A student-organized group calling itself the Think Tank
conducted its first meeting yesterday to discuss the Athens Comprehensive Plan, a guide for development in the city.
Ohio University Student Senator Brian Footer organized the group -which has about 30 members. About 10 members attended last night's meeting, primarily to discuss the re-zoning of Mill Street, which is proposed in the plan.
The comprehensive plan proposes changing Mill Street from an R-3 zoning district to a proposed new R-4 district. Footer said this idea would make the area more conducive to large apartment complexes as opposed to smaller housing units.
What it's basically going to do is restrict the Mill Street Area in to just students and what has been said is it's going to be a Mill Street ghetto a student ghetto
Footer said at yesterday's meeting.
However, not all Think Tank members agreed with Footer's assessment of the Mill Street re-zoning.
Is it the best plan? No. Is it the plan I'd like to see? No. Is it the best plan that's based on the current realities of Mill Street? Yes
said Mickey Hart, a former Mill Street resident who is currently the coordinator of Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual, Transgender Programs at OU.
It is already kind of the student neighborhood
Hart said. Basically between Mill and Stimson
it's all pretty much student development
and I don't really see it going back to single family.
The plan might restrict Mill Street into student housing because of zoning regulations. R-1, R-2 and R-3 districts permit development of smaller housing units, usually designed for single families, Footer said. R-4 districts, which is what the comprehensive plan would designate Mill Street, are designed for larger housing units, which hold between six and ten people.
If we turn Mill Street into an R-4
and we restrict all the other communities into R-1
R-2
maybe R-3
