A Guide to Planning in Ohio

Second Edition

Format Hardcover
Price $30

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Description

A Guide to Planning in Ohio, Second Edition (2023) is a resource intended to provide the citizens and planners of Ohio with an understanding of the principals of planning as practiced in Ohio today. It is designed to organize a large body of Ohio planning law, policy, and planning practices into a single, organized volume. While the Guide makes reference to national, state, and local regulations, the discussion is primarily intended to provide the reader with a framework for conducting planning and to highlight examples of planning in action. 

Table of Contents

Forward
Introduction
Enabling Legislation in Ohio
The Role of Citizen Planners in Land Use Decisions
Ethics and Equity
Meeting Management
Comprehensive Planning
Zoning
Subdivision Regulations
Design Review
Transportation Planning
Infrastructure Planning
Environmental Planning
Planning Across Other Fields
     Economic Development
     Community Development
     Public Health
     Housing
     Historic Preservation

Chapter Authors

This Guide could not have been completed without the countless hours of time, dedication and expertise of some of Ohio's best planning professionals. To view all the authors and their biographies, click here.

History of the Guide

The first edition of the Guide to Planning in Ohio was the brainchild of Dr. Jennifer Evans-Cowley, FAICP, a former APA OH Board member, professor of City and Regional Planning at the Ohio State University Knowlton School of Architecture, and champion of the community engagement process. Dr. Evans-Cowley was responsible for launching this handbook, designed to establish a baseline for practitioners and elected/appointed officials to learn, in simple terms, the fundamentals of urban and regional planning. This, in turn, would encourage thoughtful land use planning and decision making in communities across the state. The guide was also designed to serve as a basic how-to manual for new professionals and those finding themselves with unfamiliar planning responsibilities. 

Since the Guide’s original publication in 2007, it’s become increasingly evident that knowledge of the fundamentals isn’t enough. As of this writing, Ohio’s communities are facing a litany of pivotal issues - many interrelated - that have the potential to worsen existing problems at worst, or at best, serve as catalysts for transformative action. With historic levels of public investment in infrastructure, the resources are out there; what’s needed is thoughtful land use planning, and the political will to take action and sustain momentum toward shared community objectives.

A Few Important Notes

The Guide is not intended to be exhaustive; it should help those involved with planning and land use decisions consider what questions need to be asked, and where further exploration is needed. It also seeks to link many diverse topics that might seem strange to find in the same volume (historic preservation, and hazard/disaster mitigation?), but are nonetheless part of the same ecosystem. In an era when challenges are more complex than ever, it’s critical for planners and decision-makers to understand the points of interconnection. 

The Guide is also intended to inspire, reminding practitioners and decision-makers of the possibilities while remaining cognizant of the challenges that lie ahead.