SIDNEY — The city of Sidney Community Development Department provides a wide variety of professional development and planning services to the citizens of Sidney. The department is responsible for ensuring the development and continued maintenance of neighborhoods and districts. Responsibilities include review and approval of permits, inspections, and enforcement of the city’s building, zoning, and property maintenance regulations.

Director Barbara Dulworth has submitted the following report:

Planning & zoning

Staff reviews proposed development for compliance with local regulations and presents cases to the Planning Commission or Zoning Board of Appeals. A total of 14 cases were reviewed by the Planning Commission in 2022. The majority of these cases were requests for plats and re-zoning requests. The Zoning Board of Appeals reviewed 12 cases, including conditional uses and variances.

A total of 23 site plan permits were issued for new or expansion of, commercial or industrial facilities. Estimated investments related to these permits with total investments of over $157 million. The total investments include a multi-year, major investment which will be completed by the end of 2023 at the Cargill facility: excluding Cargill’s investment, the total estimated construction costs are $7.6 million. In addition, 21 use compliance certificates were issued for new businesses moving into, or expanding in, an existing building. A total of 50 permits were issued for permanent and temporary signs, and 99 fence permits were issued.

Building inspection

A total of 542 residential building permits were issued in 2022. Residential building permits issued include: new residential units (23 permits); renovations, additions, porches, and decks, (78 permits); HVAC, electric/gas turn-on, and rewire (398 permits); new garages, accessory buildings and renovations (30 permits); and other miscellaneous permits (43 permits).

The building department responded to 46 complaints and either declared buildings dangerous or unfit for human habitation or use.

Code enforcement

Staff is charged with ensuring that properties throughout Sidney are in compliance with the rules set forth in the city’s Codified Ordinances and the Residential Code of Ohio. Staff inspects property maintenance, signage, occupancy of buildings, and construction activities. They also respond to citizen complaints and inquiries, and administer enforcement actions.

A total of 1,665 violations were addressed in 2022. The greatest number of violations were junk, garbage, and litter (1,011) with high grass and weed violations following (463). The property owner or occupant corrected 80% of the violations, with the city’s contractor correcting the remaining.

Community development

Maintenance, preservation, development and redevelopment of neighborhoods is vital for the community. For existing neighborhoods, activities include identification and registration of vacant properties, assistance in the form of grants for rehabilitation, and recognition of residential beautification. Community development also includes incentives for new development and expansion of commercial and industrial properties. Two new initiatives were implemented in 2022: a Neighborhood Pride grant for exterior renovation of residences and the expansion of a Community Reinvestment Area, for property tax abatements, to include the entirety of the city’s corporate limits. Several new abatements were granted for new investments, including a tax abatement for a significant new manufacturer, SEMCORP, which intends to invest almost $1 billion dollars in real property and create 1,999 new jobs.

2023 outlook

Major activities for 2023 will include updating the city’s Comprehensive Plan; revitalization and economic development activities targeted to the downtown; local incentives for residential neighborhood rehabilitation and beautification; and a realignment of the code enforcement officer position to ranger in order to expand the position and hire additional staff. Development is projected to continue at a higher pace for residential construction, while commercial and industrial development is expected to continue to increase over the next year.