REGION _CHAPTER 2: REGIONAL SETTING

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1 REGION _CHAPTER 2: REGIONAL SETTING goals & objectives

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3 COMPREHENSIVE PLAN UPDATE : A Vision for Kenton County s Future INTRODUCTION While this plan focuses on Kenton County and the cities contained within, it is important to recognize how Kenton County fits into the larger metropolitan context. Kenton County has the ability to lead the area utilizing innovative ways to strengthen its economy, preserve the environment, and improve the overall quality of life. Without a firm understanding of the physical and social environment on a regional scale, it is difficult for Kenton County to fulfill this leadership role. CHAPTER 2: REGIONAL SETTING

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5 LOCATION Kenton County is located directly across from the City of Cincinnati with the Ohio River as the dividing line between Ohio and Kentucky. Boone County lies directly to the west, Grant and Pendleton Counties to the south, and Campbell County to the east. Kenton and Campbell Counties are separated by the Licking River. Kenton County covers approximately 162 square miles. There are three major ridges oriented in a southwest/northeast direction that traverse the county. The northern area (Covington) lies in a lower basin area. Population and development are denser in the northern portions, and become progressively less intense in a southward direction. (See Figure 2.1). REGIONAL SETTING most of Ohio and Kentucky, and portions of Indiana. All of these areas eventually drain into the Ohio River. Kenton County has a similar soil composition and terrain to Cincinnati; therefore both areas experience common issues with flooding, landslides, deforestation, and other development related issues. Figure 2.1: Regional Map Flood of 1997 Ohio River overflowing its banks in Cincinnati, Ohio and Covington, Kentucky Source: LAND USE If one were to quickly examine land use and zoning patterns for the Greater Cincinnati region they would find that the central business district of Cincinnati and the areas immediately surrounding it are primarily composed of commercial activities and office uses. A band of predominately residential development surrounds the central city and is expanding into undeveloped, forest and agriculture lands (see Figure 2.2). While this is a general statement, there are many issues that arise with this type of land use pattern. For example people are driving farther for services, to work, and to school. Kenton County, along with many other counties in the region, is trying to find ways to integrate residential, commercial, and agricultural/open space land uses. Appropriate use of planned unit developments (PUD), cluster overlays, and mixed- use developments are examples of how other communities have achieved this balance. Source: NKAPC - LINK GIS 2006 ENVIRONMENT Kenton County contains steep hillsides and heavily wooded deciduous forests. The County is included as part of the Ohio River Regional watershed along with Downtown Cincinnati and the communities directly adjacent to it are the most densely developed areas in the region, however as migration trends illustrate, increasing populations are still moving out to and beyond the suburbs. This trend, in many respects, weakens the central business district of Downtown Cincinnati and neighboring areas. CH. 2: REGIONAL SETTING 7

