Whether you’re a carnivore or a herbivore, you can still be a localvore. That would be someone who veraciously hunts and gathers foods from within their local food shed. It’s a person dedicated to eating food grown and produced locally. Why should we care? Because local foods use less resources (primarily fossil fuels) expended in packaging and transport; because buying local foods supports the local economy (more money remains in our local community); because local foods are healthier (less processing and preservatives are used); and best of all, local foods are fresher and taste better. But why stop with food, be a localvore in all your purchases. Keep your neighbor (and maybe yourself) employed, Buy Kent!

Our Economic Development Director was the inspiration for this message. He recently sent me his pitch for the buy local, buy Kent campaign and asked if I could put it up as a blog post. With such a good cause, I was happy to oblige.

Here’s Dan:

Getting Vocal About Local Businesses!

As the former Executive Director of the Kent Area Chamber of Commerce, I know first hand the challenges facing our small business community as well as the enhanced sense of community they provide. Part of what makes Kent and Portage County’s quality of life great are our abundance of unique small business owners that include shops, restaurants and independent businesses that provide local products and services on a daily basis.

When you hear the terms business climate and economic environment, it is really these front line businesses and risk takers that are contributing to our community’s overall health and well being from the income they earn to pay employees, taxes (in support of schools and city services) and hopefully in making a reasonable profit. These business owners are often our friends and family, or at the very least, our fellow residents. Local businesses are extremely healthy for our City.

During my tenure as Chamber Director, I had often stated that you can dine at the Olive Garden in Anywhere, USA but where else can you dine in a 130+ year old train station, The Pufferbelly; a great local Deli, Franklin Square Deli; or enjoy a great intimate atmosphere for business or with that special someone, The Bistro on Main; not to mention great local conversation and camaraderie over a bowl of famous chili, Ray’s Place?

These are just few examples (there are hundreds of additional examples) and do not even begin to touch the broad spectrum of locally owned and operated businesses. Half the fun of supporting locally owned businesses is exploring all that Kent and our surrounding areas have to offer. I invite your to investigate our local businesses and offer the following resources to aid you on your quest.. See list of Chambers, Main Street & Visitors Bureau.

With a tough economy and strained financial markets where is most of our recent growth occurring? This is an easy question to answer…locally owned businesses. We have been much more successful at growing locally owned businesses, “economic gardening,” than attracting large nationally owned and franchised businesses. While I always argue that healthy balance of each is needed, there are compelling reasons for supporting local businesses first. See ten really good reasons to support local independent businesses.

Thanks to the efforts of groups like the Main Street Kent, Chambers of Commerce and the Visitors Bureau, our locally owned businesses have been able successfully serve the needs of Kent. I’ll mention a just a few long-time businesses to illustrate the point: Sue Nelson Designs, Woodsy’s Music, City Bank Antiques, The Works, Kent Natural Foods, Kent Hardware, McKay Bricker Studios, The Kent Stage, Leander’s Barbershop, and local banks. Just for fun let’s through in a few newcomers: The Fig Leaf, The Backerie, Scribbles, Guy’s Pizza, Empire and the $6.5 million dollar Phoenix Project. Again, it would be impossible to list everyone. I invite you to determine your list of favorite local businesses.

In closing, local businesses only survive when we decide to support and purchase their products and services. I have lived in Portage County my entire life and have witnessed how our local businesses support the quality of life of our community. I urge you to think local first when considering your next purchase. Without question, Kent is a great place to live, learn and enjoy local business!

Here are Ten Really Good Reasons
to Support Local Independent Businesses

You build stronger community
Entrepreneurs and skilled workers are more likely to invest and settle in communities that preserve their one-of-a-kind businesses and distinctive character.

You encourage local prosperity
Local businesses are owned by people who live in this community, are less likely to leave, and are more invested in our community’s future.

You reduce environmental impact
Locally-owned businesses can make more local purchases requiring less transportation. These businesses choose proximity to city and neighborhood centers, lessening your transportation costs and easing our carbon footprint.

You keep places fun & unique
One-of-a-kind businesses are an integral part of the distinctive character of our town and yours… residents and visitors alike seek out what’s rare and unusual.

You create more good jobs
Small local businesses are the largest employer nationally and provide the most jobs to residents.
You help social, cultural & ecological projects
Non-profit organizations receive an average 250% more support from local owned business.

