The Finish Line for the Comprehensive Plan
Public invited to a joint public hearing between City Council and Planning Commission
Tonight at 6:00 p.m., there will be a rare joint meeting of the City Council and the Planning Commission here in Troy to discuss the final revisions of the city’s new Comprehensive Plan. The plan has been worked on for months and more work will be done creating a new development code, which will include a new zoning code and subdivision regulations.
According to a press release put out by the city, the plan was created to help achieve the following objectives:
1. Build on the success of downtown’s redevelopment efforts.
2. Encourage continued residential development and promote a variety of housing options.
3. Preserve the City’s scale through intentional development.
4. Maintain existing and build new infrastructure that facilitates new development and increases the mobility of all neighborhoods.
5. Keep working with residents and businesses to enhance their properties.
6. Ensure that parks are “right-sized” and provide a mix of amenities.
7. Support job creation and business expansion.
8. Continue to support social networks that help citizens in need.
Furthermore, the plan’s consultants, American Structurepoint, have delineated 13 “critical path strategies” that the city should undertake in order to achieve success:
We’ve Been There Every Step of the Way
One of the proudest achievements of this publication has been walking our readers through this process. Countless words and dozens of articles have been written talking about every aspect of this plan up to this point. As one of our readers recently told me, “I have learned so much about our community by your work on talking about this plan.”
In some ways, it’s sad to see this particular piece of work come to an end. It has been an absolute pleasure digging into large documents like the Existing Conditions Report and the Draft Comprehensive Plan to help do something our government hasn’t done and won’t do —- help residents make sense of what these plans are saying and how they will impact our community for the next two decades.
Where We Go From Here
And while tonight’s public hearing, may have a bit of a celebratory tone to it, commemorating the end of a long project. The community needs to realize that the plans only become “real” once they are implemented.
In other words, what exactly does “flexible standard allowing for creative housing options” really look like?
It’s in that spirit where this publication is going to dig into these strategies and this plan and talk about different tactics the city should consider taking moving forward.
Critical Path Strategy #14: Make Downtown More Pedestrian Friendly
Three of the thirteen critical path strategies talk about downtown parking and downtown open spaces. Frankly, none of these things matter if downtown is not a safe and pleasant place to walk. In terms of safety, ensuring that there are well-placed and safe crosswalks and sidewalks should be the top priority of the city, and this publication is cautiously optimistic about downtown square improvements that are scheduled to start in the ladder part of 2025.
However, the thrusts of these planned improvements and the West Main Street corridor project has never been about pedestrians, it’s been about traffic. It seems that this community is more interested in getting traffic through downtown as quick as possible — not exactly a recipe for downtown success.
And if our readers will allow us to be frank, the physical condition of downtown is less than stellar, and we aren’t talking about architecture, but trash. It seems that every time one may go downtown, they will find more wrappers, napkins, cups, etc. strewn about the sidewalks and gutters.
The new plan is serious about adding more seating for dining and relaxing downtown. That is all well and good. However, provisions should really be made to add more trash receptacles downtown and discussions had about having a volunteer force of folks willing to sweep the sidewalks.
Critical Path Strategy #15: Reform the Planning Commission
This publication has gone to great lengths to talk about common sense ideas to make the Planning Commission more responsive to the city’s residents, by removing voting privileges from appointed bureaucratic voices and allowing for public comments during their meetings.
Much of the work of the planning commission is going to deal directly with the implementation of the Comprehensive Plan over the next two decades and while reforming the Planning Commission isn’t strictly a land use issue, anything that can be done to make the commission more responsive and transparent to the public should be a strategy the city should explore.
Critical Path Strategy #16: Find Balance In Economic Development
This publication has also talked in depth about how the focus of the economic viability of the community is become more about tourism and recreational development rather than industrial development.
The proposed land use plan has less land devoted for industrial development than the current land use plan and ask anyone in economic development a new interchange at Eldean Road should be part of the long term economic development viability of the community, yet that isn’t even mentioned as a possibility over the next twenty years.
When it comes to potential land for development, Troy is increasingly finding itself landlocked. Tipp City is already at the Concord Township line to Troy’s south and a recently 300 acre annexation in Piqua puts that community at the Concord Township line to Troy’s north.
Critical Path Strategy #17: Commercial and Industrial Vacant Property Registry
Critical Path Strategy #6 talks about establishing a registration for rental properties to eliminate substandard living conditions. Well, how about we take a proactive step and have a commercial and industrial vacant property registry? These properties are often blighting influences on our community, and it is in the best interest of the city to know who owns these properties and how these properties are being maintained, even in a vacant state. A vacant property registry can meet this need.
There are just a few ideas that the proposed Comprehensive Plan doesn’t touch, but is obvious that there is need for deeper discussion. Perhaps tonight’s meeting will open doors for those discussions moving forward. One can only hope.
What Do You Think?
What do you think of the plan? Has anything in the plan surprised you? What was left out? How do you think Troy will look in twenty years? Our paid subscribers are welcome to provide their ideas and insights in the comment thread!
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What really irks me is that Ben Sutherly attempted to bring attention to Critical Response #15, Reform the Planning Commission. When he did, he was cut off by Mr. McGarry. It seems to me like the planning commission is afraid of change. Why? Who knows, but the time is past for the changes to occur.
I heard that the downtown sidewalk, etc work was being postponed until fall of 2026, so S not to interfere with 250 year USA celebrations that summer. Is that just a rumor or wishful thinking?