Zoning And Redevelopment Code Updates

Last week the City of Youngstown began the 11 neighborhood zoning meetings with the Salt Springs, Steelton, Lincoln Knolls, Brownlee Woods, Buckeye Plat, and Lansingville neighborhoods.  During these meetings citizens worked in small groups and suggested zoning improvements in their neighborhoods. The City of Youngstown has begun the process to undertake the task of restructuring the Redevelopment Code. The newly developed code will outline the land-use goals, as part of the Youngstown 2010 plan.  The citizens whom are involved in these meeting will have the opportunity to develop the future land use plan for their neighborhoods and the City of Youngstown.

There are seven Neighborhood Zoning Meetings left. If you live in any of the neighborhoods listed below, make sure that you attend to take advantage of the opportunity to make an impact on your community. If you don't know what neighborhood or cluster you live in click on map.

Meeting Date/Time              Cluster Number and Neighborhood                            

7/19  6:30-8:00 pm             #5 Erie, FLint Hill, Lower Gibson,Oak Hill,Warren.                                                                                                    At the Oak Hill Renaissance Center, 345 Oak Hill

 7/21  6-7:30 pm                 #8 East High, East Side, Hazelton                                                                                                                                    At the East High School, 474 Bennington Avenues

7/25 7-8:30 pm                 #3 Belle Vista, Schenley                                                                                                                                                 At  the Millcreek Davis Center, 123 McKinney Ave.

7/26   6-7:30 pm                #6 Cottage Grove, Idora, Newport, Pleasant Grove                                                                                               At  Newport Branch Library, 3730 Market St.

7/28  6-7:30 pm                 #10 Landsdowne, McGuffy Heights                                                                                                                        At the Assoc. Neighborhood Centers,  McGuffey  Centre, 1649 Jacobs Road

8/1  6-7:30 pm                   #11 Arlington, Downtown, Mahoning Commons                                                                                                                  Riverbend, Smoky Hollow, YSU                                                                                                                                    At the Trinity United Methodist Church 30W. Front Street

8/4 6-7:30 pm           #1 Brier Hill, North Heights, Wick Park                                                                                                                            At the Wick Park Recreation Center, 260 Park Ave. 

WE NEED YOUR INPUT TO MAKE YOUR NEIGHBORHOODS A BETTER PLACE TO LIVE!

KICK-OFF MEETING FOR NEW ZONING REDEVELOPMENT CODE

The City of Youngstown will host a meeting to discuss the kick-off of the new zoning redevelopment code. The current zoning/redevelopment code is plagued with barriers, and in order to implement a code that serves the interests of all the residents of Youngstown, a new system needs to be developed while embracing the guidelines of the Youngstown 2010 plan. The city of Youngstown will collaborate with Clarion Associates of Denver, Colorado to deliver a new, innovative code for zoning and redevelopment code.  This is just the start of many public meeting in which the citizens are giving the opportunity to shape the zoning and redevelopment code in their neighborhood regarding issues such as creative and flexible land and building reuse, urban agriculture,green corridors, and limited service areas.

The meeting will take place June 29th from 7:00-8:00 pm at the Trinity United Methodist Church, 30 W. Front Street, Downtown Youngstown.  More information about this meeting and the upcoming public meetings will be available on the city's website.

Ground Breaking On Global Green Urban Agriculture Project

Friday May 20 soil testing began in the Oak Hill neighborhood on various abandoned city lots.  Youngstown State University (YSU) students Mike Perry, Nate Wilson, and Danni Wilson collected soil samples on these city lots under the supervision of YSU Professor Dr. Felicia Armstrong and assistance from City of Youngstown Planning Fellow Jason Langer.  Pictured to the right, Mike Perry and Jason Langer collect composite soil samples from 6"-10" deep using a soil probe.  This group of researchers were collecting and analyzing soil samples for Global Green USA in partner with the City of Youngstown to see if there is any sort of contamination before any initial plans of planting produce on these lots progress.  Once the soil testing is complete the YSU researchers plan to put test garden plots on these areas to see how the plants grow and further analyze the bio-accessible contaminants on these lots.  The main potential contaminants of concern are likely heavy metals.  Graduate student Mike Perry is using this project as an opportunity for his thesis research.  Global Green plans to use these lots for a large scale urban agriculture project.  More updates and details about Global Greens project will be available upon its progression.

