Candidates agree, disagree at Smart Growth forum

By Virgil Hervey

Issues of local growth and development took center stage Sunday afternoon, luring about 60 villagers indoors on a beautiful autumn day to the Yellow Springs Senior Center. At the Smart Growth Education Task Force Candidate Forum, four villagers running for Village Council — Lori Askeland, John Booth, Brian Chase and Jerry Sutton — gave presentations and answered questions. Candidates Brian Harris and Kathryn Van der Heiden did not attend, although Van der Heiden sent a prepared statement.

The candidates found some areas of agreement. For instance, when asked how large they think Yellow Springs should grow, all agreed that the village should stay below 5,000 residents. And all favor some form of economic development, although they offered distinctions as to how that development should best occur.

But they also identified clear differences. Askeland and Booth came out strongly against the proposed AMP-Ohio coal-fired plant, while Chase and Sutton favored signing on to the plant, viewing it as less than ideal as an energy source, but the best option at the current time.

In her introduction, Smart Growth -Education Task Force member Dimi Reber identified principles of smart growth, which include supporting vibrant city centers, minimizing existing infrastructure, accommodating new growth in compact forms in ways that de-emphasize dependency on cars, building strong communities, supporting entrepreneurial efforts and encouraging inclusive community dialogue on growth issues.

In her opening remarks, Askeland praised villagers who speak out about their concerns, and emphasized her desire to promote community dialogue. The village’s opinionated nature is one of its greatest strengths, she said, speaking of her excitement when hundreds of people came together on a very hot night last summer to address the need to keep Antioch College open.

“Our feistiness comes from our love for the village,” Askeland said. “It’s a great strength to build on as we face the problems of the future. We must trust the ability of a robust collective process and trust our wisdom.”

Also emphasizing the need for community dialogue, Booth expressed his concern at the decline of diversity in the village, which he links to a lack of affordable housing. He supports smart growth principles in wanting to emphasize infill as a way to create new housing rather than annexation, Booth said, adding that he would like to see the issue of annexation put to a vote, so that all villagers could speak.

The village needs economic growth, but it needs to focus that growth on the strengths of what’s already present in the village, Booth said, identifying artists and holistic healers as examples of workers whose efforts could be supported.

In his opening remarks, Chase also stated that he supports many smart growth principles, and is especially excited about current infill building projects, such as Birch III and the Village Station project. The currently empty Vernay Laboratory building is an example of a building which the Village could put to good use in new ways, thus using smart growth principles.

Annexation proposals should be evaluated with an eye to how closely they conform to village values, Chase said, stating that he also would like to see a village vote on annexation. Economic development is the only longterm solution to financial problems, Chase said, citing the Center for Business and Education as an example of a place in which the village could encourage businesses that support the values of energy sustainability and a light ecological footprint.

In his opening remarks, Sutton stated that he finds smart growth principles to contain both strengths and weaknesses, and that the weaknesses “provide a framework for debate.” Specifically, he stated that infill is not easily achieved due to landowners’ desire to keep their lots open. Too much density in a town can also make the town less attractive to some prospective residents, he said.

Yellow Springs has been losing population for the past 20 years, according to Sutton, who stated that it’s critical to stop “the hemorraging of people and jobs from the town.” He cited the loss several years ago of Vernay Laboratories and the potential loss of Antioch College as examples.

The most important goal of economic development should be retaining jobs in Yellow Springs, Sutton said.

In her prepared statement, read by Gina Paget, Van der Heiden expressed her concern at the divisions in the village, and the sometimes heated debate around controversial issues.

“We seem to have lost a basic trust in each other,” she wrote.

Van der Heiden stated that she would like to see the Village Council commit to revising the zoning code, a process that should include extensive community involvement.

Contact: vhervey@ysnews.com