Dayton City Commission Meeting – October 2, 2025: Group Home Zoning, Demolitions, and Youth Peace Ambassadors
Dayton City Commission Meeting – October 2, 2025
The Dayton City Commission met on October 2, 2025, to consider a range of routine and substantive agenda items. The meeting began with a presentation honoring the Youth Peace Ambassadors program, followed by a demolition update from the Department of Planning, Neighborhoods and Development, a proclamation kicking off Breast Cancer Awareness Month, and a lengthy public hearing on proposed zoning code amendments to regulate group homes. Commissioners voted to give the zoning ordinance a first reading, allowing the legislation to proceed while additional research is conducted on separation distances, caps, and oversight.
Consent Calendar
- The minutes from the September 24, 2025 meeting were approved unanimously.
Presentations
- Youth Peace Ambassadors – Mayor Mims recognized the Youth Peace Ambassadors program, a summer initiative that trained young people as conflict mediators. Mr. Marlon Shackleford thanked the city and county for funding and support. Twenty young men were introduced by name and received certificates. The program is a partnership between the city, county, and community organizations. Mayor Mims noted that the program was launched in the Westwood neighborhood due to police data showing challenges there.
- Demolition Update (August 2025) – Director Steve Gondol reported that 30 demolitions were completed in August under the ARPA contract, bringing the 2025 total to 190. No new piles were added and no emergency demolitions occurred. The city ended August with 46 remaining piles (down from 54). Staff also completed housing inspection training for a fall housing survey (October–November 2025), with a report expected by the first quarter of 2026.
- Breast Cancer Awareness Month – Sybil Martin, Executive Director of the Norma J. Ross Memorial Foundation, presented on the foundation’s 15th anniversary and promoted free mammogram screenings on October 11 and October 25, as well as a community education event on October 18. She urged awareness that breast health is a year-round concern, noting that 1 in 8 women will be diagnosed annually and that about 2,800 men are also diagnosed each year.
Public Comments & Testimony
- Mark Manovich (529 Hickory St.) – Representing the Downtown Land Use Board, he expressed concern that the proposed zoning changes would permit supportive care group homes (sober living, DD) as a permitted use in single-family zones without neighbor notification. He urged a cap on supportive care homes by land use geography, stronger ongoing oversight, and clarity on how problematic homes can be closed. He also questioned the adequacy of the proposed 1,000-foot separation distance.
- Kathleen Galt (5066 Saveway Dr.) – Spoke in support of Issue 9 on the ballot, a citizen initiative to preserve hospital services. She argued that the closure of Good Samaritan Hospital was racist and discriminatory, and urged the community to vote yes on Issue 9.
- Yusuf El-Zein (4906 Amberwood Dr.) – Spoke as a Lebanese immigrant, praising the contributions of immigrants to Dayton's economy and workforce. He cited data showing immigrants made up 19.2% of the national labor force in 2024 and that Montgomery County’s immigrant population grew 21% from 2014 to 2019 while the overall county population declined.
- Carson Brubaker (1401 Pinecross Dr.) – Representing clients under contract to purchase the historic Mallory House (802 Anderson Goodrich Ct.), he reported severe fire damage and a need for a full roof replacement. He asked the city to sell adjacent city-owned vacant lots to support the restoration, noting that previous requests from a respected developer had been denied.
- Leslie Dworkin (152 McClure St.) – Spoke as the mother of a transgender son, describing the hostile national climate toward trans people. She urged the commission to adopt a safe haven resolution protecting transgender residents, citing that gender-affirming care saved her son’s life.
- Amy Morgan (40 Green St.) – Reported heavy drug use, aggressive panhandling, prostitution, and fires set by an encampment near her home in the Oregon District. She asked what the city is doing to address the problem and urged relocation of the individuals to places where they can receive help.
- James Kavanaugh (2232 N. Main St.) – Advocated for speed tables on East Fairview and Newport Avenues due to dangerous speeding and drag racing. He offered to provide additional data to support the request.
Discussion Items
- Group Home Zoning Amendment (PLN 2025-00184) – Zoning Administrator Kirsten French presented a comprehensive proposal to amend the zoning code regarding group homes. Key elements included:
- Splitting the single "residential facility" definition into two categories: "Group Home Supportive Care" (for OMHAS and DODD-licensed homes) and "Group Home Foster Care" (for DYS-licensed homes).
- Imposing a minimum 1,000-foot separation between any group homes of any type, with exceptions for geographic barriers.
- Capping foster care group homes at 12 per land-use geography; North Central (37 existing) and West (21) geographies are already over the cap, so no new foster care homes would be permitted in those areas.
