Conference will examine Ohio's land use law, issues
Source: Newark Advocate, by Howard J Siegrist
August 30, 2007
From planning and zoning to eminent domain, Ohio State University Extension will take a look at where Ohio is heading in its land use policies at the Ohio Land Use Conference.
The conference will be from 9 a.m. to 3:30 p.m. Sept. 14 at Ohio State University's Fawcett Center on Olentangy River Road in Columbus.
The conference is sponsored by OSU Extension Community Development and the Ohio State University Land Use Team. Registration is $65 and includes all meals and materials. Registration deadline is Sept. 5.
The conference is targeted at county and township officials; zoning officials; government agency personnel; OSU Extension educators; community land trusts; and soil and water officials.
A highlight of the Ohio Land Use Conference will be a session on Ohio's new eminent domain law, presented by Sen. Timothy Grendell, the law's primary sponsor.
The new Ohio eminent domain law not only changes the legal standard for using eminent domain for economic development purposes, it also contains revisions to many other aspects of the eminent domain process.The session at the conference will give a broad view of exactly what this new law means for Ohioans.
Other topics to be covered during the Ohio Land Use Conference include platting and zoning authority; sprawl, inequity and economic opportunity; community infrastructure development opportunities; updating community comprehensive land use plan; cost of community service studies; and water supply and land use. A diverse faculty of attorneys, planners, local officials and academicians will present the sessions.
The conference will also include a panel discussion on the future of Ohio land use policy.
With the change in Ohio administration, people are wondering where Ohio is heading with regards to land use. Ohio is not known as a state with strong land use policies. The panel discussion will offer insight as to where Ohio could go.
For more information on the Ohio Land Use Conference, contact Hall at (614) 247-7898, or hall.673@osu.edu, or log on to http://comdev.osu.edu/landuse_conf07.html.
For questions regarding registration, call (614) 292-6232.
Howard J. Siegrist is an extension educator at Ohio State University Extension. He can be reached at (740) 670-5315.
