Upper Arlington · issues
Civic issues
Topics getting the most attention in Upper Arlington public meetings, ranked by how frequently they come up.
Historic demolition and replacement house at 2505 Coventry Rd
A proposed teardown and new-build on Coventry Road gets its informal review now, with the real decision coming November 18. Historic demolition reviews can shape the character of the neighborhood's older housing stock.
Proposed front-yard swimming pool at 1725 Roxbury Rd
A corner-lot owner wants a 15' x 35' pool and patio in the Chelsea Road front yard, where pools are prohibited by the zoning code. Staff say the variance would create a dangerous precedent and won't support it — but the applicant wants to gauge the board's thinking before deciding whether to keep or sell the property.
Medic 71 purchase and Medic 72 in 2028 budget cycle
The city has purchased a new Medic 71 ambulance, and a Medic 72 replacement is planned for the 2028 budget cycle. These apparatus purchases affect future fire and EMS budgets.
CARES community outreach program
The CARES program provides home visits, smoke detector installs, grab bars and wellness check-ins for residents, particularly seniors. The board will review its latest statistics.
Detached garage height precedents
A North Devon Road family won approval for a 22-foot-10-inch garage with a home office and future golf simulator, after trimming its size and coverage. The board liked the landscaping, screening, and rain barrels offsetting extra stormwater runoff.
Residential setback and height variances
The Coventry Road case shows how close quarters in older neighborhoods create conflicts — a 1'-9" encroachment triggered real privacy worries about a new window over a neighbor's patio. A condition removing the window resolved it without denying the project.
Unpermitted structures and uses
A builder's four-foot dimensional error pushed a planned covered patio into the side-yard setback, leaving the owners seeking two variances. Staff recommended denial for lack of hardship, and the board gave the family a chance to redesign instead of likely denying the request.
Lane Avenue Corridor Parking Study
Two speakers said patrons of existing nearby businesses already park on neighborhood streets, and doubted any promises about the new venue's parking can be enforced. The city cited past efforts with Littleton's Market and Fox in the Snow and plans for a new public lot.
2026 Tax Levies Certified
Council certified the county-determined tax rates and levies for the year — routine annual budget housekeeping that sets the property tax rates residents will pay.
City cybersecurity and IT modernization
IT is hardening the city against cyberattacks under the HB 96 mandate — multifactor authentication, immutable backups, penetration testing, and disaster recovery via the State of Ohio Computer Center — plus replacing aging phones, wireless, and camera systems.
Leaf Collection
Get ready, Upper Arlington! The city's seasonal leaf pickup kicks off in mid-October, so it's time to start raking and prepping your yard for the curb.
CRC Grant Program Parameters
The grant working group set an annual pool of $15,000 with individual grants up to $5,000, and is considering adding social enterprises as eligible applicants.
CRC Relocation to Bob Crane Community Center
The community center blew past expectations in its first year, with 12,842 members against a projection of 3,500. That means heavy use of the facility and its programs by residents.
Residential beekeeping policy
Beekeeping is banned on standard Upper Arlington lots, but the hives case showed real community division — some neighbors support urban beekeeping, others report stings near pools. The applicant says a council member may push for a policy change; the board agreed that's the right venue.
New TIF Threshold Policy for Large Redevelopment
The county-led Tax Incentive Review Council found all 17 of the city's tax increment financing agreements in compliance.
Henderson Road Improvements Phases I & II
Council backed the city's first grant application for Henderson Road Phases I & II; any money wouldn't arrive until 2031-32, and property representative Bill Hadler asked that this not be read as a design endorsement.
CORMA Insurance Pool Renewal Cost Increase
The city's property/liability insurance pool contribution would rise about 16% to $512,000, driven by $30 million in newly insured assets and market increases. Council wants comparative market pricing to double-check the pool is still the best value.
2026 Community Programs and Events
The committee's lineup of community events — Porch Parties, the Labor Day Arts Festival, Navratri & Diwali, and a youth mental health fair — shapes what residents can plug into this year and next.
Parks Rules
The board was scheduled to discuss rules governing use of the city's parks. Any changes would affect how residents use park facilities day to day.
PLAY UA Program
The board was scheduled to discuss the PLAY UA program. Residents may see changes to program offerings as a result.
Extending seasonal pool operations
The board was scheduled to review how seasonal operations, such as aquatic staffing and summer programming, performed this year.
Stay UA older adult services and Support Hub
The city's Stay UA program connects older residents with services, and a new free Support Hub (with Helpful Village) will match seniors with volunteers for everyday help — though not contractors or licensed trades. A social worker now has office hours at the Bob Crane Community Center twice a month.
Perry Township fire and EMS agreement amendment
The city is adding 21 homes in the Haven development to its 1999 fire/EMS sharing agreement with Perry Township — minimal cost and impact — with a full contract overhaul planned by next year.
Economic development strategies overview
The city is nearly out of commercial space — expanding businesses are leaving because they can't find room, and land runs $1.2–1.3 million an acre. The new strategy leans on four pillars: built environment, business retention, entrepreneurship, and destination development.
Administrative Code, fees, and building code amendments
A sweeping code cleanup would quadruple the fee penalty for building without a permit and add remote-meeting authority for boards. Council wrangled over keeping written notice of outside-counsel hires and civil-service exam fairness standards.
City Code Cleanup Ordinance
Council is modernizing the city code, including raising the campaign contribution limit from $250 to about $400 with periodic reviews, revisiting the employee political activity ban, and bumping the settlement authority to $50,000. Final votes come June 1.
