The City of Columbus is pausing the Big Darby Accord amendment process “to allow for more coordination and consideration with our accord partners,” Deputy Director of Development Bryan Clark announced in an email to partners April 27.
The pause comes after Columbus City Council was expected to vote on the draft by the end of April, and as multiple environmental groups have asked for the process of adopting a new accord to guide development in the Big Darby Creek watershed to be put on pause until an intricate data analysis of the Darby watershed is complete.
The city will still review and approve housing developments in the Darby area before the new accord is approved, but will use the draft accord as the standard, Clark said in a separate email to The Dispatch.
“Like our Accord partners, Columbus will continue to approve housing projects in the Darby, but look forward to working with developers to use the stronger environmental protections in the draft amendment versus the 2006 plan,” Clark said.
The Big Darby Watershed is one of the most biodiverse areas in the Midwest and is designated as a state and national scenic river. The Big Darby Creek has more endangered species than in Yellowstone National Park, according to the Nature Conservancy.
Multiple developers have expressed interest in projects in the Darby area while the renegotiations have been ongoing, but that has mostly been on pause for now, The Dispatch previously reported.
“This is complex, impactful work, and it is important to get it right. At the same time, the 2006 Plan is still out of step with our laws and values,” Clark said in his email announcement to partners.
The accord renegotiations have been happening at the same time as a multi-part study by the Ohio Department of Natural Resources synthesizes decades of data on the health of the watershed. The results of the study have been delayed, but the final report is expected sometime this fall, according to Clark.
Clark said that some jurisdictions in the accord area have “expressed interest” in waiting for the final ODNR study.
“Columbus is prepared to move forward with the draft amendment and continues to believe this is the right path. This pause simply creates space to review that additional information and proceed with confidence, as partners, ultimately demonstrating that this is the best plan for Franklin County,” Clark said.
In late 2024, Columbus spearheaded the first major renegotiations of the Big Darby Accord in about 20 years amid a push from Mayor Andrew Ginther’s administration to build more housing in the region.
Clark previously told The Dispatch that the city would go through with processing development applications as soon as Columbus City Council approved the accord renegotiations, even if other partner jurisdictions had not yet approved it.
Under the direction of Ginther, Clark said the city will establish a “stakeholder advisory committee” and find an “independent, experienced science advisor” to review the ODNR study and proposed amendment.
Anna Lynn Winfrey covers the northwestern suburbs for The Columbus Dispatch. She can be reached at awinfrey@dispatch.com.
This article originally appeared on The Columbus Dispatch: Columbus pauses Big Darby Accord amendment process for more study
Reporting by Anna Lynn Winfrey, Columbus Dispatch / The Columbus Dispatch
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