On Tuesday, March 4, 2003 the controlled growth statute that I have sponsored comes up for the first reading. This statute provides that for a one year period the city would issue only one hundred housing permits for new houses that are to be built within an already approved subdivision. The statute does not completely shut down the building of new homes nor does it last for a long period of time. The one-year slow down will allow us time to develop a community growth plan in conjunction with the township and the school district.
To re-emphasize the need for such a statute I would like to provide you with a few statistics. Last year the City of Pickerington alone issued permits for 385 new single family residential units (read homes) and 422 new residential units overall. According to our city manager, each house has 1.5 school age children. This means that the City of Pickerington likely added 577.5 new students.
Of course, last year was a record year. The difficulty is that we are proceeding at an even faster pace this year. At the end of February last year the City had issued 25 new housing permits. As of February 25, 2003, the number of permits issued has already reached 70. Assuming the same distribution of permits over the calendar year as last year, this means that we are on our way to issuing well over a thousand new residential housing permits, or possibly adding betweem 1000 and 1500 new students to our school system. If you think this is impossible, remember that the City of Pickerington has already approved thousands of new home sites during its rush to approve final plats last fall before the elections. Moreover, the city has hired new additional housing inspectors.
This will be a disaster for our schools. The schools, which are already facing financial crisis, would also be stretched beyond physical capacity. This raises the very real possibility of split sessions. We have already been told that our children are not going to have extracurricular athletics.
I am also disturbed by the fact that there is apparently a concerted campaign by the BIA and the Columbus Board of Realtors to pack the session. They have even advised members to show up early so as to fill up the available spaces in the very small city council meeting room. They have even issued a ''speaking points'' memorandum for their members to utilize. The BIA has even distributed leaflets that deliberately distort the scope of the statute in order to scare people into believing that there will be ?“no more new homes built in Pickerington?”. This is simply false; the statute simply limits the number of houses that can be built for a short period to time.
Everyone is entitled to speak their opinion, but one must remember that it is unlikely that many of these people have any connection with Pickerington other than the fact that they would like to continue to make profits from the construction and sale of new homes. One wonders how many of them have children in the Pickerington School District and if they would stand idly by while their children faced split sessions and the loss of the ability to participate in academic and athletic extracurricular activities. Will these individuals face devaluation of their home because of the deterioration of the school district? Do these people face the long commutes because of the inability of our roads to carry the traffic or weight of the additional cars? Will these people have to pay the taxes that will be necessary to save our schools in the face of this onslaught of new homes?
To re-emphasize the need for such a statute I would like to provide you with a few statistics. Last year the City of Pickerington alone issued permits for 385 new single family residential units (read homes) and 422 new residential units overall. According to our city manager, each house has 1.5 school age children. This means that the City of Pickerington likely added 577.5 new students.
Of course, last year was a record year. The difficulty is that we are proceeding at an even faster pace this year. At the end of February last year the City had issued 25 new housing permits. As of February 25, 2003, the number of permits issued has already reached 70. Assuming the same distribution of permits over the calendar year as last year, this means that we are on our way to issuing well over a thousand new residential housing permits, or possibly adding betweem 1000 and 1500 new students to our school system. If you think this is impossible, remember that the City of Pickerington has already approved thousands of new home sites during its rush to approve final plats last fall before the elections. Moreover, the city has hired new additional housing inspectors.
This will be a disaster for our schools. The schools, which are already facing financial crisis, would also be stretched beyond physical capacity. This raises the very real possibility of split sessions. We have already been told that our children are not going to have extracurricular athletics.
I am also disturbed by the fact that there is apparently a concerted campaign by the BIA and the Columbus Board of Realtors to pack the session. They have even advised members to show up early so as to fill up the available spaces in the very small city council meeting room. They have even issued a ''speaking points'' memorandum for their members to utilize. The BIA has even distributed leaflets that deliberately distort the scope of the statute in order to scare people into believing that there will be ?“no more new homes built in Pickerington?”. This is simply false; the statute simply limits the number of houses that can be built for a short period to time.
Everyone is entitled to speak their opinion, but one must remember that it is unlikely that many of these people have any connection with Pickerington other than the fact that they would like to continue to make profits from the construction and sale of new homes. One wonders how many of them have children in the Pickerington School District and if they would stand idly by while their children faced split sessions and the loss of the ability to participate in academic and athletic extracurricular activities. Will these individuals face devaluation of their home because of the deterioration of the school district? Do these people face the long commutes because of the inability of our roads to carry the traffic or weight of the additional cars? Will these people have to pay the taxes that will be necessary to save our schools in the face of this onslaught of new homes?
