ThisWeek Community Newspapers

Thursday, December 15, 2005

By PHIL BORGER
ThisWeek Staff Writer

An environmentalist group has come out in support of the latest proposal for land development in the Big Darby Creek watershed, but landowners in the environmentally sensitive area remain wary.

"We're strongly supportive of this plan," said John Tetzloff, president of the Darby Creek Association, an environmental group. "This is much better than the three original plans that were presented a few months ago."

In October, representatives of EDAW, the consulting firm hired by the 10 municipalities making up the Big Darby Accord to design plans for development in the area, presented three initial "concepts" at a public meeting. Tetzloff did not think any of those concepts provided a "low-growth option."

EDAW took feedback and developed a preliminary draft plan, which was presented to elected officials at a meeting on Dec. 6.

That tentative plan calls for 24,000 acres of green space, some of which is already present in the form of public parks. A large portion of new development would be concentrated west of Amity Road between Interstate 70 and U.S. Route 40.

"The plan calls for roughly half as much development as any of the previous plans did," Tetzloff said.

The purpose of the Big Darby Accord is to provide a development plan that can accommodate a growing Franklin County population while taking into account the environmental sensitivity of the Big Darby Creek watershed area. The accord is supposed to replace development moratoriums by Columbus and Franklin County scheduled to expire Dec. 31.

The 10 entities that make up the Big Darby Accord are Franklin County, Columbus, Grove City, Harrisburg, Hilliard and Norwich, Brown, Pleasant, Prairie and Washington townships.

In order to compensate property owners in areas where development is curtailed or banned, the plan calls for the creation of something called Transfer of Development Rights, or TDRs. Essentially, landowners in restricted areas would receive credits towards land easements in areas where development is allowed. Developers would then have to purchase these land easement rights in order to build.

Plenty of questions still remain, however, and landowners in the area are concerned that the compensation plan being discussed will not deliver fairly.

"It assumes that these TDRs will have a market value that's fair," said Bruce Ingram, an attorney for property owners in the watershed. "How could these credits possibly compensate the land owners for what their land would be worth if they sold to developers?"

Any plan involving TDRs would be dependent on approval of the Ohio legislature, which both Tetzloff and Ingram agreed could take at least six months.

"We Interrupt This Christmas Special," a play by Jim Brady of Galloway, 6:30 p.m. Sunday, Dec. 18, at 435 Amity Road.

Model Train Display, noon-4 p.m. Saturday and Sunday through Dec. 18, at 2234 N. Wilson Road. Call 214-0990.

Immunizations will be offered between the hours of 10 a.m. and noon and 1 and 3 pm. Wednesday, Dec. 21, at 123 Inah Ave.

Bible Study meets from 6-7 p.m. Wednesdays at Community Christian Church, 107 S. Powell Ave.

Goodwill Columbus is seeking volunteers to help provide assistance to Franklin County residents with physical disabilities. Call Caroline Markworth at 583-0329 for more information.

Lincoln Village Residents Association meets the second Monday of the month at Lincoln Village Lodge. Call 266-6955 for meeting time.

Westland Senior Citizens meet for a potluck, euchre and bingo at 10:30 a.m. the second and fourth Thursdays at Columbia Heights Methodist Church, 91 Sturbridge Road. Call 870-6476.

Inventors Network meets to discuss the invention process at 7 p.m. the second Tuesday of the month, at the Business and Technology Center, 1275 Kinnear Road. The meeting fee is $5. Call 470-0144 or visit www.inventorscolumbus.com.

Central Ohio Open Wheel Race Fans meets at 6:30 p.m. the first Tuesday of the month at Otie's Restaurant, 5344 Center St. in Hilliard.

Central Ohio ACLU Working Group Meeting, 6:30 p.m. the first Monday of the month at King Avenue Church, 299 King Ave. Contact www.acluohio.org to register.

New Neighbors League of Columbus holds monthly coffees, luncheons and other events. For information on joining, call Jill Hake at 818-3776 or visit www.newneighborscolumbus.com.