Population Distribution by Ward from 1990-2011

The recent available results of the 2010 Census show Youngstown's continually shrinking population to stand just short of 67,000 residents, which is down nearly 30% from the 1990 population of 95,706.  It is well known that Youngstown is a shrinking city, but what about the distribution of its population through the city's 7 wards, or which parts of the city is experiencing the majority of the population loss.

The following map shows the location of the 7 wards within the city

 The following chart show the population distribution by ward from 1990-2010

Ward 4 has lost the least amount of residents over all since 1990, making ward 4 the highest and most consistently populated ward since 1990.  The least populated ward from 1990-2000 was ward 1.  Since the 2010 Census data has become available the least populated ward is now ward 6, which has experienced a 45% population loss since 1990.  Wards 2, 3, and 5 have also experienced a population loss slightly above the city average loss of 30% since 1990.  Wards 1, 4, and 7 have experienced a loss below the city average of 30% loss since 1990. 

Brownlee Woods Neighborhood Update!

 Brownlee Woods is an elegant family oriented neighborhood located in Youngstown's south side.  Just recently the neighborhood received a way to express these key virtues to interested parties.  Under the Youngstown 2010 Plan every Youngstown neighborhood would receive a neighborhood profile on the City Of Youngstown Website.  The Brownlee Woods Profile, along with other neighborhood profiles, can be found by going to the city's website under the about tab, then click on the neighborhoods tab, and finally on Brownlee Woods.

Brownlee Woods also gets a new look with brand new custom street signs.  The City of Youngstown and the Brownlee Woods Neighborhood Association believes that these are unique street signs that the neighborhood residence can take pride in.  The Brownlee Woods signs are to be scheduled to be put up shortly.

Idora Neighborhood Streets Get a New Look

On Tuesday, November 9th 2010, the first of the new Idora Neighborhood street signs will be hung on the corner of Winona and Glenwood.  The public unveiling will take place at 3 p.m. The new custom designed signage depicts the neighborhood name in a raised center arch above the street name. Installation of the new neighborhood-specific signs represents the continued partnership between the City of Youngstown CDA and Idora Neighborhood Association in that area's ongoing revitalization. New signage for Idora is part of a specific strategy to increase neighborhood pride as outlined in the Idora Neighborhood Comprehensive Plan. By taking some extra time to compare pricing, the CDA was able to purchase the new signs at a reduced cost for Youngstown taxpayers. At $48.50 each, the total price for the custom-cut metal blanks and decals is a substantial savings compared to what the city has traditionally paid for its ordinary street signs. The CDA plans to work with Idora residents in installing the signs. Once these new street signs are in place, the CDA would like to target other City neighborhoods for custom signage, such as Brownlee Woods and Lincoln Knolls on the south and east sides of town, respectively. 

September 27th Youngstown Community Congress Gathering

On  Monday September 27th 6:30 pm in Downtown Youngstown at Trinity United Methodist Church, 30 W Front Street, join the MVOC and an anticipated 1,000 Mahoning Valley residence for the first ever Youngstown Community Congress.  It is free to attend and parking is provided across the street from the church. The reason for this gathering is for residence to have an opportunity to submit questions to important local and state officials as well as potential candidates.  Common topics could range from neighborhood and economic revitalization, clean up of local corner stores, and vacant land as well as land bank issues. The MVOC has invited the Governor, U.S Senate, Attorney General and other state and local officials.  Among those invited conformations have been received from Congressman Tim Ryan, Mayor Jay Williams, Yvette McGee Brown running mate to Governor Strickland, various city council members, Mahoning County Prosecutor Paul Gains, and many more.