You get better service
Local businesses are closer and more accountable to their customers. They hire people with more specific product expertise and customer concern.

Your money goes further
Significantly more money re-circulates when purchases are made from our very own businesses, service providers, and farms. Local-to-local purchases strengthen community.

You get more choices
A multitude of smaller businesses, each selecting products based on the needs of their local customers, guarantees a much broader range of product choices.

You put taxes to good use
Local businesses require comparatively little infrastructure investment and make more efficient use of public services.

Places to find local businesses

Kent Area Chamber of Commerce www.kentbiz.com

Main Street Kent www.mainstreetkent.org

Brimfield Area Chamber of Commerce www.brimfeildchamber.com

Franklin Township www.franklintownshipohio.org

Central Portage County Visitors Bureau www.centralportage.com

Last week the volunteers of Main Street Kent came to the City Council meeting and presented their recommendations for the City to adopt a set of voluntary design guidelines for buildings young and old in downtown Kent.  The idea is to create a guide book for property owners, builders and developers to use when re-purposing, recycling or otherwise restoring buildings in downtown Kent with the ultimate goal of ensuring economic vitality and preserving property values through an eclectic, yet cohesive, visual identity.  In other words, this is the downtown’s book of aspirations.  It’s a How To manual that offers pointers, tips and guidance on how to accentuate the positive of downtown Kent’s architecture.     

It’s probably worth stating upfront that this isn’t some communist plot to homogenize Kent’s downtown. On the contrary, it’s a grass roots effort facilitated by Main Street to gather the opinions of property owners, business owners and residents in a series of public meetings in order to define a local community standard for downtown Kent and put it in writing.  That community input is the thread that runs through the guidelines.

The City Council was asked to accept and adopt this community standard by approving the design guidelines, which is what they did by a unanimous vote last week.  The guidelines just express the community expectations, they don’t have any enforcement function right now.  So it’s merely a reference guide at this point. 

That being said, hopefully property owners will take advantage of the free design advice offered in the guidelines, and rather than having to pay a designer to tell them what type of exterior light fixture best suits their building’s architectural styling they can pull out the book, pick a fixture, and spend their money on the building rather than on consultants. 

The volunteers recommended easing into these waters and letting the design guidelines slowly become a part of the downtown culture.  They suggested that as more and more property owners use them and embrace them, the City may want to look at ways at incentivizing them.  For example, if someone wants a form of a City tax break as part of their building restoration project, the City could require them to comply with the design guidelines. 

Likewise, the volunteers noted that the City may want to gradually create some approval mechanisms through the City’s Architectural Review Board.  The citizens on the Achitectural Review Board currently provide a courtesy review of building projects but they have no real approval powers and it was suggested that over time this Board could take on an approval function for the design guidelines.  

One of the reasons the volunteers brought up the possibility of creating an approval process for the design guidelines is because taking that next step opens doors to federal and state tax breaks for property owner who wish to re-invest in their property that they are not currently eligible for now. 

From a practical point of view the adoption of these design guidelines does not require any property owner to go out and change their building to be in compliance with this new standard.  Rather, it’s there to give the property owner the confidence of knowing that if they want to ride the wave of downtown renovation projects that is underway right now and make an investment of their own, their investment will be protected and grow in value. 

Basically, it’s a resource tool that the City is making available for people that want to take advantage of it and give their buildings new life.  

Here’s the link to read the draft guidelines off of the Main Street website.  Some minor edits are yet to be done but overall the document expresses the vision of the downtown community in architectural terms.  By the way, the document is packed with pictures so be patient, it takes a while to upload:    Downtown Kent Design Guidelines 

In the economy’s weakened state more and more interest is being generated about promoting home based business.  Historically, people were nervous about promoting home based businesses because customers traffic and parking were viewed as incompatible with the peace and quiet of neighborhoods.  In the new era where the internet meets entrepreneurism it’s possible to operate a successful global business from your own home with the only traffic being electronic so we want to revisit our Zoning Code to make sure we’ve got a contemporary snapshot of home based businesses.

Good Afternoon:

Below please find the agenda and staff report for the next joint meeting of the Planning Commission, City Council, Board of Zoning Appeals, and Environmental Commission. This meeting is scheduled for Tuesday, April 21, 2009 at 7:00 PM and will be held again in City Council Chambers.

