The Bellbrook City Council on Jan. 13 heard an informational presentation on a housing survey and a possible expansion of the city’s Community Reinvestment Area meant to encourage downtown revitalization.

Resident Bob Heidler urged council to pursue outside funding and consider tools such as a new community authority, saying the city should be “actively pursuing these types of funds” to make the downtown “an attractive destination for both residents and visitors.”

City Manager Rob (City Manager) and planning staff member Mikaela presented a housing-survey report that staff said is a precursor to updating Bellbrook’s Community Reinvestment Area (CRA) ordinance. Mikaela said the existing CRA dates from about 1982 and has been “relatively underutilized,” and that the survey’s purpose is to show whether proposed expansion areas meet the requirements in the Ohio Revised Code and to inform elected officials about housing conditions.

The survey findings cited by Mikaela include a median year of construction for city housing of about 1973, an estimated homeownership rate of roughly 76 percent, and a median owner-occupied home value of about $246,000. The current CRA contains about 80 housing units across roughly 68 acres, staff said. The five proposed expansion areas would add about 100 acres and about 93 housing units; Mikaela gave approximate acreages for the five areas as 18.0, 2.9, 0.4, 8.8 and 69.9 acres, respectively.

Within the proposed expansion areas, Mikaela said the average year of construction is about 1964 (an average unit age of roughly 61 years) and that 53 percent of structures in those areas were built before 1970. She noted historically significant properties within the expansion area identified in the survey, including the Clara Winter Summer Home and the Stephen Bell Home.

Rob and Mikaela told council that some grants the city pursues require a local match and that Bellbrook’s limited local economic-development revenue can make meeting competitive match requirements challenging. Rob said staff are seeking grants with low or no match where possible and that the city is awaiting results on a competitive application that could provide roughly $700,000 for additional walkability and streetscape improvements.

Mikaela explained the administrative process for using the CRA: an applicant would make application to the housing officer listed in the ordinance (currently the city manager), and applications typically include pre- and post-project documentation to certify costs. Mikaela described existing eligibility thresholds as they appear in the current ordinance: remodeling of dwellings costing at least $25,100 for certain residential projects and at least $5,000 for commercial or industrial remodels, though she also said staff are evaluating amending the CRA to permit new construction (the state law allows that) because as written the CRA is currently limited and underutilized.

Council members asked procedural questions about notifying property owners (Mikaela said notification is part of later stages), whether the school district’s property included in the area would qualify (staff said the parcel, currently not taxed, could qualify for new construction incentives), and how the city would publicize CRA changes to local property owners and businesses if the expansion is adopted. Mikaela and Rob said they expect to complete legal review and present proposed ordinance amendments within a few months barring revisions.

The presentation was informational; council did not vote on amendments at the Jan. 13 meeting. Staff said the next steps include legal review of proposed ordinance language, further public outreach, and preparing any formal amendment for future council consideration.