GOPC Discusses Cost of Vacant Property and Solutions for Vacant Commercial Properties

This week, Greater Ohio Policy Center presented at a Heritage Ohio workshop, “Combating Vacant Property”  that provided ideas and strategies to local communities on ways to manage vacant properties.  Heritage Ohio, Inc is Ohio’s official historic preservation and Main Street program organization.  Greater Ohio outlined the costs of vacant residential and commercial properties and discussed successful strategies that have overcome common barriers to sustainable property management and redevelopment. Other presenters included a lawyer who has worked with community development corporations and municipalities to bring nuisance abatement actions against problem properties in Cleveland and city officials from the city of Sandusky and city of Painesville, which both have vacant property registries.

The problem property crisis impacts every community in Ohio.  Greater Ohio continues to measure the impact of vacant properties, and research policies and programs that can mitigate the effects of these properties by turning them into assets for redevelopment opportunities. Check our website regularly as we update our research and policy recommendations.

Greater Ohio Policy Center Uncovering Solutions to Commercial Vacant Property

As part of our Healthy Properties, Rebuilding Communities Initiative, GOPC is developing state policy reforms that will assist communities in stabilizing commercial properties.  Commercial properties—strip malls, urban core buildings with retail or commercial activity on the first floor and residential space on upper floors, office buildings and other non-industrial properties—pose unique challenges for redevelopment, but are a valuable resource in a state where sparking entrepreneurialism, training and retaining the workforce, and attracting businesses are key economic development strategies. Building on our expertise in residential property stabilization and redevelopment, Greater Ohio is now researching practices and policies that will assist communities in returning vacant commercial properties to productive use.  We are currently investigating ways to reform code enforcement statutes, hold owners accountable for neglected properties and identify ways to support the demolition or rehabilitation of vacant properties. 

GOPC is also partnering with the German Marshall Fund of the United States (GMF)’s  Urban Development x, to develop a Vacant Commercial Property Reuse Toolkit.  This Toolkit will support economic and community development teams and nonprofits, local and state policymakers and community groups as they work to transition vacant commercial property into productive reuse that is strategically linked to community economic development goals.  

Addressing the commercial vacant and abandoned properties challenge is an essential revitalization component for Ohio by providing key sites for economic and business redevelopment.  During the next 8 months to a year, Greater Ohio Policy Center will uncover and document solutions that lead to putting the pivotal commercial properties in our cities and communities back to use. Check our website and newsletter often for updates and reports on our research.

GOPC Speaks at Ohio Association of Economists and Political Scientists

This past weekend, the Greater Ohio Policy Center gave the closing lunch address at the Ohio Association of Economists and Political Scientists Annual Meeting, held at Ohio Northern University in Ada, Ohio.  Speaking to undergraduate and graduate students, academic faculty and researchers, GOPC presented an overview of our current policy agenda and described the ways we work to move this agenda at the Statehouse.  Greater Ohio Policy Center also raised several ideas on how the policy center could partner with Ohio’s college and university classrooms and centers.  One potential research project received a lot of interest and once it is further developed, GOPC will put out a call so that all higher education centers across the state have an opportunity to participate.

Greater Ohio Raises Benefits of Regionalism to Local Government Fiscal Officers

On October 3, 2012, Greater Ohio Policy Center spoke at the Central Ohio Association of Government Accountants about the potential for service sharing among local jurisdictions and the importance of such collaboration in paving the way towards local governance reform and regional economic development. Joined on the panel by Hugh Quill of Public Performance Partners and Steve Campbell, Director of Regional Growth Initiatives at the City of Columbus, Greater Ohio spoke to the benefits of shared services and other collaborative relationships, such as increased service delivery, lower costs and the creation of a more regional culture throughout Ohio.

Greater Ohio Policy Center strongly believes that Ohio must reduce duplication within our local government activities—in a thoughtful and strategic way.  In streamlining how local government delivers services, natural regions can form among former local competitors and excess funds can be direct back into our communities and schools.

As one important route toward sustainable statewide prosperity, reforms among local governance structures and regional approaches to economic development must occur if Ohio wants to compete in the 21^st century.