At the next meeting, we will be discussing Home Occupations. While this topic does not carry the same weight as rooming and boarding houses, it does have some interesting issues attached to it. In more recent times, and with the changes in work requirements and overhead costs which can potentially inhibit small business development, more people are working from their homes. As you know, the intent of the zoning code with regard to home occupations is to keep them minimal and as least intrusive to a neighborhood as possible. One of the basic questions in dealing with these uses is where they cross the line and how to define with some detail the line.

I hope to see you all at next week’s meeting. We will start at 7 PM since there is no regular business for the Planning Commission to consider.

Gary Locke, Community Development Director

BOARD OF ZONING APPEALS, ENVIRONMENTAL COMMISSION

AND KENT CITY COUNCIL

APRIL 21, 2009

COUNCIL CHAMBERS

KENT CITY HALL

325 S. DEPEYSTER STREET

7:00 P.M.

A G E N D A

I. CALL TO ORDER

II. ROLL CALL

III. CORRESPONDENCE IV. OLD BUSINESS V. NEW BUSINESS

A. Zoning Code Update – Session #5, Part 1: Home Occupations

VI. OTHER BUSINESS X. ADJOURNMENT

Home Occupations

Purpose

The purpose of this review is to evaluate the manner in which home occupations are regulated by the zoning code as well as types of functions that are permitted to operate under those regulations.

Overview

There are a handful of uses regulated by zoning codes that tend to create a lot of “gray” area in regard to regulation and enforcement. In the case of home occupations, the gray area comes from a use which falls between a traditional residential use and a commercial use. Mainly an issue in residentially zoned areas of the City, the question with home occupations becomes the scope of the use and its potential negative impact on a neighborhood. The difficulty in regulating these uses is exacerbated even further in that no two home occupations can be treated exactly the same, thus making it difficult to create “boiler-plated” standards for these uses. Over the years we have seen home occupation proposals come and go as a result of traffic concerns, parking problems and even neighbor vs neighbor disputes.

Simply put, a home occupation is a minor and secondary (accessory) use of a structure for business use, where the primary use of the structure is residential and where the operator of the use lives at the property. The use is to be incidental in regard to the amount of floor area that it occupies and should not generate an unreasonable flow of traffic in and out of the property or through the neighborhood.

Most zoning codes have traditionally treated home occupations in a suspect manner insofar as they have been viewed as potentially detrimental to residential areas. As time has evolved and especially in the past 20 years, home occupations have become more prevalent as a result of more liberal employer policies as well as the number of people attempting to start or operate a small business where they cannot afford the typical expenses and overhead of a traditional office setting. Many tend to be office type uses but there are some that are retail or involve some type of repair services, where customers may or may not come to the property. As the desire to conduct these types of operations has increased and evolved, it is appropriate to consider whether additional accommodations or restrictions are needed as part of the zoning code to deal with them.

Bicentennial Plan Discussion:

Two points in the overall goals articulated in the Bicentennial Plan appear to be on-point with regard to a discussion of home occupations. One of the goals is to “Protect neighborhoods”, while a second states that the City should, “Encourage and promote locally owned small businesses”. While neither goal specifically mentions home occupations, both the motivation to allow them and control them can be derived from the statements. It should be noted that much of the conversation in the Bicentennial Plan related to local business seems more focused on encouraging that business in the downtown and other traditionally commercial areas rather than in the residential neighborhoods. As such, the Bicentennial Plan is relatively silent about home occupations, per se.

Pg. 2

Session #5-1 – Home Occupations

UDC Draft Discussion

Discussions concerning the development of a draft Unified Development Code did in the past include discussions about the treatment of home occupations. There were not many changes to the current regulations suggested during the discussion other than to state that retail and some other specific uses were not permitted as home occupations and to attempt to set some specific standards for traffic and parking restrictions. The draft did not contemplate allowing such operations in accessory buildings.

