COLUMBUS, Ohio -- From planning and zoning to eminent domain, Ohio State University Extension will take a look at where Ohio is heading in its land use policies through an Ohio Land Use Conference, taking place Sept. 14.
The event will be held from 9 a.m. to 3:30 p.m. at Ohio State University's Fawcett Center on Olentangy River Road in Columbus, Ohio. The conference is sponsored by OSU Extension Community Development and the Ohio State University Land Use Team. Registration is $65 and includes all meals and materials. Registration deadline is Sept. 5.
The conference is targeted to county and township officials; zoning officials; government agency personnel; OSU Extension educators; community land trusts; and soil and water officials.
A highlight of the Ohio Land Use Conference will be a session on Ohio's new eminent domain law, presented by Senator Timothy Grendell, the law's primary sponsor.
"The new Ohio eminent domain law not only changes the legal standard for using eminent domain for economic development purposes, it also contains revisions to many other aspects of the eminent domain process," said Peggy Hall, director of OSU Extension's Agricultural and Resource Law Program. "The session at the conference will give a broad view on exactly what this new law means for Ohioans."
Other topics to be covered during the Ohio Land Use Conference include platting and zoning authority; sprawl, inequity and economic opportunity; community infrastructure development opportunities; updating your comprehensive land use plan; cost of community service studies; and water supply and land use. A diverse faculty of attorneys, planners, local officials and academicians will present the sessions.
The conference will also include a panel discussion on the future of Ohio land use policy.
"With the change in Ohio administration, the question on many people's minds is where is Ohio heading with regards to land use? Ohio is not known as a state with strong land use policies," said Hall. "The panel discussion will offer insight as to where Ohio could go."
For more information on the Ohio Land Use Conference, contact Hall at (614) 247-7898, or hall.673@osu.edu, or log on to http://comdev.osu.edu/landuse_conf07.html.
For questions regarding registration call (614) 292-6232.