A plan for the Livingston East corridor of Columbus is now underway. The planning area is bounded by Alum Creek on the west; the city of Bexley, East Mound Street, the city of Whitehall, and East Main Street on the north; the city of Reynoldsburg (along and near Brice Road) on the east; and Interstate 70 on the south. Included are nearly 7.5 square miles (almost 5,000 acres) of land and almost 38,000 residents.
As with all such efforts, the Livingston East Area Plan is a collaborative effort between the City of Columbus and the residents and other stakeholders in the planning area. The Mid-East Area Community Collaborative (MACC) serves as the principal community contact point and organizer of grass roots input throughout the planning effort.
The process involves six phases and takes about a year to complete. A Working Committee appointed by MACC from the members of various area organizations provides critical guidance throughout, and several public workshops open to all allow other community stakeholders to have direct input as well. Several interim work products are being made available for public review and comment.
For more information and/or to be added to the plan's e-distribution or postal mailing list, please contact Todd Singer, Columbus Planning Division, at (614) 645-7565 or tasinger@columbus.gov.
The Neighborhood Pride Community Center Far East, a city partner in the effort, will include planning process information in its periodic newsletters. The center, located at 3585 East Livingston Avenue (behind Family Dollar just west of Courtright Road) can be reached at (614) 645-7596.
Please see notes below and/or select “Documents” above for more detailed information about the planning process.
An Area Plan:
- assists an area to reach consensus on development-related goals and standards that are consistent with city policies;
- focuses on land-use and urban design policies that will serve as a basis for evaluating development and redevelopment proposals;
- builds upon existing land-use recommendations, highlights development opportunities, and outlines the ways that development principles may be applied;
- develops conceptual designs for one or more sites;
- establishes priorities for capital improvements and other public investments;
- provides guidance on the plan’s implementation;
- addresses key issues, including development density and design;
- builds on existing transportation systems by developing plans and identifying priority issues; but
- does not address safety, code enforcement, or other programmatic community development related issues.
Planning Principles / Best Practices
The Planning Division will use the following overall development principles as the bases for the Livingston East Area Plan, with an emphasis on how they apply to this particular part of Columbus.
- Open space and critical environmental areas are preserved.
- Neighborhoods have a vibrant mix of land uses (residential, retail, office, etc.).
- Neighborhoods have a wide range of housing options.
- People are able to move about by a variety of means: walking, personal motorized vehicle, public transit, and bicycle.
- New development respects existing community character and historic features.
Elements of the Planning Process
- Data analysis and preliminary community outreach
- Working Committee meetings
- Four public workshops (all are welcome)
- Identification of key issues and visioning about the area’s future
- Develop goals, objectives and plan recommendations.
- Plan development
- Plan finalization and adoption
