Review Today: Connected Communities Online Petition

Dear Councilmembers,

The undersigned respectfully request that City Council pause the process of passing the Connected Communities ordinance in order to allow residents and community members an appropriate amount of time to analyze the very lengthy proposed legislation, allow the City to provide further information and engage more fully about the changes proposed by the ordinance, and to enable the City administration to hear, gather, assess, and address further feedback and concerns from the community.

There are a number of concerns about the ordinance as written which have not been sufficiently heard or addressed. This zoning legislation is critically important to the future of the City and to the neighborhoods it touches, and it is vital that changes to the zoning code be made with as much thoughtful examination and consideration of the potential benefits and consequences for those communities as needed to achieve positive outcomes.

The extremely short timeline for approval of the draft legislation prevents honest engagement of affected community members and property owners. The scheduling of Connected Communities legislation to overlap with existing City processes (Budget, Vision Zero, NSP, NBDIP etc.) creates capacity issues and limits residents’ ability to engage with each important initiative.
The draft legislation is singular for all 52 communities. Connected Communities does not take into account the unique differences and needs of our neighborhoods.
Rather than simplifying the zoning code, the proposed legislation will create 78 new zoning districts with varying restrictions.
Supporting data and analysis about impacted communities, and upon which the legislation must logically be premised, is inexplicably missing from the public discourse.
The proposed legislation does little to promote or secure homeownership opportunities in Cincinnati.
The drafted legislation focuses heavily and intentionally on creating additional rental units as a means of reducing rents without addressing the realities of the existing market forces and profitability in any given neighborhood, without supporting evidence.
The proposed changes will actually increase segregation, gentrification, and displacement.
The proposed legislation will compound the problems of poor communities with regard to equitable access to City services, including safety services, and the failure of the City to address existing unlawful building modifications and uses.
The proposed changes to the zoning code impact the opportunity for development to follow existing City-approved community plans. It undermines the ability of communities or the City to address development in the impacted areas.
The ¼ mile and ½ mile targeted zones are not consistently applied across the City in the draft legislation maps. There are inaccuracies and inexplicable exceptions.
In removing parking requirements, the draft legislation exacerbates mobility challenges faced by disabled populations, and could negatively impact aging populations.
The proposed legislation will create significantly more demand on overburdened City infrastructure and City services.