Episode Nineteen - Council Preview (5/21/26)

Episode Nineteen is a preview of the Wilmington City Council meetings scheduled for Thursday, May 21, 2026. This episode covers both the 6:00 PM public workshop and the 7:00 PM regular council meeting. Workshop items include the swearing-in of Police Officer Clayton J. Storer, a Law Director Recommendation introduction, and a Housing Committee Appointments Discussion. The regular meeting opens with a public hearing on a zoning text amendment requiring zoning permit approval before building permit applications can be accepted, with a discussion of what that means in practice for any project where zoning is uncertain or in dispute. Other items include second and third readings on the CHIP housing grant partnership ordinance, an emergency supplemental appropriations ordinance that grew significantly from its original form, an RTA Pilot Program grant resolution, a city employee health insurance contract, and a Law Director Contract under Judiciary. The episode also covers the Prairie Road annexation absence, the expected timing of recycling legislation, a federal court order related to the data center project, a Planning Commission membership roster update, and a look ahead to June 18.

Transcript

SPEAKER_00 0:01

Hey everyone, it's Matt. Recording a day early this week. It's the end of the school year, things get busy fast. A few important things to note about Thursday's council meeting, so let's get into it. Welcome back to Wilmington Weekly. I'm Matt Perkey. This is the Wednesday preview for Thursday, May 21st. Per usual, there are two public meetings that night. Public workshop at 6 p.m., followed by a regular council meeting at 7. Both in council chambers, both open to the public. The workshop opens with a swearing in. Clayton Storr will be sworn in as a Wilmington police officer Thursday evening. A good moment before the business gets underway. The second item is listed as a law director recommendation introduction. And the regular meeting agenda lists both law director legislation under President Osborne's portion of the evening and a law director contract under judiciary previewed in the workshop as well. A recommendation, legislation, and a formal contract all on the same night. I'll have the specifics in the wrap up. None of this is a surprise if you were watching the Ma seventh meeting closely. One of the executive sessions that night dealt with personnel matters. Executive sessions can frustrate people, and understandably so. You're being asked to trust that the public's business is being handled correctly behind a closed door. But if you zoom out even a little, they usually become pretty clear. A personnel executive session at one meeting, followed by recommendation, introduction, and a contract at the next. The context does a lot of the explaining. The workshop also includes a housing committee appointments discussion. That's a presentation item, meaning it's a conversation before any formal action. I'll note who's being considered and for what in the wrap up. The rest of the workshop is the standard preview of the new business coming to the 7 o'clock meeting. Finance and judiciary items for the committee chairs to walk counsel through before formal action follows. It's always worth watching the workshop though, because if there's going to be any discussion, that's usually where it happens. The regular meeting opens with a public hearing on a zoning text amendment before anything else happens. Here's what that amendment actually does because the title alone doesn't tell you much. Right now, section 1131.07 of the city zoning code requires a zoning permit before any structure or land use can legally change. The amendment adds one sentence. Building permit applications will not be accepted until a zoning permit has been approved first. In plain language, zoning clearance becomes a prerequisite for building permit. You have to clear the zoning step before the building permit process can begin. For routine projects, it's mostly a sequencing clarification. For larger and more complex projects, ones where zoning approval is uncertain or actively in dispute, it means the building permit door is explicitly closed until zoning is resolved. No exceptions written into the code. Planning Commission approved this amendment on April 7th, and the public hearing notice ran in the news journal on April 11th. Thursday night is when the public record is formally open to council before the ordinance gets its first reading. If you have thoughts on this change, Thursday's public hearing is the place to put them on the record. One item in old business, the CHIP Grant Partnership, Ordinance 02624, is on its second and third readings. This authorizes the mayor to sign a partnership agreement with the Clinton County Commissioners for 2026 Community Housing Impact and Preservation Grant Program. The city is the partner. The county is the grantee and carries all the administrative and compliance responsibility. First reading was May 7th. I expect passage this week. There are five items in new business Thursday. First, supplemental appropriations. The ordinance is taking three readings in one night because it's declared an emergency measure. Under Ohio law, an emergency ordinance can take effect immediately upon passage rather than waiting the normal 30-day period, but it requires a two-thirds vote of counsel and a specific finding that immediate action is necessary for public health, safety, or welfare. When I first covered this earlier this week, the supplemental totaled just under $93,800. Three light items tied to an ODOT crossing project called the Clinton Wilmington Crossing. The ordinance has since been updated and is significantly larger. The full package now totals just under $380,000. Additional light items include $100,000 for income tax refunds, $100,000 for consultant services, $25,000 from the hotel lodging tax fund for a CRC grant program expense, and $61,100 across two waste fund items for employment services and facilities maintenance. The ODOT crossing items are still there. I'll break down the full package in the wrap up. Second, a resolution authorizing the service director to execute the rural and tribal assistance pilot program grant agreement with the Ohio Department of Transportation. First reading Thursday. Scope and dollars to come and will be mentioned in the wrap-up. Third, a resolution authorizing the mayor or the human resources director to execute an agreement with UMR for administration of the city's health group plan benefit plan. This is the city employee health insurance contract. First reading Thursday. Fourth, uh first reading on the zoning code ordinance, the part eleven amendment tied to Thursday's public hearing. First reading only. Fifth, under judiciary, the law director contract. The formal contract for incoming law director comes to council Thursday night. We'll see how that develops. The zoning text amendment is the most substantive item on the agenda. It the change itself is straightforward once you read it, but the public hearing is the moment to watch. Who shows up, what they say, and how council responds. One more thing on that amendment. This is one of several updates to Part 11 that have been working their way through Planning Commission this year. Thursday's is the one that's ready for council. It won't be the last. The law director items. The recommendation in the workshop, the legislation in the contract, and the regular meeting, worth watching, all three in one night. I'll have specifics after the meeting Thursday. The Prairie Road annexation is not on this agenda, uh, but the absence is explained. At a prior planning commission meeting, the petitioner stated they wanted the annexation and the rezoning to move through together. That's in the public record, and it's a transparent approach. Expect both to come back to the agenda at the same time. Public Works has no listed legislation Thursday. Based on discussion at the May 7th meeting, the recycling legislation is expected in early June. When it arrives, it'll appear here first. We'll keep an eye out for it. Outside of Thursday's agenda, there have been significant developments in the federal litigation surrounding the data center project. A minute entry filed May 18th in the U.S. District Court for the Southern District of Ohio, case Sharp et al. v. the City of Wilmington, confirms that the parties agreed and the court ordered that the Wilmington Planning Commission shall not meet to consider or approve any site plan for a proposed data center until further order of the court. That language covers informational presentations as well as formal votes. The preliminary injunction hearing that had been set for this week has been reset for June 16th. The cancellation of the May 26th Planning Commission special meeting is consistent with that order. This is active federal litigation on the public record. I'll have more in the wrap-up. While looking for an agenda for that May 26th Planning Commission meeting, I didn't find one. I typically like to browse by most recently updated to find what I'm looking for fast. And what I found instead was that the Planning Commission's membership roster had been updated on May 15th to add an appointed member, bringing the commission back up to its full complement. So that's worth noting. Looking further ahead, June 18th is shaping up to be a significant night at City Council. There are public hearings scheduled then as well. I'll have more on that as we get closer. Workshop at 6, regular meeting at 7. Both in council chambers, both are open to the public. As always, I'll have wrap up later this week after the meeting. Thanks for listening to Wilmington Weekly.