Zoning Code Changing in Clifton – How It Will Affect You – and What You Can Still Do About It
10 Second Summary
The City is rewriting the zoning code which will have a major effect on everyone who lives, works, or owns property in Cincinnati. You can learn how the proposed rules will affect Clifton and specifically your own property or residence. You can read the draft version and suggest changes before it becomes law. Clifton Town Meeting (CTM), your neighborhood community council, is conducting its own review, but also relies on all residents to educate themselves and provide thoughtful comments both to its Housing and Zoning Committee and to the City Planning Department.
What does the code do and why should I care?
The City is in the middle of rewriting the zoning code, which governs most of what shapes the look and feel of a community. The “code” protects residents from incompatible uses of property, as, for example, preventing your next door neighbor from opening a bar with outdoor seating under your bedroom window. It also tells your neighbor where in the city she may expect to set up her new business without hindrance from nearby property owners (typically permissible in an established business district).
In addition to controlling usage, the code influences the look and feel of a community by establishing parameters for the architectural elements of a structure and where it is located vis-a-vis the boundaries of the lot where it is located and the characteristics of other structures nearby. For example, you can build a large apartment building in a zone which is designated for high-density residential use, but not among people’s homes in a single-family housing zone. Even though both kinds of buildings have the same use, i.e., residential housing, the scale and weight of each type is quite different.
You can thank the code’s regulatory structure for balancing the various needs a community has for the land within its borders. The zoning code provides, perhaps more than any other factor, the control over the look and feel of the environment that makes Clifton the delightful neighborhood we share and love. If you own real estate, the code has a major role in determining its desirability and thus protecting its value as an investment.
How can I learn what the new code says?
The City has posted the current draft, called Revision Two of the Land Development Code. You will also find links to maps and charts summarizing the changes and even a search box that will guide you to the details affecting any street address. Here is the current Zoning Code so that you may read what’s there before any proposed changes are included.
How can I influence the final version?
The site includes a form for comments and a number to call for help finding the information you are seeking. CTM would like to know if you plan to submit a suggested change and will consider incorporating it its review for submission to the City. Please email your suggested changes to the Housing and Zoning Committee.
What’s the timeline?
January 30 is the date by which the City has asked for all comments to be submitted for consideration in the next revision. The City will publish the next revision (3rd Draft) will later this year for public comments.