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.

Grey to Green Festival Saturday September 11 at Wick Park

Youngstown's third annual Grey to Green Festival will be held at Wick Park Saturday September 11.  The purpose of the Grey to Green Festival is to increase awareness of environmental issues that perplex Youngstown and the world.  On Saturday there will be a collaboration of environmentally oriented businesses, community organizations, local and regional agencies in attendance.  This year the three keynote speakers will be Maurice Small of City Fresh in Cleveland, Ohio who will be discussing the importance of urban agriculture,  James Anderson who is the CEO of Evergreen Cooperative will be discussing sustainable green jobs that his company has created in Cleveland, Ohio,    and Michael Gainer of Buffalo Reuse will discuss neighborhood development and deconstruction.  Youngstown's recent partner Global Green will also be in attendance.

The opening ceremony begins at 10am with Mayor Jay Williams and representatives from Congressmen Tim Ryan's office.  The festival concludes at 5pm.

The 2010 Grey to Green Festival Schedule

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.