2012 CDFA Ohio Financing Roundtable Conference

Greater Ohio’s many partners from across the state and nation host innovative and thought-provoking events throughout the year to discuss issues concerning the prosperity and future of Ohio.  The Council of Development of Finance Agencies will be hosting the 2012 CDFA Ohio Financing Roundtable Conference: Innovation, Energy, and Infrastructure in Columbus, September 25, 2012.  Please visit CDFA to see the conference’s schedule of events and for registration information.  Join CDFA on September 25, 2012 for the fourth annual CDFA Ohio Financing Roundtable Conference focused on "Innovation, Energy, and Infrastructure” finance in the Buckeye state. This can't-miss event will feature economic development finance experts from around the state discussing emerging financing models and creative projects in early-stage seed/venture capital and innovation finance, clean-tech and renewable energy development, and creative infrastructure financing mechanisms like P3s and TIF. The conference will take place at the Fawcett Center in Columbus and is supported by nearly a dozen of the state’s finest development finance leaders, including the Ohio Department of Development. Register today to ensure your spot at the 2012 CDFA Ohio Financing Roundtable Conference.

GOPC, "Across the Spectrum" Think Tanks Unite Again

Greater Ohio Policy Center is again collaborating with Center for Community Solutions and the Buckeye Institute, two other think tanks that span the political spectrum, renewing the call to examine the issue of tax expenditures, commonly known as “tax loopholes.”  Last week, the three partners issued a Press Release once again advocating for a Joint House-Senate Tax Expenditure Review Committee to examine and vet tax expenditures and subject these loopholes to “sunset revisions,” which would allow certain tax expenditures to expire after several years unless re-enacted by the General Assembly and approved by the Governor.   “In the absence of guidelines for demonstrating effectiveness, and a schedule for periodic evaluation, these cannot be considered good public policy”, the three groups said in their Press Release.   This unique tripartite partnership began during last year’s debate over Ohio’s 2012-2013 budget, when the groups joined together to propose ways that Ohio policymakers could address the issue of tax expenditures.  This partnership attracted extensive state and national attention and spurred the highly successful “Across the Spectrum” conference, raising the level of public discourse by facilitating thoughtful discussions that avoided partisan platitudes and instead explored a range of policy solutions available to the state and nation.   GOPC and their partners commend Governor Kasich for his recent comments on the need to examine expenditures and the Ohio House of Representatives for convening a tax review committee last year.  These policymakers have brought back into public view the importance of adopting a comprehensive process for assessing Ohio’s loopholes.   Evaluating the costs and benefits of specific expenditures will ensure a transparent and defensible decision-making process.  In improving Ohio’s competitiveness and quality of life, any future expenditures—new or renewed—must have transparent criteria that ranks projects and clearly demonstrates a net benefit to tax payers.   “Our organizations often take different positions on how best to raise and allocate public resources, but we share the common goals of eliminating ineffective, counterproductive or outdated tax expenditures, and assuring that those remaining in Ohio tax law receive periodic scrutiny.”

The collaboration between Greater Ohio and their partners have already received attention by Trib Today, Salem News, the Akron Beacon Journal, and been featured on WVIZ NPR.

Three Think Tanks From Across the Spectrum Renew Call for Closing Tax "Loopholes"

PRESS RELEASE                                                                           FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE For more information, contact: Alison Goebel, Associate Director E-mail: agoebel@greaterohio.org Phone: 614.224.0187     September 3, 2012-COLUMBUS, Ohio - Three Ohio-based think tanks representing various public policy perspectives today are renewing a call they made last year to thoroughly re-examine Ohio's myriad of tax expenditures, commonly known as "loopholes."   The Buckeye Institute for Public Policy Solutions, The Center for Community Solutions  and The Greater Ohio Policy Center  issued the following statement,   "Governor Kasich's recent comments on the need to examine these expenditures bring back into public view the importance of Ohio's adopting a comprehensive process for evaluating and, where appropriate, changing or terminating them.  We agree with the Governor that the time to be proactive on this issue is now, and urge leaders in the General Assembly to adopt legislation before the next budget cycle.    "Our organizations often take different positions on how best to raise and allocate public resources, but we share the common goals of eliminating ineffective, counterproductive or outdated tax expenditures, and assuring that those remaining in Ohio tax law receive periodic scrutiny. Our joint proposal from last year entailed terminating a group of these tax expenditures as part of the biennial budget legislation. We maintain this should be revisited by the General Assembly during its post-election session."   The groups concluded that,   "We stand ready to assist the Kasich Administration and the General Assembly as they tackle this issue. However we may differ on the size and scope of government, all Ohioans would benefit from a system for monitoring taxes and expenditures that is as rigorous as the biennial budget process for programmatic expenditures. Support for this idea exists across the political spectrum. The time for  action is at hand."   To view the statement in its entirety please click here.