4190 Greensview Drive home gym encroachment
A homeowner wants a 750-square-foot detached gym with a 15-foot roof and reduced setbacks — five variances total. The board pushed back, saying too many variances set a precedent, and asked for a smaller design. It'll come back in a future meeting.
Mid-Year Budget Adjustment and Permanent Police Sergeant
A small mid-year budget fix funds storm tree trimming, police ballistic vests, a digital forensics workstation for the child-exploitation task force, and makes a temporary police sergeant position permanent to keep more officers on patrol.
Campaign Contribution Limit Increase
Council raised the individual donation cap for council campaigns from $250 to $400 — the first update since roughly 1990 — on a 4-3 split vote, with the increase taking effect only after the 2029 election.
Replacement home design at 2430 Kensington Drive
A demolished 1926 Contributing Structure gets a new brick Colonial Revival home instead of the Tudor design approved back in 2024. The new design fit the street's height and massing, so the board approved it — staff says both styles already coexist south of Lane Avenue.
Neighborhood compatibility height limit at 2314 Edington Road
A proposed two-story home is a foot over the 27'-3" street median height cap, and the owner is weighing whether to seek a variance. The board wants more design refinement and context drawings before deciding — a test case for how strictly the 2022 compatibility rules apply to new builds in ranch-heavy neighborhoods.
Parks and Recreation Comprehensive Plan
The city's Master Plan process is underway, with a Parks and Recreation sub-committee that includes the board's chair and vice chair. Residents can follow the schedule and participate through public engagement opportunities.
Urban Forestry Master Plan
The city's Urban Forestry Master Plan continues to move forward, guiding how Upper Arlington plants and protects its tree canopy.
Fancyburg Park Master Plan and maintenance facility
Fancyburg Park — where this meeting was held — was the subject of a scheduled park update.
Oversized detached garage at 4684 Riverside Drive
A Riverside Drive family wanted a 1,300-square-foot, 20-foot-tall garage — far beyond code limits — because bedrock and a septic leach field prevent below-grade storage. The board found the deep, tree-screened lot mitigated the visual impact, but the chair worried it stretches the hardship standard.
Frazier Financial Advisors economic development incentive
The city finalized an incentive agreement with Frazier Financial Advisors, which boosted its investment commitment since May — a bid to grow the local business base.
Roberts Road Yard Waste and Recycling Facility
A new SWACO lease keeps the composting site running and adds a free drop-off for Styrofoam, batteries, e-waste, paint, appliances and TVs — plus possible on-site food waste processing that would cut a long haul to London, Ohio.
Fontenay Plat Amendment and Setback Enforcement
A resident argued the city's practice of amending recorded plats by ordinance — without two-thirds property-owner consent required by ORC 711.17 — sets a bad precedent. The city attorney defended the practice as permissive under state law and long-settled locally.
Park Mowing Contractor Failure
Library Funding and Tremont Road Renovation
The library is planning a major Tremont Road renovation, a new Tremont roof and a Miller Park refresh, funded by its levy without debt — targeting an $8.6 million building fund by 2029. Revenue is fixed by state law and the local levy, so rising costs are a squeeze, and potential state moves to eliminate property taxes are an existential threat to library funding.
Unpermitted pool decking at 2082 Fontenay Place
A couple built extra pool decking without a permit, poking into the subdivision's protected 32-foot rear setback. They paid a $15,000 fine in mayor's court and now want to keep it, arguing it fixed backyard flooding. The board votes on the plat amendment and variance May 20.
City finances and county disbursement delays
Franklin County is two to three months behind on property tax disbursements, making some utility fund balances look negative for now. A big withholding tax payment is skewing income tax projections; a mid-year update comes after summer recess.
Electronic fire inspection reporting
A new fire code section would require contractors to file inspection and maintenance reports electronically instead of on paper, helping fire inspectors spot uncorrected deficiencies faster.
Three-story mixed-use building concept at 2471 Westmont Boulevard
A three-story retail, event, and private club building is coming together at a tough postage-stamp site near Lane Avenue. Parking relies on an OhioHealth agreement for 20 to 50 off-site spaces plus valet service — the board wants that locked down before formal review in June.
Grant record retention aligned with federal rules
Grant application records will now be kept at least three years, matching federal requirements — protecting the city during audits and when grant terms demand more.
Body worn camera video request policy performance
A year in, the fee-based body camera video request policy is working: 28 requests handled, processing down from five months to three weeks. The commission settled how to price duplicate requests for the same footage.
World Cities Summit trip and ethics transparency
Council debated whether sending the mayor to a Singapore summit on sponsors' dime was a gift or public purpose. After amendments clarifying zero city cost and declaring a public purpose, it passed 7-0 — but members raised real concerns about corporate sponsorship and data-center lobbying.
Bob Crane Community Center first-year operations
The community center far exceeded expectations in year one, with 12,545 memberships and millions in revenue above expenses. Heavy usage is great for residents but means equipment wear and maintenance costs will climb, and programs like child watch and esports run at deficits.
Rock salt purchase via ODOT cooperative program
The city wants to buy next winter's road salt (~1,000 tons) a year ahead through ODOT's cooperative program, using 'sensible salting' and beet juice pre-treatment to limit environmental impact. Final vote expected May 4.
Reed Road Water Park gutter repairs
Contractors found failing gutters while jackhammering out the old pool finish. Council approved a complete structural fix now — while crews are already on site — rather than risky spot repairs, and the cost fits the existing repair budget.