September 16, 2004

EDITORIAL

Village can influence development

Village administrators and Village Council have a chance to influence the scope of a proposed development as they work with the property owners who hope to have their 39-acre parcel annexed into Yellow Springs so it can be developed.

Village officials should stress the need for residential development over retail establishments or restaurants that could eclipse what downtown Yellow Springs has to offer. These officials should protect downtown and work with developers to ensure that any development project is done smartly and does not lead to uncontrolled growth. They should also discuss with developers the serious need for a variety of housing, at moderate prices, not just large overly priced houses often found on large developments in this area.

Council and Village staffers have a chance to sway one project at Council’s next meeting, on Monday, Sept. 20, when they will publicly discuss the annexation request and plans to develop the land some call the Fogg property, on Dayton-Yellow Springs Road. This is an opportune time for Council as well as the community to not only learn more about the developer’s plans, but also to stress to the developer, Doug Miller of HRI Commercial in Beavercreek, that while Yellow Springs needs to grow, the community does not want to turn into a sprawling town.

This isn’t to say that Mr. Miller, who along with Lucy Fogg and Harold Fogg, owns the Fogg property, plans to create sprawl around the village. He said this week that he hopes to create a mixed-use development that complements the Yellow Springs and Antioch University McGregor, which hopes to expand its campus as part of a commerce park slated for construction on farmland across the road from the Fogg property. Mr. Miller said his project could include residential and commercial entities. He also indicated that he is looking for signs from Council about what the Village wants to see built on the property.

Of course, developing one or two relatively small parcels of farmland does not equal sprawl. But consider that after Council announced it was promoting growth and then backed an effort to build a commerce park in Yellow Springs, there are now plans to develop a second property on the edge of town. Without adequate planning from the Village as well as Miami Township, there is some concern that growth could snowball out of control on the western border of Yellow Springs, forever changing this town in a very negative way.

Village Manager Rob Hillard has stressed that development around Yellow Springs should be compatible with the community. And the Village has the tools, such as control of utilities and zoning authority, to make sure that such growth is reasonable.

—Robert Mihalek