Potential Changes / Commentary

The current zoning code breaks home occupations down into two separate categories: 1) home occupations, and 2) limited home businesses. The primary difference between the two is that a limited home business for the most part is an “internal” type operation without outsiders coming to work or do business at the location. More specifically, it is operated by the occupant of the house, does not generate traffic or attention to itself, and may not be known to others. These are permitted anywhere in the City in a residential home and are reviewed and approved by the Community Development Department. A home occupation is a more involved operation which may cause clients, customers or no more than one outside employee to the property. These operations may attract traffic or parking issues and may attract attention to the fact that there is a business operation at the property. The home occupation is a conditionally permitted use (requires Planning Commission review and approval) and is allowed as such primarily in the residential zoning districts (including the mixed use residential and commercial districts). Staff is of the opinion that the current regulatory structure that is in place is generally good, but may deserve some evaluation in the following areas:

a) Extent of Use in Home: The current restriction limits a home occupation to occupy not more than 25% of the total floor area of the home. This percentage seems a little high to us and should possibly be reduced to 20%. The primary issue is making sure that the use is clearly incidental to the residential use. In contrast, an argument could also be made that the percentage should be more liberal so as to encourage home-based businesses. One potential consideration in regard to the latter is that with most home occupations, different or additional building code compliance issues are not applicable. Increasing the size of the operation could potentially bring additional building code requirements into play. Staff would recommend a more conservative number rather than a more liberal number since it is likely to provide more protection for the surrounding neighborhood.

b) Use of Accessory Buildings / Additions: There are some interesting arguments to be made here in regard to whether out-buildings (garages, sheds, etc) should be permitted to be used in conjunction with a home occupation. The current zoning prohibits such operations and in many cases, the average garage or out-building would need to be updated with water, sewer or different building code requirements.

Pg. 3

Session #5-1 – Home Occupations

Historically, this type of situation involved garages or out-buildings being used for auto repair purposes, workshops where items to be sold on or off premises were being produced and in some cases for storage. The question associated with this type situation comes down to whether the use of a separate structure can be considered accessory and secondary to the primary (residential) use of the property. While in most cases operating a business from an accessory building is potentially problematic and not necessarily consistent with the intent of the zoning code to protect residential properties from such operations, there may be times when such an operation is reasonable and appropriate. As such, staff believes that the Planning Commission should be enabled to consider and approve such operations where appropriate and where such uses are not offensive to the surrounding neighborhood, rather than to just prohibit such operations outright.

c) Hours of Operation: There currently is nothing in the zoning code that regulates or restricts the hours of operation relevant to a home occupation in a home. Staff is of the opinion that specific limits should be placed on such operations and would offer that such uses should only be permitted to operate between 8:00 AM to 8:00 PM Monday through Saturday. Staff would not be opposed to even more restrictive days and hours.

d) Traffic Generation: Traffic generated by a home occupation is a function of both the number of people coming to the home to do business as well as the number of people working at the operation. Currently, the zoning code only allows one other person (not residing at the home) to be employed as part of the home occupation. Staff does not see this number as being unreasonable. In addition to the additional employee, different home occupations generate different numbers of customers. Those operations requiring specific appointments (hair salons, massage-therapists, etc.) can better manage their traffic loads better than one that does not work on the basis of appointments. Parking availability is also an issue and it is staff’s opinion that home occupations should provide adequate parking on-site rather than having to use on-street parking. To this end, it may be appropriate to restrict home occupations to appointment based businesses and not allow general walk-in type traffic. It should be remembered that businesses operated out of residential structures are not always treated as home occupations if they are located in commercial zoning districts. However, in the latter situations, those operations have to meet commercial building code requirements and parking requirements for business uses whereas the zoning and building codes treat home occupations more leniently.

In closing, it is important to keep in perspective that home occupations are limited uses, incidental to the primary use of the property as a residence. Zoning regulations need to provide adequate protection for residential areas while still allowing reasonable uses of the home.

I generally try not to advertise upcoming events too early because I know how easy it is to lose track and forget about them if there’s too big of a gap but I’m going to make an exception here because I think this event is worthy of getting added to your calendar in advance so that you can be sure not to miss it.  As part of downtown Kent’s 3rd annual Who’s Your Mama? Earth Day celebration and film festival, Standing Rock Cultural Arts is presenting an expert panel discussion on the Green Economy on Friday, April 24th at 2 pm .  With an impressive list of speakers, a great movie (The Next Industrial Revolution showing at 1 pm preceding the panel discussion) and a topic that is solar hot, this is a must see downtown event.

First, be sure to check out the web site dedicated to everything about Kent’s Who’s Your Mama? festival because there are other great events, including Saturday’s downtown block party and concert. 

