Kettering officials have completed a draft of their comprehensive plan, which they say will shape the city’s future growth, development, and quality of life for years to come. Now they want input from Kettering residents.
WYSO's Mike Frazier spoke with Kettering City Planner Tom Robillard about what the plan covers.
This transcript has been lightly modified for clarity.
Tom Robillard: It's a long-term forward-looking guide for the city that reflects our shared vision as a community and gives us a roadmap to how we want to achieve some of the goals that are outlined going forward in the future.
Mike Frazier: Can you briefly summarize some of those plans?
Robillard: One is land use. One is regarding housing, the neighborhoods, economic development, parks and recreation, transportation or what we call mobility. But also, we have identified five specific areas of Kettering that we wanted to focus on over the next five years. These five shopping center areas - they include the quadrant of Stroop and Marshall. It includes Woodman Shopping Center, which is the Dorothy Lane, and Woodman Drive area. Another one is the Bigger Road and Whipp Road area. And then Town and Country Shopping Center. We have a focused plan for how to redevelop those.
Frazier: What challenges does an older suburb like Kettering face?
Robillard: Yeah, that's a great question because Kettering is practically built out. So, we have very, very little available greenfield or developable land. So it's how do we address the aging housing stock? How do we address aging shopping centers that are facing a lot of challenges from today's market. We have a lot of vacant commercial space that's just no longer needed for commercial purposes. And so this plan is giving us ideas and a vision to go forward with how we redevelop these older shopping centers per se. And how do we preserve our neighborhoods for the next 20 years?
"As with anything, things change all the time, properties need to be reinvested in, and this helps guide where we should concentrate our redevelopment and reinvestment efforts."
Frazier: Now what about residential challenges that the city is facing? What are your plans to help alleviate that? And what are some of those challenges, besides an aging housing stock?
Robillard: Yes, it primarily has to do with basically an aging housing stock. The older homes that were built in Kettering, primarily in the 40s, 50s and 60s - they're smaller, they're two bedroom one bath, three bedroom one bath, single car garage with very little insulation, older appliances. They're much more expensive to own, even though they are more available to moderate income or lower income persons. So, what do we do to make sure that that housing stock still stays functioning and is useful for the future? We have programs right now, but we're also examining what else can we do to help preserve our neighborhoods. So our tools are intended to help property owners reinvest in their properties in a good way so that it makes their house much more affordable, energy efficient, and sustainable for the long term.
Frazier: Does the comprehensive plan address affordable housing and how the city might try to tackle that issue?
Robillard: It directs us to identify other areas throughout the city that might be appropriate for higher density housing. And when I say higher density, that just doesn't mean apartments. It could mean ownership housing as well. It could mean town homes, it could mean condominiums, it could mean apartments.
Our comprehensive plan also directs us to look at accessory dwelling units and where they might be most appropriate and whether we should allow them in various parts of the city.
Frazier: Can you explain that quickly, please?
Robillard: Sure. So accessory dwelling units are typically a smaller unit, say an apartment unit, attached to your house or could be detached. Basically a granny flat is what they're also known for. And in some areas in town they might be appropriate, some areas they might not, but the Comprehensive Plan is directing us to look into that as a means to help address the affordable housing issues and achievability of housing.
Kettering is a great place to live, it's a great to place to raise kids, it a great place to do business, and we want to keep it that way. And as with anything, things change all the time, properties need to be reinvested in, and this helps guide where we should concentrate our redevelopment and reinvestment efforts.
The City has a feedback form on their website for input by the public, which must be completed by this Thursday, January 29.