If you are interested in attending you can sign up and reserve yourself a seat by clicking here.

Parkview Gardens in Full Bloom: An Update on Lots of Green

In only a month's time since the Communicator last reported on the subject, lots of progress has occurred on the YNDC's Lots of Green pilot program in Idora Neighborhood. Several of the neighborhood's newly planted community gardens are in full bloom, and neighborhood residents and youth are busily watering plants and trees while contractors continue to deconstruct dilapidated homes to make way for expansion.
 
Lots of Green is an initiative to re-utilize vacant land in Youngstown for productive green space uses including reforestation, passive green space, expanded yards for residents, community gardens, and other practical purposes. YNDC hopes to use the successes of  Lots of Green to create a workable model for sustainable vacant property reclamation that can be implemented to in neighborhoods all across the city and in other communities nation-wide.

So far, this program has been a great success. Over 75 neighborhood residents are active participants in the gardens and hundreds have become involved in the program as a whole. Over 115 lots have been affected

In the video above, Ian Beniston, YNDC's Assistant Director, talks about the Lots of Green program and progress in one of the neighborhood's larger gardens, Parkview Neighborhood Garden.

Idora Neighborhood Transforms Vacant Property into Lots of Green

What were once blighted buildings and weed-covered lots are now being transformed into tilled topsoil and fertilized planters for fresh produce in Idora Neighborhood on the south side of Youngstown. Bulldozers can be seen working at vacant sites all throughout the neighborhood, leveling and preparing land for conversion to gardens and public green space.

Idora Neighborhood is a test site for Lots of Green, a project initiated by the Youngstown Neighborhood Development Corporation (YNDC) in order to "[transform] the challenge of unmanaged vacant land into neighborhood assets." The process involves the systematic removal of derilict buildings and the reclamation of vacant lots in targeted neighborhoods. These lots, in turn, are adaptively re-used and converted into a wide range of public green space uses, based upon the specific needs and interests of the neighborhood.

In Idora, YNDC has joined forces with the Community Development Agency to get the neighborhood's blighted homes and buildings systematically deconstructed and demolished using federal Neighborhood Stabilization Program (NSP) funding. YNDC also raised funding to cover the cost of the plants, trees, tools, and landscaping needed to transform these vacant lots into productive space.

In total, the Lots of Green project is in the process of recovering over 125 neglected properties interspersed throughout Idora Neighborhood, converting them into assets instead of liabilities. Approximately 150 lots will be improved by the time the project has been completed.

These lots are being re-purposed for a wide variety of different uses based closely on interests of the neighborhood's residents. Lots adjacent to Mill Creek Park, which borders the neighborhood on three sides, are being returned to the forest for the park's expansion or converted into rain gardens to reduce water pollution and soil erosion. Smaller sites located between houses are being leveled for passive green space or as side lots for neighbors using native plantings and special low-maintenance grasses. Some of the larger locations are being used for raised-bed community gardens where neighbors and the public are welcome to adopt space and plant produce. On Mineral Springs Road, a large lot is being set aside for the Mineral Springs Demonstration Farm, and urban agriculture project that will include community space. One site is even being used as a research garden for Ohio State University.

This community-based, institutionally-supported project falls directly in line with the Idora Neighborhood Plan, a community planning document for the neighborhood's redevelopment. The plan recommends that blighted, vacant space should be re-used for productive,purposes that engage the community. Both the Idora plan and the planting initiative directly follow the guidelines of the Youngstown 2010 CityWide Plan, which calls for the reclamation of vacant land for green space in order to reduce blight, improve neighborhood conditions and right-size the city for a smaller population.

Lots of Green in Idora is another example of why Youngstown is being looked toward as a model of sustainability. This initiative is drawing attention for its use of community-based planning strategies and because of its innovative and comprehensive approach to neighborhood stabilization. If successful, it will serve as a model for future efforts of revitalizing vacant property throughout Youngstown and the Mahoning Valley.