By CECILIA FOX

Record Herald Writer

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TIPP CITY - Tipp City will be a part of Miami Valley Regional Planning Commission’s (MVPRC) “Going Places” initiative, according to a resolution passed by council 4-3, with members Joe Gibson, Bryan Budding and Katie Black providing the “no” vote.

At the study session prior to Tuesday’s the meeting, council discussed the initiative, which is a plan for developing the Miami Valley. The MVRPC has asked communities in the Miami Valley to participate in the initiative.

The land use initiative is focused on “concentrated development,” or encouraging the rehabilitation and repurposing of existing structures while maintaining and expanding parks and natural areas. The plan also emphasizes the revival of the City of Dayton.

“A lot has to do with using what’s existing and trying to at least curb some of what they call ‘urban sprawl.’ It includes encouraging the rehab and repurposing of existing facilities, focusing on maintenance of existing infrastructure, and locating new developments in areas with existing infrastructure,” said City Manager Jon Crusey.

The MVRPC sent out a resolution to communities in the Miami Valley where the commission did not project much job and population growth in the next 40 years. Troy and Piqua have already reviewed the initiative and made some changes to the resolution.

“If Miami County people stand together, we can make a difference,” said Mayor Dee Gillis.

Tipp City staff also reviewed the plan, and while they agreed with the general principles and characteristics of the plan, they had some concerns. A major concern was that the land use vision, with its emphasis on the preservation of natural spaces, might limit the future growth and development of the city.

Though the MVRPC makes it clear in the initiative that it encourages each community to maintain its own vision and identity, the resolution was also amended to make it clear that the city’s Comprehensive Master Development Plan will be used as a guide when making future land use decisions.

“What you don’t want to have happen is to buy into this scenario and have somebody come back at some point in the future and hold it over your head,” said Crusey.

Some council members were concerned that the initiative focuses too much on the city of Dayton and not enough on the communities in Miami County.

“Then you look at the map and see that this is a heat map of where all the development is going to be. And obviously the MVRPC is the major funnel of stimulus dollars and state aid for the region and you see we have nothing in Tipp City and you see everything in Dayton, so you have to worry about where the money is going to go,” said Councilman Mike McDermott, referencing the MVRPC job and population growth projection maps.

The resolution did pass 4-3. Despite the concerns raised that the plan ignores Tipp City, the majority felt that by not adopting the resolution, Tipp City might not have any say in future MVRPC land use planning.

Close votes were another, though unexpected, topic at last night’s meeting. Councilman Pat Hale took the opportunity at the end of the meeting to address the “naysayers” who say that the council doesn’t get along.

“I hear from people that think that our council isn’t necessarily moving forward in a common direction together and I really disagree with that as a whole. I think the seven of us all come here with different life experiences, we have different backgrounds, longer lives and shorter lives, we have a lot of different types of experiences that we bring to this and whether we all vote the same way or not is irrelevant,” said Hale.

With this in mind, Hale made a breakdown of all the votes made in 2011. According to Hale, council voted in a super majority, votes of 5-2 or better, about 85 percent of the time. After the meeting, Gibson called Hale’s remarks a “cynical and unsightly display of pandering.”

“In his term as council president, Mr. Hale has called fellow council members “closed minded” among other things. While the 4 to 3 votes are not on each and every item on the agenda, on key issues and important votes it is indeed usually a 4 to 3 decision,” said Gibson. “To call fellow members of council “closed-minded” is itself divisive, and to call the people who observe this 4 to 3 situation as “naysayers” does a disservice to the people he has been elected to represent.”