Core Value #6: The University District shall accomplish its larger civic goals through the active participation of community individuals and agencies.

Chapter 16.0 addresses the key stakeholders required to implement the Plan. The success of the community participation effort embodied in this document depends on the active participation of concerned individuals and University District Organizations, university trustees, faculty and staff, Campus Partners, all members of the City departments that will interface with the programs designated herein, and the Mayor and City Council of the city of Columbus.

Implementing the Revitalization Plan’s recommendations is critical for change, but also to demonstrate that the planning and study effort has produced something different than past efforts. No one entity can accomplish the monumental task of implementing the Revitalization Plan. Instead it must be a partnership of many different organizations, agencies and individuals.

The following objectives address the implementation of the Revitalization Plan:

Recommendation 16.1.1: The President of The Ohio State University and the Mayor of Columbus need to execute a memorandum of agreement committing to roles and financial commitments for the first five years of the revitalization effort.

Recommendation 16.2.1: Campus Partners should remain a separate entity outside of The Ohio State University organizational structure.

Recommendation 16.2.2: The Campus Partners Board of Trustees must become actively engaged in the revitalization process by providing both review and approval of Campus Partner’s programs, as well as championing the Revitalization Plan within the community.

Recommendation 16.2.3: Other funding sources for Campus Partners operations should be sought such as foundation grants, and operating funds or staff loans, from the city of Columbus through the initial years of the revitalization efforts.

Recommendation 16.2.4: Campus Partners News needs to be continued and expanded as one of the Neighborhoods’ main communications, public relations and marketing tools..

Recommendation 16.3.1: The University District Organization should assume the role as the umbrella organization for all neighborhood groups active within the University District.

Recommendation 16.3.2: The University District Organization should play an active role alongside Campus Partners in promoting homeownership programs, as well as the desirability of living in the Neighborhoods.

Recommendation 16.3.3: The University Community Business Association should play an active role in the development of the Special Improvement District for High Street, as well as assist Campus Partners in the revitalization and redevelopment efforts for High Street.

Recommendation 16.3.4: The University Area Commission should continue its leadership through promotion of the revitalization proposals and advocating for constructive change that will be of long-term benefit to the community.

Recommendation 16.3.5: The aforementioned, as well as other organizations (not specifically identified), should be encouraged and welcomed to the revitalization effort for the specific talents and energies they can bring to the process. Specific proposals for assuring adequate funding for these organizations should be developed as a part of the Implementation Strategy.

Recommendation 16.4.1: Develop a "Dialogue Bridge" as an innovative communication technique to establish, enhance, and sustain partnerships with community residents, the university, the city and Campus Partners.

Recommendation 16.5.1: More study needs to be conducted in the Neighborhoods to fully enact some of the Revitalization Plan’s recommendations. These include:

• Baseline code violation study in the East, North and South Campus as well as the Indianola Terrace neighborhoods

• District level plan for the High Street Corridor that more specifically addresses land use, traffic and parking from 9th Avenue to Lane Avenue.

• District-level plan development for the East Campus Neighborhood that looks at problem properties, parking and open space options

• District level plan for South Campus concurrent with the Ohio State University’s planning effort.

• Design Guidelines to High Street

Without enduring commitment by either The Ohio State University or the city of Columbus, the goals of the Revitalization Plan will not be achieved. Both entities must present themselves as a synchronized, committed, implementation authority before any other prospective entities can be expected to fully commit to the revitalization effort. Active cooperation and participation should be formally represented in Memorandum of Agreement to be signed by the Mayor and Ohio State’s President. Equally important will be the need for regular vocal championing of the revitalization initiatives and non-stop campaigning for financial and organizational commitments by Federal, State, and private sector contributors. Specific requirements include:

The City’s commitment must begin at the highest level, the Mayor and City Council. They must formally adopt the Revitalization Plan and direct City departments and divisions to support its actions, provide the necessary resources, and initiate the necessary policy and administrative changes required to accomplish its objectives.

Additionally, the City needs to assure that investments made in capital improvements are judicious and prudent but not short sighted. Each project should be evaluated for its ability to attract new long term private investment to the area, while helping to resolve immediate problems.

Ohio State University’s commitment must begin with the President and Ohio State Board of Trustees, who must be visible in their commitment to the Revitalization Plan, and assure the entire university works to constructively participate in the implementation process. Specific actions that must be directed include:

• Ensuring that faculty heads are informed of the opportunities presented to them for research, training, learning, and community service in the Revitalization Plan’s Educational Excellence program, and subsequently securing their participation.

• Committing funds necessary to initiate the faculty and staff homeownership incentive programs.

• Ensuring that academic and academic support units at all levels work to accomplish the objectives of the Revitalization Plan by working with the specific recommendations. Where it is determined that specific actions cannot be achieved, they should work constructively with Campus Partners to modify the actions to achieve the objectives.

Campus Partners should assume the role as central facilitator for implementation. The organization and its staff should act as the primary point of coordination between the community, Ohio State, the city of Columbus, and private sector participants. Campus Partners should be proactive in its mission to see that the Revitalization Plan’s objectives are met, while ensuring that the sum of the Revitalization Plan’s many projects and recommendations continue to add up to a solution truly greater than their individual efforts. Campus Partners’ most important responsibility will be to coordinate the successful implementation of renovation and redevelopment projects, performing such tasks as coordinating meetings between community groups and prospective developers, attending and supporting projects at public meetings, and assisting in the public approvals processes.

The city of Columbus and The Ohio State University need to follow through on policy modifications as well as provide the necessary financial incentives or project investment to attract greater levels of private sector investment.

Community Organizations can play a valuable role in developing and refining the Implementation Strategy, through a series of committees focused on realizing specific projects and recommendations as prioritized in the Strategy document. These committees should combine the talents and knowledge of residents, community leaders, agency staffers and university officials.

Achieving the proposed vision for the University Neighborhoods as a city within a city that is safe, viable and diverse can only be accomplished by concurrently improving High Street, raising levels of home ownership, reducing both the reality and perception of crime, securing the active involvement of the university's staff, faculty, and students, and improving the competitive position of the student core area.

The Revitalization Plan lays out specific recommendations to accomplish these tasks, by creating both physical and programmatic changes in the neighborhoods. Revising both the primary and secondary circulation system creates a new clarity and opportunity for residential areas to redevelop. Improved, expanded or new parks, all connected by a logical circuit of greenways and bike routes will improve both the visual quality of the area, the perception of open space and the ability to use transportation modes beyond the automobile. Finally, the recognition and formalization of neighborhood units that share similar concerns as well as zoning and policy considerations, provide a platform for grass-roots organizations to seize back their neighborhoods and take control of their long term destiny.

These physical improvements are balanced with specific programs such as community policing, comprehensive youth involvement programs and stronger cooperation between The Ohio State University and city of Columbus Police, all directed at improving the perception and reality of safety. Specific incentive programs for homeownership, modeled after successful programs throughout the country, will bring a dramatic level of private investment into the neighborhoods for little to no cost. Public service improvements, some of which are already underway, will require significant political leadership and community involvement to effect change. Finally, an innovative approach to leveraging the resources and talent of Ohio State and to an expanded definition of 'education' will provide the missing link between one-dimensional bricks and mortar improvements and the truly long term redevelopment success that so many other communities have sought.

In summary, the problems facing the University Neighborhoods are not insurmountable. However, the momentum of decline is accelerating toward a rapid downward spiral. Successfully turning this tide will require a multi-layered approach...one that utilizes a diverse group of resources, sponsors, and clear actions all focused toward holistic redevelopment of the University Neighborhoods as a unique, vital urban community.