April 10, 2011
Big Darby Town Center
Community takes a look at plan By CARLA SMITH ThisWeek Community Newspapers
The impact of more housing — bringing with it more students — in the Hilliard and South-Western city school districts was one of the major concerns expressed about the Big Darby Town Center Master Plan at a public meet-
ing April 5. Urban Design Associates, the design team in charge of the creation of the master plan for a massive planned development on the West Side, presented the final proposal to a crowd packing the Prairie Township Fire Station that night. The Town Center is to be developed within the Big Darby Accord Watershed
in western Franklin County. It encompasses the western portion of Prairie Township and a southwest portion of Brown Township. The mixed-use development plan calls for the building of single-family homes and apartments, townhomes, 300,000 square feet of retail space and a hotel. Paul Lambert, a member of the Hilliard
school board, asked why the Hilliard and South-Western school districts were not included in the planning process. He said he is worried that the proposed residential development in the area will become a burden to both districts, as they will have to rely more and more on property taxes. “My concern is that there has been no
thought in regard to the school districts,” Lambert said. “We will be relying on most of our funding now through residential property taxes.” The impact of new development on schools could be great, he said. Maggie Connor, of Urban Design AsSee COMMUNITY, page A2
Grossman says S.B. 5 vote was toughest she has faced By LISA AURAND ThisWeek Community Newspapers
By Chris Parker/ThisWeek
Graffiti defaces the Hometown Inn on Broad Street, just west of I-270. Prairie Township has purchased the property.
Civic leaders hope to see ‘Graffiti Free Columbus’ By KEVIN PARKS ThisWeek Community Newspapers
Short-term solutions to tagging suggested
The handwriting may be on the wall for graffiti in Columbus. As far as those who attended a special meeting last week are concerned, it should be off the walls for all graffiti, and off to jail for those who commit the crime of defacing public and private property with their “tags.” About 50 people from across the city turned out last week for the “Graffiti Free Columbus” meeting held at the Charity Newsies building on Indianola Avenue. They came, certainly not to praise graffiti, but to condemn it. They called for harsher punishment, tempered with diversionary programs for would-be taggers, such as public murals and more art education in schools. They wanted almost immediate eradication of “tags” on public and private structures, while at the same time suggesting some form of insurance reform so that property owners — already victims — have greater
The people who attended a community meeting on the subject of graffiti last week were asked to break into smaller groups to come up with possible immediate solutions to the problem. A sampling of their suggestions includes: • Stiffer penalties. • A Facebook page for reporting incidents of graffiti, such as the one city officials used recently in a campaign to repair potholes. • Creative alternatives, such as art projects and murals. • Encourage residents and victims to appear in court when vandals are sentenced. • Improve communication among civic groups. • Have ex-offenders speak to school groups. • Organize local and even national “graffiti wipeout days.” • Talk to business owners about the cost of leaving “tags” in place, countering their arguments about the cleanup incentives. And could somebody, please, do something about the railroads? James R.Blazer II of the Clintonville Area Commission said the purpose of the “Graffiti Free Colum-
cost of removing them. • Remove signs posted illegally in the public right of way to discourage taggers from feeling residents in an area of the city don’t care about the appearance of their neighborhood. This latter suggestion came from a group headed by Northland Community Council vice president Emmanuel V. Remy. The council has a graphics task force that was initially created to encourage removal of illegal advertising signs, but has since evolved to embrace reporting violations of the graphics codes and graffiti. University District Commission president Ian MacConnell, one of the co-chairman of last week’s “Graffiti Free Columbus” meeting, said he thinks the latter suggestion was an especially good one. He added that often, taggers tell him they don’t see why they can’t put their mark somewhere when an individual or company selling a mattress is allowed to advertise.
bus” gathering was to get a better han- our lives.” dle on what graffiti is while taking a “It undermines the economic podefinitive stance on what it is not. tential and gives the appearance, right“Graffiti is not art,” Blazer said. ly or wrongly, that an area isn’t safe,” “Graffiti is criminal behavior that destroys property and affects all of See GRAFFITI, page A2
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The Ohio Legislature’s March 30 vote on Senate Bill 5 was the toughest Rep. Cheryl Grossman (R-Grove City) has faced thus far, she said. Grossman, the former mayor of Grove City, was re-elected to a second term in the Ohio House Cheryl in November. Revised Senate Bill 5, which Grossman limits collective bargaining for public sector unions, passed the Ohio House 53-44 and the Senate 17-16 amid yells of protest from teachers and firefighters in the galleries. “I hate to see people so angry and upset,” Grossman said. “It was difficult. It really was.” Grossman said she believes some of her friends who are firefighters, policemen and teachers have been misled by union leaders about what S.B. 5 actually will do. “I think some of the in- See related story formation they’ve received on S.B. 5, page is very, very nonfactual, A5 and I know they’re confused and angry and disappointed,” she said. “I think the (Ohio Education Association) has manipulated a lot of the facts, and I think that’s unfortunate.” The bill requires workers to pay at least 15 percent of their health insurance costs and replaces automatic pay increases with a pay system based on performance. Additional provisions prohibit layoffs based solely on seniority and limit the issues that can be bargained. Grossman said she was involved in the introduction of amendments to the original Senate Bill 5. “I’m glad I was able to offer amendments that were included,” she said. The amendments included one about a new meritbased pay system and another that allows firefighters, police officers and nurses to negotiate for safety equipment. Another amendment eliminates an old rule prohibiting union members from talking with their elected officials during bargaining. “I had a fit with that,” Grossman said. “As Americans, we’re given that right and privilege and that shouldn’t be a rule in my mind, at all.” Grossman said the process of putting together the amendments was necessary, but difficult because of resistance from public unions. “I’ve been extremely involved with working on amendments to try to make this better,” Grossman said. “The teachers would say, ‘There’s nothing you can do other than kill the bill.’In reality, I was under
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