The Center for Planning Research and Practice

• The Countryside Program
• Form-based Zoning for Neighborhood Commercial Areas
• Downtown Historic Preservation/Retail Study

The Countryside Program provides education, research, and technical assistance to promote sensitive planning and development practices in Northeast Ohio. We serve landowners, local communities, and developers in rural and suburban areas.

The Countryside Program works to achieve a balance of conservation and development in Ohio that will help to ensure our prosperity for years to come.
http://urban.csuohio.edu/planningcenter/countryside/

This project is developing a zoning code overlay for the City of Cleveland that can be adopted in Cleveland's neighborhoods. The overlay consists of a form-based zoning approach, which focuses more on the form and location of buildings on site and their orientation to the street, and less on the use of the building. The overlay is intended to streamline the development review process for neighborhood commercial areas by shifting review decisions to zoning from traditional design review. Key to the project is participation by neighborhood leaders in the Lorain Avenue (Westside) corridor in a pilot application phase whereby the neighborhood identifies significant building types and streetscapes it wants to encourage for development.

The Center is supported by and working with several partners, including the City of Cleveland, Detroit-Shoreway Community Development Organization, Ohio City Nearwest Community Development Corporation, Cleveland City Council representatives, and three local developers (Rysar, Heartland and Colliers OM International). Major funding for the project has been provided by the George Gund Foundation and the Cleveland Foundation.

The Center is analyzing the current status of retail and the cultural and economic value of historic structures in the com mercial district for the Village of Jefferson, Ohio in Ashtabula County. The project will help the village preserve significant structures as part of its overall efforts to strengthen the downtown commercial area and incorporate use of existing structures more effectively.