UniversityAreaCommission.Info

There are no contested races.  We received candidate packets from four individuals.  Two of them are running in District 4 where there are two open seats. 

District 1 - No candidate packets received.

District 2 - Tom Wildman

District 3 - Miles Curtiss

District 4 - Rebecca Sterrett and Susan Keeny.  Grayson Atha will not be running for reelection.

All of the candidate packets met the requirements for eligibility; however, I should mention that we did have to disqualify several signatures on more than one petition because of incomplete names and/or addresses outside the candidate’s district.  None of these errors were enough to disqualify a candidate, because every petition had extra signatures, but it’s worth keeping in mind for the future.

The deadline for write-in candidates to submit paperwork is 4:30 PM Monday, June 1.  Forms can be turned in at the UAC office or to me personally.

May 20, 2009 Tentative Agenda 6:30 Call to Order, Welcome, Roll Call

1. Approval of Minutes - Doreen Uhas Sauer Vote

2. Treasurer’s Report - Seth Golding Information Reports

1. City of Columbus Neighborhood Liaison – Isom Nivins Jr. - Information

2. Columbus Police Department – Officer Smith (tentative)- Information

3. Campus Partners – Steve Sterrett (tentative) Information  Public Comments & Announcements (3 minutes allowed per speaker) Block Party Permit Requests  

1. Magdiale Wolmark, Dragonfly NeoV, 245 King Ave -Vote  Committee Highlight Reports

1. Zoning Committee – Ron Hupman, Chair- Vote

2. Planning Committee – Doreen Uhas Sauer, Chair- Information

3. Community Relations Committee – Rimar Villasenor, Chair- Information

4. Governance Committee - David Hegley, Chair- Information

5. Code and Environment Committee, Tom Wildman- Information

6. Elections Committee, Peter O’Rourke, Chair- Information 

New Business  Adjournment - Next Meeting – June 17, 2009: 2231 N. High St. Room 100  Agenda is subject to modifications by the presiding officer and items may be taken out of order. 

Code Enforcement and Environment Committee Minutes7. May 2009 

Present: Ahmed Ebady, Seth Golding, Joyce Hughes, Pete O’Rourke, Justin Pinsker, Tom WildmanExcused: Richard Talbot 

Safety  - Updates on crime, safety summit, 645-4545, pan-handling and vagrant encampments             discussed. 

Code-Environment                                                                                                                             -          Discussed Bela’s letter concerning the Plasma Center.  No action taken at this time. 

-          Discussed Lois’s letter in detail.  An internal committee                         

-          Motion was made by Tom Wildman and seconded by Seth Golding                            to  have the C&E Committee send a letter to request Parks&Recreation  place a                              sign in the Tuttle Park Parking Lot stating “Parking for Tuttle Park use only”.                    -          Some discussion on pro’s and con’s.  Overall, commissioners                         felt a sign would give the police department the right to ticket or tow should                         someone call in a complaint. Presently, they could not.                                                                  (6)  yeas              (0)  nays                      (0)  abstencia                                                                                                                                                                                                   -          Telephone/Utility Pole Signs concern postponed till next                                                                        month. -          A motion was made by Justin Pinsker and seconded by Joyce                                                          Hughes to send a letter to Parks&Recreation to trim back a tree along the                                       OSU portion of the bike path, for safety and line of sight                                         concern. 

                               An amendment was made to have the C&E Committee to either send a                                               letter or contact verbally, both Parks&Recreation and the OSU                                                                    Maintenance Staff to trim back a tree along the OSU portion of                                                      the bike path, for safety and line of sight concern.  The                                                        amendment was accepted (6-0-0).                                                                                                                                                                                                      (6)  yeas                       (0)  nays                      (0)  abstencia                                                                                                                                                                                                                           . 

meeting adjourned at 7:00 p.m. 

Present: Members: Becky Sterrett, Sharon Young, Stephen Volkmann, Grayson Atha and David Hegley (Chair) Guests: Ayden Ergun (OSU Student) and Miles Curtis

Meeting called to order @ 6:10 PM

1.        Discussed building an index for the UAC  by laws.

Ø Goal is to identify key areas to build an index around.  Each Committee member was assigned a general area to investigate and begin building an index around.           