6 COMPREHENSIVE PLAN UPDATE : A Vision for Kenton County s Future Figure 2.2: General Patterns of Development Source: COMMUNITY FACILITIES While government structures are different between Kentucky and Ohio, both Kenton and Hamilton Counties contain a high number of local government jurisdictions. Residents are attracted to a strong sense of identity brought on by these small jurisdictions as they frequently have their own fire and police departments, city buildings, and recreational facilities. Despite this the cities themselves often struggle to provide and maintain their community facilities, including schools, libraries, senior centers, parks, healthcare, and social services resources. Many local municipalities are small in size and often contain residential development as the primary land use type. A city with a high percentage of residential development, for example, requires increased services and generally struggles to produce enough tax revenue to pay for such services. Kenton County has recently felt the impact of these issues. While it is important to maintain what is special about each neighborhood and to strengthen the sense of identity, alternative approaches for providing more effective services must be developed capacity planning is one method for addressing this dilemma. for the eight-county, three-state Greater Cincinnati region, with a federal mandate to maintain a comprehensive, cooperative and continuing transportation planning process. The OKI region includes Boone, Kenton and Campbell counties in Kentucky, Butler, Clermont, Hamilton and Warren counties in Ohio, and Dearborn County, Indiana. Kenton County is an important part of this region offering some of the most frequently utilized roadways in the area. Originally opened in 1963, The Brent Spence Bridge and its approaches, connecting Hamilton and Kenton Counties, are key elements of the nation s Interstate Highway System. This facility carries both I-75 and I-71 traffic through the Greater Cincinnati/ Northern Kentucky Area. This important river crossing is vital to long-distance state and national commerce, as well as being a major thoroughfare for local and regional mobility. Interstate 75 connects the Greater Cincinnati/Northern Kentucky region with Detroit, Michigan to the north and Miami, Florida to the south. It also connects with I-74 and US 50 to the east and west. I-75 and the railroads that run parallel to it are among the nations busiest and comprise the backbone of commerce and travel through the region. According to Federal Highway Administration (FHWA) estimates, I75 is one of the busiest trucking routes in North America with truck traffic approaching six billion miles annually. In addition, more than 250 freight trains per day pass through or have destinations within the I-75 corridor1. Kenton County also contains a portion of I-275. This transportation route encompasses the tri-state within an approximately 85-mile loop. Maintaining these roadways and finding efficient and effective ways to connect and move people through the tri-state is a primary transportation objective. TRANSPORTATION Kenton County is included in the Ohio-Kentucky-Indiana (OKI) Regional Council of Governments eight county region. OKI is the Metropolitan Planning Organization Brent Spence Bridge Source: CHAPTER 2: REGIONAL SETTING

7 COMPREHENSIVE PLAN UPDATE : A Vision for Kenton County s Future Wireless internet user in cyber cafe Source: UTILITY AND INFORMATION TECHNOLOGY Services used on a daily basis such as electricity, cell phones, and internet are managed on a regional basis. This is yet another way that people are connected to each other and have access to outside information. In the spring of 2006, Cincinnati/Northern Kentucky launched one of the largest free wireless networks, LilyPad USA. Project Lily Pad is part of an effort to improve the region s ability to attract business and raise national awareness that the Greater Cincinnati area is a tech-savvy region. Attracting people to the region is critical, as it will promote economic growth, facilitate research efforts at our universities and businesses, and improve educational opportunities to under-represented communities 2. LilyPad and other efforts to provide wireless connections are discussed in more detail in the utilities section of County Wide Plan Elements Chapter. With recent technological advancements, Kenton County needs to continue working with regional service providers and initiatives to provide citizens with the most adequate access to each other and information. REGIONAL STUDIES Since the 2001 Area-wide Comprehensive Plan was adopted, efforts have been made on a region wide basis to create strategic plans for improving the Northern Kentucky/Cincinnati area. They include Vision 2015: Shaping our Future, OKI Community Choices: Where Do We Grow from Here. The Northern Kentucky Area Development District (NKADD) also plays an important role in planning and development activities for the Northern Kentucky area. NORTHERN KENTUCKY AREA DEVELOPMENT DISTRICT (NKADD) The NKADD is a regional organization that provides an array of services and programs designed to improve the lives of the area s residents and assist local government officials in developing their neighborhoods. Kentucky is divided into 15 development districts with the NKADD covering the eight most northern counties in the Commonwealth. (Boone, Kenton, Campbell, Gallatin, Grant, Pendleton, Carroll, and Owen) The services provided are outlined below: Development Services assists local officials secure funding for various public projects. They work closely with state and federal agencies that provide grants and loans for local projects including transportation enhancement projects, water and sewage treatment systems, disaster recovery, historic preservation, industrial park development, and urban renewal. Public Administration Services provides high quality management consulting by making available a variety of services and products in public administration, human resource management, finance, solid waste management, and governance. Hazard Mitigation is provided through the creation of a Regional Hazard Mitigation Plan in accordance with the federal Disaster Mitigation Act of This update will be designed to reduce the risk to life and property caused by disasters and to increase a community s ability to recover from a disaster. GIS/Demographic Services provides a variety of geographic and demographic services including data collection, customized mapping, demographic data and asset inventory. Health and Human Services seeks to enhance the quality of life for all Northern Kentucky residents by providing training, development, advocacy, and programs to assist residents in leading meaningful and dignified lives. Services provided within this category include the following: family caregiver support, homecare, senior activities, child care, personal care CHAPTER 2: REGIONAL SETTING 9

