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This could be last census for growth in Solon
(by Sue Reid - March 31, 2011)
This could be last census for growth in Solon
By SUE REID
The City of Solon has experienced its last big growth spurt, with a 1,500 increase in population from 2000 to 2010, Planning Director Robert S. Frankland said.
His comments followed the release of the 2010 U.S. Census figures, which calculated the city's population at 23,348, up from 21,802 in 2000.
Based upon the number of units built in the city and the average family size, that number is what was expected, Mr. Frankland said.
"That would be the last big spurt," Mr. Frankland said. "There's not going to be anything like that, assuming the zoning stays the way it is."
He said the city will not even experience half that much of a population change in the next census, "because we are out of land and built out." There will be a few smaller subdivisions coming in, he said, referring to 20 lots here and there.
"Solon has gone through a tremendous growth spurt from the 1970s to the present, and this was the last of the substantial growth," he said.
"That was by design," Mr. Frankland said. "The city does not want to grow. Capacity-wise, we are not able to support a population of 26,000, because the sanitation plant cannot handle more than that."
One-acre zoning was put in place in the 1990s to "have an ultimate cap on population," he said. "Our infrastructure is designed to that goal."
Mr. Frankland said the city's build-out population would likely be a little over 24,000. "That's talking 25 years down the road when every possible piece of property has been developed," he said.
In the area of housing units, Solon had 8,765, according to the 2010 census, compared to 7,801 in 2000.
The number of units increased the greatest in Ward 3, where most of the large subdivisions are located. Those subdivisions, which began in the 1990s, include Thornbury, Signature 1 and Signature 2.
"Those developments are finishing up now," Mr. Frankland said, "and there's not a whole lot of vacant lots left."
Those are the last of the big subdivisions in Solon, he said, with more than 100 lots in each.
"They are definitely building out," he said. "When you are getting down to 10 houses a year, you can be sure you're building out.
"Economy has a lot to do with it but there are just not a whole lot of lots in Solon," Mr. Frankland said. "It's our intent to regulate population growth because of the schools and to preserve the level of service to Solon residents to the levels we have now."
Over the years, the city has been taking steps through its one-acre zoning and the rezoning of areas like Grantwood from single-family residential to green space-type zoning to control population growth.
"The one-acre zoning was the biggest, and the city put green space zoning in a couple years ago," Mr. Frankland said. That took large areas of public green space and rezoned it to green space zoning, where previously it was zoned for single-family use.
"Grantwood can't be developed residentially unless voters vote to change that," Mr. Frankland said. A residential population growth management plan is part of the master plan, he said, which establishes the policies under which the city will operate to control population growth.
While Ward 3 is above the target population, some wards are below, Mr. Frankland said. "It's hard to tell why that is at this point." The lowest number is in Ward 4, with 2,802 residents, according to 2010 census figures. Ward 7 is close to that, with 2,836 residents.
Other ward populations, based on the 2010 census, are: Ward 1, 3,715 residents; Ward 2, 2,979; Ward 3, 4,585; Ward 5, 3,431; and Ward 6, 3,000.
As required by the city's charter, redistricting will take place this year, with new wards being in place by late summer or early fall, Mr. Frankland said.
When doing the redistricting, the total population of the city will be divided by the seven wards, Mr. Frankland explained, with a target population for each ward being 3,335.
Mayor Susan A. Drucker has requested that council members appoint members to a redistricting committee, and meetings are targeted to begin in April.
"The committee members are challenged with reforming the wards into seven wards nearly equal in population as practicable," Mr. Frankland said. The last time this was done was in 2001, following the release of the 2000 census.
Because wards 1, 3 and 5 are above the target population, potentially based on what the committee does, they can lose population, Mr. Frankland said, while wards 2, 4, 6 and 7 can gain.
Solon has 180 days from the date the secretary of state of Ohio certifies the census results this month to adopt an ordinance subdividing the city. The committee's recommendations will be presented to City Council for approval.
Mr. Frankland said the charter does provide some direction in "practicable ward boundaries," but it is really up to the committee to come up with the rules. A suggestion Mr. Frankland said he would recommend to the committee would be that anyone elected to council should not be transferred out of the ward.
Other suggestions within the charter include the wards should be composed of adjacent and compact territory and also, if possible, neighborhoods should not be divided in half.
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