Scioto Sertoma Club, 7:30-8:30 a.m. Wednesdays at Junior Achievement Exchange City, 1739 Westbelt Drive. For more information, call Gary Coats at 876-6751.

Mid-Ohio Boogie Club meets for swing dancing from 8-10:30 p.m. Wednesdays at 7700 Crosswoods Drive. Yearly membership is $35. Admission fee for nonmembers is $5. For more information, call 939-1844.

Adult Singles Group, 6:30 p.m. every Friday at Scioto Ridge United Methodist Church, 4343 Dublin Road. For more information, call 876-5268 or 876-4343.

Hilltop Kiwanis Club, 11:45 a.m. every Thursday at Crossroads United Methodist Church, 1100 S. Hague Ave.

AWANA Bible Study, for youth in kindergarten through eighth grade, meets from 7-8:30 p.m. Tuesdays, at Immanuel Baptist Church, 3417 Palmetto St. For more information, call 274-2687.

West Columbus Civitan Club, an international organization focusing on developmentally disabled people and their needs, 6:30 p.m. first and third Tuesdays of the month at Home Town Buffet in Consumer Square on West Broad Street. For more information, call (800) 248-4826.

CORDS (Cancer Overcomers Receiving Deliverance Support) meets from 7-8:30 p.m. the second Tuesday and fourth Thursday of the month at Grove City Church of the Nazarene, 4770 Hoover Road. Call Linda Purcell at 875-2551 extension 264.

ALS Association Support Group meets from 7-9 p.m. the first non-holiday Monday of the month at 1810 Mackenzie Drive, Suite 120. Call Wendy at 273-2572 extension 105.

Parkinson Support Group, at the Forum at Knightsbridge, 1:30 p.m. the second Thursday of the month, at 4625 Knightsbridge Blvd. Call John Gabel at 761-3130.

Thyroid Cancer Support Group meets from 10:30-noon the second Saturday of the month at the Victorian Village Health Center, first floor, 1132 Hunter Ave. Call 436-5411.

Support Group for parents of children with epilepsy meets from 6:30-8 p.m. the last Tuesday of the month at the Epilepsy Foundation Office, 510 E. North Broadway in Clintonville. Call 261-1100.

Together Against Panic meets from 7-8:30 p.m. the second and fourth Tuesdays of the month in the education wing of Glenwood United Methodist Church, 2833 Valleyview Drive. For more information, call 878-2697.

Fibromyalgia Support Group meets at 10 a.m. the first Wednesday of the month at Hiltonia United Methodist Church, 514 Columbian Ave. Call 876-8200.

VOICES, a support group for those whose loved ones have been the victims of homicide, meets from 7-8:30 p.m. the third Thursday of the month at the Rutherford B. Hayes Administration Building, 140 N. Sandusky St. in Delaware. For more information, call (740) 833-2710. or visit Voicesofdelawarecounty@yahoo.com.

Eating Disorders Support Group, sponsored by the Center for Eating Disorders and Psychotherapy, meets from 6:30-8 p.m. the first and third Tuesday of the month at 44 5 E. Granville Road, Building O. For more information, call 293-9550.

Emotions Anonymous, a 12-step program for emotional wellness, meets from 4-5 p.m. Saturday and 7:30-8:30 p.m. Sunday at North Community Lutheran Church, 114 Morse Road; and from 7-8 p.m. Tuesday, at Meadow Park Church of God, 2425 Bethel Road. For more information, call 470-0397.

Macular Degeneration Support Group, 1:30 p.m. the third Monday of each month at Central Ohio Radio Reading Service building, 2955 W. Broad St. Contact Marilynn Miller at 276-0866.

Bone Marrow Transplant Support Group meets from 7-8:30 p.m. the third Thursday of the month in Room 518 at the the James Cancer Hospital, 300 W. 10th Ave. To register, call Larisa Demshuk at 293-9152.