Visioning exercises helped participants pull together different perspectives from officials and community members to inform a broader picture of the future.
Led by Ohio Sea Grant and the Ottawa County Improvement Corporation, representatives from Ohio Sea Grant and Illinois-Indiana Sea Grant met with county, city, and state agency officials in Ottawa County to conduct the Tipping Point Land Use Planner Program in April 2022. Sessions included community visioning, a current understanding of the local ecosystem and Lake Erie’s current conditions, education on innovative land management strategies, and coaching for action plans.
The goal of the program was to generate information for use in updating Ottawa County’s comprehensive land use plan. Through facilitated tools and discussion, the planning team helped local officials and residents determine the impacts of land use decisions and prioritize best management practices that balance the impact of development decisions with concern for the environment.
“The Tipping Point Planner Program guides community groups, boards, and commissions through facilitated action planning sessions to support locally driven natural resource management strategies and policy,” said Ohio Sea Grant Extension educator Joe Lucente, who helped facilitate the sessions.
Community groups participating in the program were also able to identify issues of concern to Ottawa County residents and bring up program topics for land use planning at a watershed scale.
The result of the program is a county-wide action plan, along with strategies for implementation projects that can be used with watershed plans, comprehensive plan updates, or plan commission recommendations.