8 COMPREHENSIVE PLAN UPDATE : A Vision for Kenton County s Future attendant, council on aging, adult day care, continuum care, housing and homelessness, and mental health. Workforce Development provides programs to assist individuals attain the skills necessary for employment and assist employers in meeting current and anticipated manpower and training needs. The NKADD also provides a neutral, area-wide forum for local, public and private sector leaders to discuss and deal with common problems as well as a formal linkage between the community leadership within the region and the many state, federal, and private sector organizations3. Source: so that citizens can benefit from the prosperity and opportunity this creates. Six strategies were established: Competitive Economy: The Northern Kentucky region will reinvent its economy and create new jobs that ensure continued growth and prosperity. Education Excellence: Our educational system will promote talent and innovation and prepare children and adults to successfully compete in the global knowledge-based economy. Livable Communities: All Northern Kentucky resident will have the opportunity to access and fully participate in the civic, cultural and social life of the community. Urban Renaissance: The urban center of the region will leverage its unique assets to add economic and social value to the community and to make the region more competitive in the global economy. Effective Governance: Local government will enhance the economic competitiveness of the region by ensuring that high quality public services are efficiently provided. Regional Stewardship: Our community s leaders and citizens are collaborating and working together to achieve a shared vision of our future. VISION 2015 Northern Kentucky has made great strides in the past 15 years but the world is rapidly changing and to stay competitive Northern Kentucky must change. This area competes with other major cities around the world for jobs, income, investment, and talent. To be competitive a region must attract and/or develop high tech services and industries. These industries do not need to locate near raw materials and power like older industries. They locate where there are qualified people and unique and livable communities. This requires a highly educated workforce and great attention to the built and natural environments. This 10-year strategic blueprint builds upon the original 1995 Quest: A Vision for Northern Kentucky study and is being used to define and transform the future of Northern Kentucky. The purpose is to ensure Northern Kentucky is capable of competing in a global economy, 10 CHAPTER 2: REGIONAL SETTING This report calls for the creation of a Regional Stewardship Council of 20 to 30 people to implement these strategies. The Council will be responsible for: Serving as the voice of Vision 2015 Developing a plan and an overall implementation strategy Assisting organizations agreeing to implement Vision 2015 with goals and strategies, implementation, and measuring progress Monitoring goals and taking action when progress is below expectations