       §  Committees – Stephen Volkmann            

      §  Elections – Becky Sterrett               

   §  Meetings – Grayson Atha           

       §  Members – David Hegley           

       §  Officers – Stephen Volkmann               

   §  Schedule – Sharon Young

Ø A draft of the information collected by each member will be collected prior to the next Committee meeting and complied by Commissioner Hegley.

2.        Reviewed Robert’s Rules of order and how it deals with a motion to “refer to Committee”Ø “Refer to a committee”, According to Robert’s Rules the correct terminology is “Motion to Commit”, but refer to a committee is acceptable.  The key points to this type of motion are:                 

§  It is a subsidiary motion to a main motion (treated just like a motion to amend)                

 §  Requires a majority vote to pass                

 §  Is amendable when it is the active motion on the floor.       §  Is debatable (only about the motion to commit).  It is never in order to debate if the main motion is good or bad when discussing this subsidiary motion.         

§  Always identify the committee to which the motion is being referred to                 

§  This motion can include instructions like: when to report back, etc.              

§  Motion to Commit is amendable

3.        Discussed whether there is merit to creating a formal letter writing policy for the Commission.

Ø The committee felt additional discussion was need on this topic but some areas discussed included:            

       §  Content of any letter the Commission is going to vote on should be provided with the agenda.  If a letter is brought to the floor during the Commission meeting it should be referred to Committee.       

        §  There is merit to putting together a letter writing procedure that includes all the necessary information that could be covered in a letter from the Commission and where the letter should be sent, etc.             

         §  It was also recommended all committees include the roll call vote tally for any motion voted on including letters out of Committee. 

4.        Discussed if the January 2009 decision to follow Robert’s Rules of order in regards to when a Chairperson should speak was going OK.  The Committee felt that situation is much better and moving forward with any additional by law changes is not necessary at this time.5.        Commissioner Hegley gave an update on pending by law changes

Ø Ability of the Commission to rescind a vote, currently not allowed by UAC by laws, the committee voting to change this by laws after a review by City Officials.  Currently this is under review by the City Attorney’s office and Mike Puckett .

Ø Removal of the Ex-Officio status currently held by all commissioners at Committee meetings.  The Committee passed a motion to remove this by law pending Commission approval on 11/5/2008.  Commissioner Hegley did not move this motion forward per original schedule at the April 2009 meeting.  The Committee decided it was not fair with elections coming up to bring it the Commission in May for a first reading.  The Committee recommends carrying this over to next Commission year business.

6.        Commissioner Hegley provided a status update on Commission wide elections.  The City has just provided the contact information requested by the Committee to send out letters of interest in this initiative.  Letters should go out in May to all Area Commissions7.        Other General Information

Ø The Committee would like to send out a highlight report that includes all the by Rules that were reviewed and clarified this year.  This should be available by the June meeting.

Ø The Current speaker slips for the Commission were reviewed and the changes requested by the Committee.  All were OK, although it was requested to change the time someone can turn in a slip to speak on zoning cases from 6:30 to 7:00.

Meeting Adjourned @ 7:03Next meeting is tentatively scheduled for June 3, 2009 @ Northwood and High Building, Room 100, 6:00 – 7:00 PM  but this may change due to schedule conflicts for many of the Committee members.

374 E. Tompkins   Applicant:  Craig Murdick, Architect   Council variance to permit existing non-conforming use. Recommendation:  Approval 

Motion:  The UAC recommend approval of the list of variances as requested by applicant plus any other variances identified that are required to permit like-for-like reconstruction of the existing structure. 

.    Applicant:  Pressly LLC (Rick Pressly)    BZA variance for parking due to change in use from retail to restaurant.  Recommendation:  Approval Motion:  The UAC recommends approval of a parking variance from 25 spaces required to 0 provided to permit a restaurant use at this location.

