The most recent draft of the revised Bowling Green Zoning Code proposal is now available on the city’s website at www.bgohio.org/ZoningCodeUpdate.
City Council has scheduled three public meetings to continue their review of the draft updated Zoning Code. A council work session will take place on March 13, at 6 p.m., in the Veterans Building in City Park, at which time members of council will discuss possible changes.
A public forum will take place on March 23, at 6 p.m., in the Veterans Building, which will be a time for the public to ask questions and provide feedback on the updated version of the Zoning Code. Council will hold a final work session on March 27, at 6 p.m., in the Veterans Building.
After the March 27 work session, it’s expected that a final draft of the Zoning Code will be introduced as legislation. The legislation will require a public hearing and three readings and a vote from council before finalized.
The webpage dedicated to the Zoning Code Update has been refreshed and includes up-to-date information and the revised documents. A new “Frequently Asked Questions” section has been added to this page to help answer common questions about the proposed Pedestrian-Residential District. Both the webpage and the FAQs may be accessed from the city’s homepage at www.bgohio.org.
The Zoning Code update is the culmination of work that began with the publication of the 2014 Future Land Use Plan, the 2018 Community Action Plan, and the 2019 East Wooster Street White Paper. All three documents were the result of multiple public forums, surveys, and stakeholder involvement – all with the goal of finding consensus of the vision and future plan for the city.
Before work to update the Zoning Code began, ZoneCo (formerly Calfee Zoning) created a 2019 diagnostic report of the city’s current code, which was originally adopted in 1975 with text amendments over the years as needed. The report is an assessment of the extent to which the current code advances or acts as a barrier to the land use principles and planning vision set forth in the 2014 Future Land Use Plan, the 2018 Community Action Plan, and the 2019 East Wooster Street White Paper.
As the city began the process of drafting new and streamlined zoning regulations, the diagnostic report was an important first step in identifying the strengths and weaknesses of the current code as it relates to those planning documents.
The Revised Draft Zoning Code Update captures the edits that were made as a result of public comment gathered during 2022 and at work sessions and public meetings hosted by the Planning Commission and City Council up until this point.
City Council made numerous revisions to the last draft, dated June 1, 2022, during public working sessions in October, November, and December of last year. The starting point for council’s work was a list of recommended changes from the Planning Commission, which held a series of public meetings and accepted public comment on the June 1 draft last summer.
Additional comments can be emailed to City Council members, emailed to the Clerk of Council, or mailed to or dropped off at 304 N. Church St. (c/o Clerk of Council).
