Contributed by The Charter Committee of Greater Cincinnati
The Charter Committee of Greater Cincinnati released the following public statement regarding the “Connected Communities” zoning ordinance adopted by Cincinnati City Council during its 2024 session:
On Feb. 5, 2025, the Charter Committee of Greater Cincinnati unanimously voted to call for the wholesale repeal of Cincinnati’s so-called
“Connected Communities” zoning legislation.
While deeply sympathetic to the need to increase density within the city limits and expand access to public transit, the process leading to this legislation’s passage constituted an epic failure of civic engagement.
Neighborhoods were not given a meaningful opportunity to shape a law that will permanently alter their diverse character and quality of life.
The end result of this legislation promises to be unregulated development, increased teardowns and additional congestion in neighborhoods which already face significant unaddressed challenges. We respectfully call upon all current and future council members to repeal “Connected Communities” in its entirety.
Charter Committee Convenor (and former City Councilman) Steve Goodin noted:
“In my more than two decades of working on city issues, I have never seen public input so thoroughly stage-managed, manipulated and ultimately ignored.
“No matter what one thinks of individual aspects of the ‘Connected Communities’
Ordinance, the process was a disaster. It represented a complete breakdown of the transparency and responsiveness Cincinnatians rightfully expect from a Charter-based government. ‘Connected Communities’ cannot be fixed. It simply must be repealed.”