About the University District
The University District, is a 2.8-square-mile area located two miles north of Downtown Columbus, Ohio that is home to the main campus of The Ohio State University, the Battelle Institute, and the James Cancer Center. It is generally accepted as the area bounded to the north by Clintonville at Glen Echo Ravine; to the south by the Short North at 5th Avenue; to the west by the Olentangy River and to east by the ConRail railroad tracks.
The district is Columbus’ most densely populated area and contains more than 650 businesses, human service agencies, churches, and schools.University District businesses include boutiques, mixed retail, several tattoo studios, the Landmark Gateway theater, and a diverse range of restaurants and bars. The University District is home to two ravines, a wetlands as well as several parks and other green spaces.
University District Neighborhoods
The University Area comprises many diverse neighborhoods, each with its own uniquely rich housing stock and cultural identity. There are a variety of pleasant residential neighborhoods, several historic districts as well as the off-campus core student neighborhood.
Old North Columbus is commonly referenced as the general area north of Woodruff and both east to the Conrail Railroad tracks and west to the Olentangy River Road, north to Glen Echo Ravine. The present day Old North Columbus area was once the village of North Columbus that was platted in 1842. Old North Columbus includes several smaller neighborhoods within these general boundaries including; the Iuka Ravine, Indianola Forest, Oakland & Northwood Avenue, Tuttle Park, and the Glen Echo Neighborhoods. North Columbus was home to Medary Elementary (closed in 2006), North High (closed 1970s) and the Special Education Center, all historic Columbus Public Schools.
Old North Columbus has several parks: Tuttle on the west, Glen Echo on the north, Maynard & Summit in the center, Iuka Ravine on the south/center and Indianola Middle School at the south/east corner. The neighborhood also has several churches, restaurants and other small businesses.
The southern area of the University District is home to several unique and historic neighborhoods including: The Circles, Dennison Place, NECKO and Weinland Park.
The residential neighborhood with higher concentrated rental property and student housing is located east of High Street south of 17th Avenue and north of 11th Avenue. This is often referred to as the student core neighborhood and has in the past ten years gone through considerable redevelopment and revitalization.
These are general boarders for the different residential neighborhoods
within the University District:
* University District Central, 13th to 18th Avenue (east of High Street)
* Glen Echo Historic Neighborhood (north of Hudson Street, east of Indianola Avenue)
* Indianola Forest and Iuka Ravine, Lane to Woodruff (east of High Street to N. 4th St.)
* Old North Columbus, Lane Avenue to Slate Run/Parkview Drive (Olentangy River east to the Conrail Railroad tracks)
* Weinland Park, 5th to 12th Avenue (east of High Street)
* Dennison Place, The Circles, and NECKO, 5th to 11th Avenue (west of High Street)
Websites of interest:
www.unversityareacommission.org, www.universitydistrict.org, www.necko.org Referenced from wikipedia.com

In efforts to develop and solidify the University District’s identity, UAC is currently trying to finalize a name for one of its densely populated neighborhoods.  Roughly from Woodruff to 11th Avenue and east of High to North 4th Avenue is an area that is mainly occupied by Ohio State University students.  With its reputation of housing many undergraduates as well as serving as a center for fraternity and sorority life, it may seem that a brand and identity has already been cultivated.  Surprisingly however, this neighborhood remains official unnamed.  During the Neighborhood Identity Forum held in January by the Planning Committee, some names surfaced as possibilities.  However, the commission was unable to come to an agreement.  The Community Relations Committee decided that in order to choose an appropriate name, the residents of the area must be a part of the process.  This is where you are needed! Do you live east of High Street, between Woodruff and 11th Avenue? If so, you have a unique opportunity to name your neighborhood!  Simply comment on this post and include: your suggested neighborhood name, your name, cross street of where you live, organization or school, and e-mail address.  So join the conversation!  Submit a name now!  Your name could become the official name of your neighborhood!

April 15, 2009 Agenda

6:30     Call to Order, Welcome, Roll Call

1. Approval of Minutes - Doreen Uhas Sauer              Vote
2. Treasurer’s Report - Seth Golding                  Information
3. Election to fill District 3 seat

Reports
1. City of Columbus Neighborhood Liaison – Isom Nivins    Jr.    Information
2. Columbus Police Department – Officer Smith    (tentative)    Information
3. City of Columbus Code Enforcement - Andy Baumann        Information

Presentations
1. Jim Pajk, Franklin County Deputy Engineer – Dodridge Bridge    Information

Public Comments & Announcements (3 minutes allowed per speaker)
1. David Southan, Clintonville Area Commissioner  – Graffiti    Information

Block Party Permit Requests (see details below)
1. Diana Kubovcik, Maynard Ave. United Methodist Church    Vote
2. Magdiale Wolmark, Dragonfly NeoV, 245 King Ave         Vote
3. Rob Munoz, Director of Greek Events                Vote

