BY RICHELLE THOMPSON
The Cincinnati Enquirer
LEBANON -- The Ohio Municipal League doesn't have a definition of "small town." Neither does Webster's Dictionary. And there is no manual on how to maintain a small-town atmosphere in a city that's rapidly growing.
ABOUT THE SERIES
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In the past decade, Lebanon has undergone phenomenal growth. Its population has jumped by 31 percent since 1990 and is expected to climb another 28 percent by 2010 to 17,400.
In a three-day series, Enquirer reporter Richelle Thompson, who covers Lebanon, examines how growth is affecting the historic Warren County city that prides itself on its small-town ways.
Tuesday: How growth has affected police, courts and the streets department.
Wednesday: We examine the city's crowded school system and the district's innovative methods of handling more students.
TODAY: The growth has spurred soul-searching among city residents and government leaders to decide what "small town" means and how to stay true to that image.
How do you feel about this issue? Share your comments with Richelle Thompson. Call (513) 860-7105 or fax (513) 860-5190.
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It means Lebanon leaders and residents have little guidance in finding a solution to their biggest challenge: how to remain "small town."
City Manager Richard Hayward contends the population increase of 31 percent since 1990 does not necessarily have an impact on its small-town feel.
"It's not a case of how big it is. It's how people interact," Mr. Hayward said. "A small town is a place where people talk to each other. Neighbors communicate. A place where, when you go downtown, you can know people at the bank, at the stores, at the city building. "You're not anonymous unless you choose to be. And even then, it's hard."
Assistant Police Chief Bob Hawley gives the growth and development in Lebanon a mixed review. He appreciates the revitalization of downtown. What used to seem like a ghost town on weekends now is teeming with tourists, Officer Hawley said.
"It's good for the merchants . . . to bring people to the community," he said. But "if you liked it the way it used to be, the changes are bad. Because it's not ever going to be the way it used to be."
Neighbors don't always know each other. Subdivisions are eating up farmland, and the downtown historic district's customer base has switched from residents to tourists, local historian John Zimkus said.
Statistics tell the story:
From 1992 to 1997, the city approved building permits for 907 single-family homes as well as 290 two-family and 244 multifamily units.
City council last month OK'd rezoning 246 acres of farmland from residential to industrial.
The area is to become the city's third industrial park, joining Lebanon Commerce Center, where about 60 of 150 acres are developed, and King's View Industrial Park, with nearly all of its 180 acres in use. All three are on the city's south side, away from the residential areas.
Although Lebanon has annexed 1,515 acres of primarily undeveloped land since 1992, the city limits aren't likely to grow much more, city planner Marty Kohler said. Because most of the land surrounding the city is served by rural water companies, annexation is more complicated, he said.
As a result, Mr. Kohler expects most of Lebanon's future development to be within the boundaries of the 11-square mile city. About 3 square miles of industrial-zoned land has yet to be developed, along with 1.37 square miles of residential land, he said.
Because the amount of land left for development is limited, Mr. Kohler said planning becomes more important. Decisions should be deliberate and part of a larger plan, he said.
If council gives city staff a clear vision of what it wants, then planners such as Mr. Kohler can work to flesh out the ideas.
But council hasn't decided what it wants. For the past seven months, members have fought over issues as important as a $5 million telecommunications project and as petty as where the city manager should sit.
The dissension led to the ousting of Councilwoman Mary-Ann Cole in the city's first recall election and to a racial discrimination complaint and a lawsuit filed by the mayor against the city.
At the heart of the controversies is which philosophy of development will prevail: managed but continued growth or a substantial slowdown in development. When Mrs. Cole was voted out of office, the power shifted from the slowdown faction to the continued-growth group. Still, council hasn't voted on a comprehensive strategic plan that was submitted in February.
Operating without a master plan is like going on a trip without a map, said Sara Hendricker, director of research for the Ohio Municipal League and a former mayor of Athens, Ohio. You may make it; you may not, she said.
Ms. Hendricker also acknowledged the difficulty in developing a plan that a majority of residents would support.
"You can have as many factions in a community as there are people," she said.
Hewett Mulford, a lifelong resident of Lebanon, can trace his family's history in the community to 1808, when they "cut down the trees to make the farms that are now turning into the subdivisions of the future."
With growth seeping in on two fronts, from the south by Cincinnati and the north by Dayton, Mr. Mulford said he thinks a solid master plan is the best tool to preserve the small-town atmosphere.
"You can only squeeze so many people in so many buildings before you're going to lose the quality of life," he said.
"If there is to be a Lebanon in the future, if there is to be more communities like Lebanon . . . we have got to develop the core leadership for our future."
