The Jerome Township Trustees are pushing back against legislative recommendations to improve the housing shortage in Ohio, which they say actually harm local government in order to advance special interest groups.
The trustees voted unanimously Tuesday to send a letter to state representatives and senators opposing recommendations from the Building Industry Association (BIA).
“Yes, more housing is needed, but let’s not lose sight of all the other things,” reads a draft of the letter signed by all three trustees and Fiscal Officer Robert Caldwell. “Anyone can build more houses if the funding is there, but the challenge is how do we build thriving communities.”
The BIA’s recommendations note that Ohio’s economic growth is slowing due to a lack of housing, which they argue is in part due to the power of townships to regulate zoning and allow referendums.
The association is suggesting the elimination of township zoning (aside from those that have adopted a limited home rule form of government) and instead creating state-level zoning standards.
In doing so, referendums at the township level would also be done away with.
Trustee Chair Barry Adler said those in Jerome Township specifically feel six of the BIA’s 14 recommendations to alleviate the housing shortage would have adverse impacts on the township.
Adler wrote that the recommendation to eliminate local zoning would shift the burden to the county to enforce less restrictive zoning standards.
Likewise, he said the BIA’s push to eliminate referendums on zoning decisions “totally removes (the) voting rights of local residents.”
“The BIA assumes that the state knows what is best for local residents and would give them ultimate power over local zoning and eliminate any ability of citizens to object to their actions,” he argued in the letter.
Adler said the recommendations would also undermine local authority by allowing residential development in areas zoned for retail.
Doing so would defeat a “key purpose of zoning,” the letter states, adding that “zoning districts ensure that conflicting or non-compatible uses are adequately separated.”
Adler said the policies proposed by the BIA overlook the existing infrastructure in townships like Jerome.
The association recommended the creation of the Ohio Rural Residential Development Loan Program to provide forgivable loans to developers building rural housing.
“This would incentivize even more residential development in townships in rural areas that lack essential infrastructure including roadways to accommodate more housing units,” Adler wrote.
He said another proposed policy that would allow the use of Tax Increment Financing (TIF) funds to go directly to residential developers would also amplify the same problem.
“This arrangement can potentially divert funds away from critically needed public roadway and utility infrastructure to fund internal development of a residential site,” according to the trustees’ letter.
Adler said, if approved, the policy recommendations would sap power from the school districts along with the township.
Removing the need for school district approval of abatements would put local schools and Jerome Township at odds, Adler said.
“Allowing increased abatements without school district approval not only makes school funding more dire, but also will adversely impact the ability for townships to pass needed levies as they will be competing with schools for residents’ votes for funding,” the letter states.
The trustees’ letter underlined their support of the Ohio Township Association’s stance that the BIA recommendations are an overreach of authority that will not solve the state’s housing crisis.
“Developers have cited numerous reasons why they cannot keep up with the housing demand in Ohio, including the rise in interest rates, land prices, materials and labor,” according to OTA documents, which also note that water and sewer access is “one of the largest hurdles to increased housing and development.”
Rather than leaning on the BIA’s recommendations, the trustees noted that they “generally support” those laid out in the Senate Select Committee on Housing Report from this year.
Specifically, Adler wrote that the trustees are in favor of a recommendation to provide assistance with zoning codes to modernize opportunities for housing.
Ultimately, Jerome Township officials said they understand that more housing is needed throughout the state but want to ensure development preserves the quality of life in the area.
“We need to be more focused on creating housing that will promote thriving communities and neighborhoods, not just to maximize profits for the building industry,” the letter states.