Ross County — Work on assembling the new comprehensive plan for the county continues. The plan was on display at the Ross County Fair, encouraging input.
Towards the end of the fair I visited the Ross County Engineer’s booth in the Multipurpose Building where eight panels on the study were on display. Matthew O’Rourke of American Structurepoint, the consultant for this project, was on duty, and I asked him about it.
He said that the open houses have been completed, starting with Chillicothe and Scioto Township in January. So, he said they have wrapped up the educational phase: looking at data, trends, and demographics – and the engagement opportunities: open houses, online survey, and steering committee.
O’Rourke said they are starting to draft the plan, and the first chapters to come out will be about land use, where future development could or should be focused. He said that based on what they have been told, they now understand the infrastructure and how to facilitate it with transportation and more.
He admitted that the paper mill suddenly rose as an important issue and was added as an important part of the plan. O’Rourke said they dug into the area around the mill to look into the infrastructure there – but did not look at the mill itself since it’s in the city, which has its own plan.
As they as continue through the process, he said they will have events and open houses again to ask the community if they are getting it right. Hear O’Rourke in his own words in the below interview video.
The Ross County Comprehensive Plan has a Facebook page and is on the Ross County Planning and Development Department website.
There you can also find digital copies of recent county-wide plans, under “Planning Projects“:
2020 Active Transportation Plan – a long-range plan that includes projects, programs, and policies to make walking and biking and other modes of travel safer and more accessible.
2021 Thoroughfare Plan – A long-range vision of the roadway system necessary to support future growth.
2022 Affordable Housing Assessment – an assessment and evaluation of the current inventory of affordable and special housing in the city and county.
2024 Assessment of Emergency Medical Services – a comprehensive study in response to concerns about EMS services.
