Community needs to plan for future growth

With the the latest announcement of the new Intel chip manufacturing facility coming to central Ohio, a lot of men and women are inquiring, “Where will these 1000’s of new staff are living?”. With the northern 50 percent of Fairfield County getting inside of a 30 to 40-moment generate from the Intel web page, our local community leaders are talking about how we can greatest prepare for that inhabitants expansion.

Anyone who pays lease, or has priced a new home currently, by now understands there is a lack of accessible housing in central Ohio. Every little thing from apartments, condominiums, starter properties, and middle to higher-income housing is in shorter supply and selling prices have soared.

In the past some communities have taken a no-development perspective, which is reflected in restrictive zoning, ensuing in big loads for solitary-household houses fairly than denser developments or multifamily housing.

In 2021, 60% of the properties crafted, outside the house of the metropolitan areas of Pickerington and Lancaster, were being in unsewered parts that expected on-website sewage treatment method methods. In fact, there were 191 new household sewage treatment method units installed in 2021, with an typical price tag for every process of $20,580. Over $3.5 million bucks have been used last year to deliver specific sewage therapy to people 191 homes. Add to that the value of new h2o wells, and we are up over $5 million expended to give ingesting water and sewage therapy to these 191 homes.

The aim of quite a few communities is to preserve their rural character, but when the typical new dwelling whole lot dimensions in unsewered areas is 5.4 acres, their zoning insurance policies generally end result in just the opposite outcome. In 2021, new single-relatives homesite advancement resulted in over 780 acres of rural land staying converted into household tons.

By adopting updated in depth options, and zoning that reflects people ideas, communities can assistance control expansion even though increasing infrastructure, such as roadways, drinking water and sewer. They can also work with developers to develop new parks, protect greenspace and develop trails to make our communities much healthier for all inhabitants, new and previous.

Tale proceeds

We are privileged to stay in a county that is balanced and escalating. 55 of the 88 counties in Ohio missing inhabitants in the last census. Everyone needs to have good-shelling out work opportunities, excellent universities, and to live in vivid communities with leisure opportunities. Enterprises, their employees, and families are attracted to Fairfield County for superior rationale. We want to welcome them and, to improved provide us all, we should really undertake comprehensive neighborhood options that will proceed to assist Fairfield County be a terrific spot to are living and do the job for generations to appear.

Joe Ebel is the Fairfield County Well being Commissioner

This article originally appeared on Lancaster Eagle-Gazette: Overall health commissioner: Community wants to prepare for future progress