Moving Ohio Forward Demolition Activities Underway

Ohio Attorney General Mike DeWine wrote an Op-Ed in the Dayton Business Journal on his innovative Moving Ohio Forward Program, highlighting efforts already underway in Fayette, Licking Mahoning, and Richland Counties.   The MOF grant supports Ohio’s communities undertaking activities to demolish abandoned and vacant residential properties. It is estimated that 100,000 residential buildings across Ohio need to be demolished.  Abandoned and vacant properties often pose significant barriers to neighborhood revitalization and so, demolition funding from the Attorney General’s office will help encourage productive reuse of formerly vibrant properties in our cities, villages and townships. The Ohio Attorney General contracted with GOPC to provide technical assistance to southern Ohio counties on strategic planning. 

 Funding for the Moving Ohio Forward Program comes from a $25 billion national settlement with the nation’s five largest mortgage lenders and services over foreclosure abuses, fraud and unacceptable mortgage practices.

Ohio Cities Featured in "Rust Belt Rebound"

An article in The Architect by Christopher Bentley cites Greater Ohio in its examination of how urban re-development is contributing to the revitalization of  Ohio's three largest cities:

Cleveland, Columbus, and Cincinnati are rebuilding their urban cores to lure and retain young professionals. These cities are pursuing development strategies that reflect the distinct character of each place. Is it the beginning of a Rust Belt rebound?

Click here to read the full article

Greater Ohio is currently producing a report that will further evaluate demographic trends for Ohio's eight largest cities and offer recommendations for state level policy to further attract and retain Generation Y and Baby Boomers in these cities. Click here to learn more about this report and the research leading up to it.

EcoSummit 2012

Greater Ohio is pleased to present the following information regarding EcoSummit 2012, an international ecological science conference that will for the first time be hosted in the United States, and in Columbus in particular—making it a tremendous opportunity for Central Ohio.

International EcoSummits:

• Copenhagen, Denmark - 1996
• Halifax, Nova Scotia, Canada - 2000
• Beijing, China - 2007
• Columbus, Ohio, United States - 2012

As an advocate for smart growth and development that protects greenspace and fragile ecosystems, Greater Ohio is supportive of the work that EcoSummit participants are engaged in and the goals they seek to achieve. By drawing the international community to Columbus, Ohio to talk about these issues, the EcoSummit can help to raise awareness locally and throughout the state about the importance of responsible land use and to catalyze positive change at the local, state, national and international levels.

Ecological Sustainability: Restoring the Planet’s Ecosystem Services

From September 30 through October 5 this year, the world’s preeminent leaders in ecological sciences will convene in Columbus, Ohio, for the international EcoSummit 2012. Their purpose: to present their cutting edge work and to lead symposia, workshops and discussion groups on the themes of sustainability and restoration of the earth’s ecosystem services. Already, more than 1,500 people from 75 countries, including ecologists, environmental scientists, engineers, policymakers and business leaders that provide ecosystem services, are registered to attend. It’s estimated that 40 percent of the world’s economy and 80 percent of the needs of the poor are derived from biological resources: plants, animals, and microorganisms from different ecosystems like deserts, wetlands, forests and coral reefs.

The richer the variety of those resources, the greater the opportunities for medical discoveries, economic development and adaptive responses to challenges such as climate change.  Rich biodiversity provides ecosystem services like the protection of water resources and soil, the breakdown of pollution, and climate stability.

And yet, human activity continues to cause major degradation of our ecosystems. The 2005 Millennium Ecosystem Assessment reported that 10 to 30 percent of animal, bird and amphibian species were threatened with extinction. The International Union for Conservation of Nature reports that 75 percent of the genetic diversity of agricultural crops has been lost, and that up to 70 percent of the world’s known species risk extinction if global warming continues. As a result of decreasing biodiversity, some 350 million people are faced with severe scarcity of water.

Many of the plenary speakers will drive home the message that there is a strong dependency between humankind and Mother Nature. Those speakers include two-time Pulitzer Prize winning biologist E.O. Wilson and Pulitzer Prize winner Jared Diamond. The Honorable Olafur R. Grimsson, President of the Republic of Iceland, will address the conference about his ongoing efforts related to renewable energy and climate change.

Information regarding EcoSummit 2012, including the conference program, registration information and hotel accommodations, can be found by visiting the conference website at www.ecosummit2012.org.