SitemapA housing study of Mahoning and Trumbull counties recommends regional coordination to help modernize zoning codes to encourage development. Jim Kinnick, executive director of Eastgate Regional Council of Governments, said the agency plans to invite representatives from townships, cities and villages who deal with zoning to a meeting in early March to begin discussions. Eastgate is leading the recommendation from the housing study released earlier this month that dealt with zoning. It recommended regional coordination on zoning adjustments.
The housing study by the Greater Ohio Policy Center and the Reinvestment Fund, funded by Eastgate and initiated in cooperation with the Youngstown/Warren Regional Chamber, listed five regional recommendations. The others are establishing a housing consortium, developing a downpayment assistance program, instituting an emerging developers program and assembling land proactively. An agency or organization was identified to spearhead each one. Eastgage is guiding the zoning recommendation. The study said modernizing zoning codes will legalize development on small, currently nonconforming parcels “to help drive development to existing communities where there is ample vacant land and existing utilities. By making these sites more viable for development, zoning adjustments can help eliminate the need to develop on the urban fringe, where expensive utility extension is often required.” It will also allow for a range of missing middle types of housing that better match regional income levels, the study said. It defines missing middle as housing types that are comparable in size to single-family homes but contain multiple units and are located in walkable neighborhoods. “The actual nuts and bolts of changing zoning codes will happen at the local level, but a regional emphasis on encouraging development-supportive updates, striving for consistency across local governments and providing technical assistance could provide the momentum and support needed to generate greater impact more quickly across the region,” the study said.
Kim Mascarella, Howland planning director, said officials in that township are willing to sit down with Eastgate and the housing consortium to take their recommendations into consideration. “… I think that the zoning resolution here in Howland is a living, breathing document,” she said. “It can accommodate the emerging trends.” Howland updated its comprehensive community plan in late 2023. And we’ve identified a lot of these issues in the plan that are echoed in the regional housing plan,” Mascarella said. Township officials are looking at areas of Howland that can serve as infill housing, for example. “We’re looking at some of the older neighborhoods to see if they can accommodate workforce housing, particularly in our Bolingdale neighborhood that’s situated adjacent to the Kimberly Clark site,” she said. That neighborhood is also adjacent to a planned greenway trail. The township’s comprehensive plan also recommends looking at mixed use, the planning director said. Township officials also are examining East Market Street to determine if mixed use and higher density residential fits within the land uses in the future. “I do think we’re really well-positioned to collaborate with the housing study,” Mascarella added. Howland has mostly single-family zoning homes, and most of them are three- to five-bedroom houses. But Howland’s median age is about 49. “They’re aging in place,” she said. “We don’t want them to leave Howland. They’ve established friendships. They go to church here. They sent their kids to school here. We want them to stay.” Those people are looking for housing options such as one- to two-bedroom homes with characteristics to help them age in place, Mascarella explained. “So I think a lot of what’s come out of our comprehensive plan is items that they’re already talking about in the housing strategy,” she said.
Ian Beniston, executive director of the Youngstown Neighborhood Development Corporation, said while zoning is complicated and varies between jurisdictions, it needs to be adjusted.
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