Currently in West Chester Township, no new buildings nor large expansions can be developed along its Cincinnati-Dayton and Ohio 747 corridor. The area is roughly 3,200 acres of commercial and industrial space on Union Center Boulevard.
In December, the trustees initiated a development moratorium for this prime business district.
Now trustees have hired MKSK, a Columbus-based land use planning and urban design firm, to study the area.
Township Administrator Lisa Brown said the study will be in two phases.
"Phase one, we'll be looking at short-term planning and zoning needs that will involve things such as looking at existing infrastructure, looking at existing uses, trending out future expected uses, and determining the capacity for future growth along the corridor area," Brown said.
According to Brown, phase one will help develop some zoning recommendations. Phase two will look at future development options in the area.
"We are here to protect the future of the organization and to do that. Sometimes you have to take a pause and you have to plan. And if you don't have a plan, then you don't know the direction that you're going," Brown said. "It's very difficult to determine what the best path forward is when specific ideas are brought to you, if you don't know where you're going."
Township trustees approved a $160,000 budget for the study. They’re using tax increment financing funds already collected.