Committee Highlight Reports
1. Planning Committee – Doreen Uhas Sauer, Chair        Vote
2. Community Relations Committee – Rimar Villasenor, Chair    Information        3. Governance Committee - David Hegley, Chair            Information
4. Code and Environment Committee, Tom Wildman        Information
5. Elections Committee, Peter O’Rourke, Chair            Information

New Business

Adjournment - Next Meeting – May 20, 2009: 2231 N. High St Rm 100

On agenda items marked “Information” ask questions or reserve comments for clarification only. Further discussion should be held outside of the Commission meeting.

Presentation Details - Jim Pajk, Franklin County Deputy Engineer – Dodridge Bridge Replacement
———————————————————————
http://www.fceo.co.franklin.oh.us/dodridge_bridge_replacement_invite.htm
Since November, the Franklin County Engineers Office have developed a set of  bridge design alternatives for public review that meet the safety, mobility, environmental, and aesthetic goals of the bridge replacement project:

Alternate 1: Concrete Thru Arch  ·  Alternate 2: Steel Deck Arch  ·  Alternate 3: Concrete Beam

Alternate 4: Concrete Beam  ·  Alternate 5: Steel Beam (PDFs)

Please feel free to download the below comment form and send back your comments on the bridge designs.

Comment Form (PDF)
http://www.fceo.co.franklin.oh.us/Dodridge PDFs/Dodridge Comment Form.pdf

Planning Committee Details
———————————————————————
Motion: To write a letter to the Mayor’s Office, City Council members, and the Director, Department of Development proposing that the City of Columbus provide recycling pick-up throughout the city in the event a citywide income tax increase is passed or a trash fee is imposed.

Motion: To write a letter to the Mayor’s Office, City Council members, and the Director, Department of Development proposing that the City of Columbus reinstitute weekly bulk pick-up in the University District and yard waste removal citywide in the event a citywide income tax increase is passed or a trash fee is imposed.

Block Party Permit Request Details
———————————————————————
Diana Kubovcik, Maynard Ave. United Methodist Church – E. Maynard Ave Closure in front of Church, June 13, 2009 from 1-5pm, Request street closure from 11am till 6pm

Magdiale Wolmark, Dragonfly NeoV, 245 King Ave – Alley Closure - April 22, 2009

Rob Munoz, Director of Greek Events, OSU Inter-Fraternity Council – E. 15th Ave Closure between Pearl and Indianola Ave for Ohio State’s annual Greek Week celebrations on May 8th, 2009 from 2-5p.m.

The University Area Commission (UAC) will be voting for passage of the University Area Neighborhood Green Guide at this Wednesday’s, March 18, 2009 meeting. The Green Guide can be downloaded here. University Area Neighborhood Green Guide

The first of its kind in the City of Columbus, this guide helps to promote sustainable living in the University District.  It is the culmination of ideas generated by the community and outlines key green projects for the neighborhood.  The planning process for the “Green Guide” was started June 2007 by the University Area Commission, who has further prioritized several projects for its own agenda to include promoting:

• Recycling for the district
• Pedestrian and bicycle safety
•  A bar glass recycling program

“The UAC Planning Committee focused on these primary goals from over two-hundred community inspired ideas,” said Doreen Uhas Sauer, the UAC planning committee chair. The Green Guide original draft was released to the public for review in April of last year for community feedback.  “The Green Guide is already working.  Projects outlined like a University District Farmers Market have already taken place,” said Elan Daniel, former planning committee chair. “There’s a lot of momentum for the Guide and the timing is perfect to get volunteers and organizations involved .”

The UAC will be voting for the Green Guide’s passage this Wednesday, 6:30pm at the Northwood High Building, 2231 N. High Street Room 100.  “Passing the Green Guide is just the first step.  Next we need to work together to achieve these goals,” said Ian MacConnell, president of the UAC.

Members of the community are encouraged to voice their opinions of the Green Guide this Wednesday.

The University Area Commission will be voting for passage of the University Area Neighborhood Green Guide at its March 18, 2009 meeting this month.
The Green Guide can be downloaded here. University Area Neighborhood Green Guide

Members of the community are encouraged to voice their opinions of the Green Guide at the next full commission meeting.