The comprehensive plan will create goals and guidelines that city leaders would use for the next 10-15 years in making decisions.
For the past several weeks, Plan Hamilton has been driven by the community’s input through online surveys, public meetings and other forums.
Resident received their first look last week of a summary of the community’s input on issues as land use, economic development, transportation, utilities, parks, neighborhoods and housing.
“It looks like they took the top ideas from each (public meeting), and then summarized them into some sort of a plan,” said Lori Clark, of Hamilton’s Armondale neighborhood. “It looks organized … They did good work with it.”
She said she was most enthusiastic about a call for “enhancing the bicycle paths.”
Clark’s boyfriend, Brian Lenihan, of the Dayton Lane neighborhood, said his top issue was “preserving historic buildings, and making owners take care of the buildings,” which also was represented on the lists of top priorities.
Clark noted that Lenihan “has an old building next door to his house that’s not in very good shape.”
Lenihan said: “It’s actually scheduled to be demolished. I would prefer that they leave it standing, even though it would probably be in my best interest if it’s demolished.”
The city has placed a high priority on eliminating empty buildings that pose threats to trespassers and lower the property values of the surrounding neighborhoods. City officials have taken several steps to raze of some of the worst such buildings. The city also is working to make landlords and other property owners more accountable for such blighted properties.
“We’re really excited about how many people want to be a part of this,” said Wendy Moeller, owner and principal planner of Blue Ash-based Compass Point Planning, which organized the public input meetings. “Everybody who who was engaged in these meetings seems pretty excited about Hamilton’s future, and I think they want to be part of it.”
PLACES OF CHANGE/OPPORTUNITY
Here are the top items Hamilton residents who recently attended public-input sessions said they would like to see changed, for the better, over the next 10 to 15 years:
- Elimination of blighted houses and vacant lots in neighborhoods
- Creation of more public transportation options, as well as enhanced information about routes and stops
- Attraction of more diverse dining and shopping options;
- Focus on crime and drug hot spots;
- Lessening of train noise and blocking of traffic
- Creation of sidewalk and other improvements of walkability, especially involving community spaces;
- Improvement of some community infrastructure, and roads
- Redevelopment of underused or blighted shopping centers and commercial buildings;
- Enhanced maintenance and programming in the parks, plus a desire for a community pool;
- Focus on problems created by absentee landlords
- Improving the fate of historic buildings
PLACES WE VALUE
Here are places Hamilton residents said they value in the city:
- Downtown, including both the Main Street and High Street corridors
- Historic districts and buildings
- Community events and activities
- Schools
- Arts and culture
- Positives, successes and the changing image of Hamilton
- Miami University Hamilton
- Great Miami River
- Bike paths
- Strong neighborhoods and the 17Strong effort to improve them
- Reinvestment opportunities such as the proposed Spooky Nook at Champion Mill mega sports complex
- Parks
- Lindenwald business district
TOP IDEAS
Here are the top ideas for Hamilton improvements based on feedback offered by residents during Plan Hamilton public input meetings:
- Riverfront use, redevelopment, and improvements
- Development of a strategy to address absentee landlords and blighted buildings
- More retail and restaurant choices
- Additional recreational activities for all ages
- Improved messaging about schools and community successes;
- Easier access to a variety of community and social services;
- More business support, including job training, business services, and encouragement of minority-owned businesses;
- Planning based on the unique qualities of Hamilton's 17 individual neighborhoods; and
- Public transportation improvements (all modes).
UPCOMING PLAN HAMILTON MEETINGS
- Oct. 2: Public meeting that will focus on some of the big-picture issues and policies of Plan Hamilton moving forward. The meetings starts at 6 p.m. at the Fitton Center for Creative Arts, 101 S. Monument Ave.
- Oct. 9: Plan Hamilton open house, where a summary vision and conceptual framework for Plan Hamilton, based on all input given, will be presented. The open house will be from 6 to 8 p.m. at the Fitton Center for Creative Arts, 101 S. Monument Ave.
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