- Requiring conditional use approvals (including neighbor notification) for new foster care group homes; supportive care homes would remain permitted but subject to the 1,000-foot rule.
- Setting maximum resident caps: 5 for OMHAS homes, 5 for foster care homes, and 6 for DODD homes (matching state minimums).
- Requiring interior and exterior property maintenance inspections for all new group homes, in addition to existing fire inspections.
- Commissioners debated the adequacy of the 1,000-foot separation, the need for a citywide cap, ongoing oversight, and neighbor notification. Some commissioners supported moving forward with the ordinance as a starting point while additional research is conducted. Others argued for holding the legislation for further study. Ultimately, the commission voted to give the ordinance a first reading, allowing it to advance to a second reading. City Manager Parlett noted the moratorium on new group home applications runs through February 2026, providing time for further analysis and possible amendments.
Key Outcomes
- Demolition Update: Accepted as information; staff to provide a comprehensive assessment of the pile removal contract by the next meeting.
- Group Home Zoning Ordinance (Ordinance 32161-25): Received first reading. The commission decided to move the legislation forward, with the understanding that staff will continue to research potential improvements, including a possible citywide cap on foster care group homes, stronger oversight mechanisms, and legal analysis of fair housing implications.
- All other city manager recommendations were approved unanimously.
Closing Remarks
- Mayor Mims announced the city’s fourth annual Teen Summit was successful, with over 150 young people attending.
- The city is accepting applications for a community-based organization to host a violence intervention program; applications are due by October 30, 2025, with more information available at GDAHA.org.
- Commissioner Fairchild reminded residents of early voting dates (register by October 6; early voting begins October 7) and encouraged support for the human services levy.
- The meeting was adjourned after recognizing staff and public participants.
Meeting Transcript
Please rise for the invocation given this uh evening by Commissioner Joseph and please remain standing for the Pledge of Allegiance Thank you, Mayor. Dear Lord, help us become better servants to those in need of our help. We ask for a servant's heart to serve those humbly and faithfully. Amen. Amen. Amen. I pledge allegiance to the flag of the United States of America and to the Republic for which he stands one nation, under God, an individual with liberty and justice for all chair, may I have the roll call, please? Mayor Mims. Aye. Commissioner Joseph. Aye. Shaw. Present. Aye. Okay. May I have a motion then to approve the minutes from the September 24th meeting? So move, John. Second, Your Honor. It's been probably moved and seconded to approve the minutes from the September 24th meeting. All in favor say aye. Aye. All opposed say no. Okay. So Black Shearer, we have in communications or petitions. There are none, Your Honor. And none. I know I do have some presentations this evening. And so I'd like to have Mr. Marlon Shackerford and the youth peace ambassadors to the podium to be recognized. Guys are looking good. So as they are moving to the front of the commission room, I'd like to ask any of the parents who are here, would you please stand? Any of the parents who are here with these young men. Got half and half over here. So of course I want to say, and you guys also face me for a moment. The rest the impetus of this uh program, as you know, we've been talking a lot about cure violence and how we do the types of things that we need to do to keep the young men and ladies uh in this city safe. Uh I talked with them about helping to make sure that as we continue to create as many jobs as we can, I need them to stay alive long enough to take those jobs. Okay. That means staying out the way of all the crazy things that are happening and uh being engaged and not just staying out the way but also learning how to love themselves, care for themselves, learn how to identify resolve conflict at its lowest level, and then as we pay them to do that, all right. Check okay, gotta have some check on that, guys. So as we pay them to do that, putting them in a position where they can teach some of the younger men and young ladies those same sets of skills, because we need every single one of them to be in this space to be able to help us create the conditions for everyone to live, work, play, be educated, raise a family, and go old right here in the city of Dayton. I want them to be able to talk and tell some stories of of yesteryear when they were like in the fifth grade, sixth grade, eighth grade, ninth grade, when they're 75, 80, uh, and 90 years old. Okay, you guys probably not thinking about that at this point in time, but uh there's some good stories that we told. And then sometimes you don't have a lot of witnesses, so you can maybe tell a fib or two. You can tell people how many home runs you hit, uh how many uh bases you stole, all those type of situations. But before we go further, I do want to just sort of bring uh everyone up to date, is I did talk with my colleagues and told them that we want to do this program so that we can put them in a position, them meaning our young people in a position to do the kinds of things that we're talking about. And they were all in support of understanding that. So each one of my colleagues up here, I thank you for your support in terms of making this happen. Thank you. And also in concert with the city manager as well, so we can find ways of working out the money. I do want to thank my county commissioners and the county because they also share it in this venture as well.
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