Here’s Standing Rock’s Press Release on the Movie and Panel Event:  

WHO: Standing Rock Cultural Arts and Lucky Penny Farm present  

WHAT: Expert Panel Discussion on The Green Economy,

-A Headline Event for The 3rd Annual “Who’s Your Mama?” Earth Day and Environmental Film Festival

-preceded by the Film “The Next Industrial Revolution” at 1pm.

WHERE: The Kent Stage, 175 E. Main Street, Downtown Kent.

WHEN: Friday, April 24, 2009. 2pm

THE MOVIE:  “The Next Industrial Revolution” which recognizes Oberlin College, among others, as a leader in sustainable business practices.

CONTACT: 330-673-4970

ADMISSION: Free.

There will be a Panel Discussion concerning The Green Economy at The Kent Stage, where experts will discuss steps we can take toward building a new green business model for our region.

-Panelists include:

1. Darwin Kelsey, Director of The Cuyahoga Valley Countryside
Conservancy.

2. Holly Harlan, Founder and President of Entrepreneurs for Sustainability (E4S).

3. Thomas Euclide, Executive Director, Kent State University Facilities Planning and Operations.

4. Amalie Lipstreau of The Ohio Department of Agriculture’s Sustainable Agriculture Program.

5. Stefanie Spears of EcoWatch Ohio Magazine.

6. Karen Wise of The Davey Tree Expert Company.

7. Ken Prendergast, Director of All Aboard Ohio (Passenger Rail Advocacy).

-Amalie Lipstreau has agreed to moderate the discussion.

-April 24, 2pm is the time and date. Discussion will be preceded by a film at 1pm.

-A Reception will follow the Panel Discussion. $5 Admission to the Reception and Films afterward.

-A Solar Power Station will be set up to provide solar power for the event and run the DVD Projector for the films.

About Lucky Penny Farm and Creamery:

” At Lucky Penny Farm we believe in simple things made by hand from the land and enjoyed together at the family table. The food we share connects people to farms and through Lucky Penny Creamery we produce artisan cheeses handcrafted in small batches in Kent, Ohio. As farmers and foodies we will guide the journey from our Portage County pastures to your plate”

-Anderson Turner, Lucky Penny Farm, Garrettsville, Ohio

“Living lives focused on sustainability will have lasting impact on our companies and our communities. The “Who’s Your Mama?” Festival is a great way to share Earth Day with friends and families” says Abbe Turner, cheesemaker at Lucky Penny Creamery, Kent, Ohio.

FROM THE PRODUCER,

The theme for this year’s festival is The Green Economy.

We all can agree that the economy is in a slump. But when one door is closed another is open. This is a good time to start fresh and create a new economy based on the principles of care for mama earth. She provides our basic necessities. Our food, air and water. Any activity that does harm to these essential elements of life can not be considered to be part of a good economy. Let’s think about future generations.

So what if anything that was manufactured could either be eaten or recycled into useful technology? This is a cradle to cradle philosophy that is highlighted in two films that we’ll be screening at this year’s festival.

What if there was a clean and efficient light rail system throughout Ohio? How many jobs would that create? From the steel to make the rails to the restaurants that surround the depots. Ken Prendergast from All Aboard Ohio will give you the latest and greatest scoop on passenger rail at our Panel Discussion on April 24.

What if the food we ate came from local farms? How much healthier would we be? How much fuel could be saved?

What if paper products were made from renewable resources and manufactured close to home?

What if the highest paid worker in a company didn’t make more than five times what the lowest paid worker made? It’s constructive capitalism and it works. Ask Ralph Bronner from Dr. Bronner’s Soap Company.

This year’s festival offers hope for the future. The films that will be screened this year are full of positive solutions to our environmental problems.

Highlights of the festival include A Vegan Iron Chef Competition at Kent State on April 19, The Green Panel Discussion and Reception on Friday, “The Magic Soapbox” film screening on Friday evening, The Main Street Block Party on April 25, and the concert featuring the Kidney Brothers and John Sinclair on Saturday Evening.

Every Day is Earth Day and I’d like to welcome you to the celebration.

Jeff Ingram/Producer

“Who’s Your Mama?” Earth Day and Environmental Film Festival
Standing Rock Cultural Arts
257 N. Water St.
Kent, OH 44240
330-673-4970