Restoring Prosperity
The Greater Ohio Policy Center Blog
Housing supply and affordability constitute ongoing challenges for communities of every size, and crafting an adaptable, comprehensive, and balanced housing strategy can be a daunting task. LocalHousingSolutions.org provides resources to help cities, towns, and counties develop comprehensive and balanced local housing strategies that enhance affordability, protect low-income residents from displacement, and foster inclusive neighborhoods.
The Ohio Senate today gave final approval to House Bill 166 by a vote of 33-0. Hours later, the Ohio House voted to reject the Senate changes to the budget, setting the stage for conference committee negotiations to iron out a final agreement on the main operating budget for fiscal years 2020 and 2021.
Politico Magazine recently featured a report on Seattle and the investment the state, city and region around Washington state’s largest city has made in mass transit alternatives. As the article notes, Seattle hasn’t banished cars, nor is it seeking to do so. Instead, it is seeking to create a balanced, multimodal system that can accommodate all forms of transportation. The transitions happening in Seattle can serve as an example for cities across Ohio.
A 2013 paper presents a visually striking comparison of the impacts of transportation, land use, and energy choices on carbon emissions. Findings from this study affect city strategies for climate action plans, and present an opportunity to tailor community-specific solutions by keeping smart growth tenets in mind.
Since GOPC delivered its findings to The Columbus Foundation in early 2018, The Columbus Foundation has used GOPC’s assessment to further shape the philosophy that will drive grantmaking in the neighborhood, as well as the first few specific investments. Backed by the findings of Positioning Milo-Grogan for Success, initial grants in the neighborhood are supporting home repairs for current and long-time residents, as well as community engagement, distribution of resident newsletters, and efforts to align civic capacity.
Research by GOPC has identified a dire need for policies that provide technical assistance to community that lack the necessary capacity to fully revitalize. The Redevelopment Ready Communities program from the Michigan Economic Development Corporation is one program that has shown promise in addressing this problem and is quintessential example of good public policy.
Greater Ohio has regularly provided updates on the Volkswagen Mitigation Trust Fund settlement and grants that are available through the program. As Ohio EPA prepares to open the second round of grant requests, the department will be holding webinars for those who are interested in learning more about the application process and requirements.
Yesterday, the House unanimously passed HB168, a bill that GOPC is championing as a means to encourage brownfields redevelopment through regulatory reform. HB168 establishes an affirmative defense for purchasers of contaminated properties.
The enactment of the so-called Affordable Homebuilding and Housing Act will subsidize unnecessary urban and suburban sprawl and fuel economically and environmentally unsustainable development across the state of Ohio. At a time when the state has an abundant supply of available housing and the lowest rate of population growth in thirty years, it simply does not make sense to incentivize this dangerous build-up at the expense of local governments. It is for this reason that GOPC opposes these provisions and is urging lawmakers to reject this cookie-cutter policy and leave such decisions up to local policy makers.
I wish to draw the committees attention to five issues which either are currently a part of HB166 or which GOPC believes should be addressed as part of HB 166. We believe that these recommendations build on Ohio’s recent success by recognizing potential, leveraging momentum, connecting people to places, and reviving our most important assets to ensure a Greater Ohio.
