage are still being worked out. Presenters emphasized that early activations — temporary docks, modular pop-ups and community events — are aimed at creating visible benefits that can attract private partners while giving residents immediate gains.

The presentation closed with council support for continuing the project’s community-centered approach and a request that the administration return with implementation details as the project moves from planning into execution. The committee did not vote on any project-specific contracts or rezoning at this meeting; presenters said phase 3 (implementation) remains under development and will require additional decisions by the administration and council.