9 COMPREHENSIVE PLAN UPDATE : A Vision for Kenton County s Future cooperative planning and decision-making throughout the region, and invites participation from OKI itself, local governments, special districts, state and federal agencies, and the private and civic sectors. The plan emphasizes that taxpayers finance the pattern of land development and infrastructure. Source: OKI COMMUNITY CHOICES After several years in production, a ground-breaking strategic regional policy plan was adopted by the Ohio Kentucky Indiana Regional Council of Governments (OKI). The strategic plan was inspired by federal transportation planning mandates, and by costly trends that were emerging: imbalances between land consumption and population growth; and an estimated 30-year, $3 billion shortfall between identified needs and available funds for the region s transportation system. Because of the size and nature of its three state region, OKI s 103 member Board of Trustees has broad geographic, political and professional representation, including members from local governments, state Department of Transportation, transit authorities, citizens, and businesses. OKI s Board created and sat as a special Land Use Commission to produce the strategic regional policy plan, and invited other expert individuals to participate, for a total Commission membership of about 180 people. This diverse group increased awareness of transportation-land use relationships and the need for interjurisdictional coordination. Where Do We grow From Here? A Strategic Regional Policy Plan (SRPP) was conceived by OKI to guide the conservation of limited tax dollars through better coordination of local land use planning and regional transportation planning. The SRPP became a 20-year blueprint for infrastructure and land use efficiency, economic vitality, and sustainability, focusing on the land use-transportation connection. A regional vision of altering costly trends is addressed through six subject areas (transportation, land use, public facilities, natural systems, economic development and housing). The plan encourages land use patterns that promote multimodal travel and the efficient use of land, natural resources, and public facilities and services. The SRPP is direction-setting for the tri-state region, not just for the OKI Council of Governments/ Metropolitan Planning Organization. It promotes The SRPP also verifies and emphasizes that people live at the scale of the region, moving through multiple jurisdictions several times a day to work, shop, or seek entertainment. The fate of individual communities is inherently connected to the region s fate. OKI s strategic approach to the project examined physical development trends in the region today; and what they should be in the future. In addition to traditional data collection and analyses, the planning process included: creating a vision for stewardship; identifying strategic regional issues (the region s critical challenges or fundamental policy concerns); outlining trends and conditions related to each regional issue; and establishing goals, objectives and policies. A plan of this scope had never been undertaken in the Greater Cincinnati region, so considerable time was spent gathering and analyzing data from various sources; data which was found in various formats and timeframes. A composite existing land use map and a composite zoning map (to represent future conditions) were created for discussion purposes, and they turned out to be highly effective tools to illustrate regional land development and infrastructure trends. Solid data and analyses were the basis for many of the identified strategic issues, such as the lack of up-todate local comprehensive plans for many communities, deficiencies in capital budgeting at the local level, and the need for stronger intergovernmental coordination. Source: CHAPTER 2: REGIONAL SETTING 11

10 COMPREHENSIVE PLAN UPDATE : A Vision for Kenton County s Future OKI REGIONAL TRANSPORTATION PLAN The 2030 Regional Transportation Plan is one of the most influential studies adopted by OKI in September 2001 and updated in June The Transportation Plan includes recommendations concerning highways, mass transit, water, rail, pedestrian, bicycle and air facilities. This plan is described in detail in the section on transportation in the County Wide Plan Elements Chapter. Implementation activities over the next five years will include: TRANSIT NETWORK STUDY 12 Revisiting the Long Range Transportation Plan Improvement Programs for consistency with the Strategic Regional Policy Plan Promoting transportation demand management (ridesharing, trip reduction) Tracking growth areas to anticipate public facility needs Pursuing funds for water quality management Tracking information on watershed conditions for local governments Assisting local governments watershed groups with source water protection Researching incentives and programs for conserving natural systems Investigating economic and environmental value models for local government use Researching environmental sensitive building practices Identifying green space stakeholders and strategies for regional efforts Surveying local governments and school districts regarding their planning interaction identifying gaps in local government input to workforce policy boards Surveying business and merchants associations regarding public facilities and services Conferring with regional economic development partnerships regarding local government support and data availability Evaluating cost/benefit models for new development Researching impediments to brownfields redevelopment CHAPTER 2: REGIONAL SETTING The Transit Authority of Northern Kentucky (TANK) initiated the Transit Network Study to analyze the trends, challenges and opportunities facing Northern Kentucky and to create a long-range plan for public transportation. The Plan will serve as TANK s guide for future operation and investment to the year While this plan is a long-term vision, it is designed so that it can be implemented over time in small or large pieces, depending on available funding and opportunities. More information on the transit Network Study can be found on the TANK website, or by contacting the TANK Planning Department. This study is discussed in further detail in the transportation section of the County Wide Plan Elements Chapter5. The NKAPC Staff works with these and other regional, state, and local agencies to collaborate on projects, obtain and provide data, and reduce duplication of work. This collaboration helps insure the most effective and efficient use of public funds. The concepts and initiatives behind the recommendations and strategies outlined in this chapter can help further the goal of enhancing the quality of life for all Kenton County residents.

11 COMPREHENSIVE PLAN UPDATE : A Vision for Kenton County s Future Endnotes Vision 2015: Shaping Our Future. Spring CHAPTER 2: REGIONAL SETTING 13

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