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★ ★ ★PUBLICRECORDSEP 1 2026
OPENPUBLICA · PUBLIC MEETING RECORD
Record of Proceedings

Powell Development Committee Meeting - September 1, 2026

City Council & Boards — Tuesday, September 1, 2026
BodyPowell, Ohio
SessionCity Council & Boards
DateTuesday, September 1, 2026
StatusFILED
Video Record
0:00 / 40:12

Transcript — VerbatimClick a line to jump · ⧉ to share it
0:00

Okay.

0:03

Calling for the PAL development committee.

0:07

Can we have a roll call?

0:08

Thank you.

0:09

Carlos Crawford.

0:10

Taylor Herman.

0:11

Here.

0:12

Here.

0:13

Kurt Ramsey.

0:14

Here.

0:14

Sean Simpson.

0:15

Here.

0:16

All right.

0:16

The next item on the agenda is the approval of the minutes.

0:19

Did everybody have a chance to review?

0:21

Are there any additions or corrections?

0:23

Okay.

0:24

Is there a motion?

0:25

So moved.

0:26

Second.

0:27

All those in favor say aye.

0:29

Aye.

0:29

All those, same sign.

0:31

Minutes are approved.

0:33

Moving on to today's business.

0:36

First item is the hometown heroes veteran banner policy.

0:41

Hoover's presenting, take it away.

0:43

I will be the one that present on this and I'll take it away.

0:46

So what we want to do this evening is discuss the Home Town Heroes Banner Program.

0:54

We'll outline it and we can go through this fairly quickly.

0:58

I will say we have a member of the Veterans Committee here to assist me if necessary.

1:04

So if there are any questions as to where the Veterans Committee stands on these issues, we do have the representative.

1:11

We'll give you an overview of the program.

1:13

We'll talk about it being a countywide participation program.

1:17

We'll explain the governance model because I think that that's really important here.

1:23

Speech to government speech determination is another aspect that we have to talk about the application process and then the policy decision that I'm looking for the committee to assist us with.

1:35

So this program is a countywide program that is really handled by the Veterans Services Committee.

1:44

And we are one of the recipients, one of the recipient cities to hopefully hang banners on our 43 polls.

1:55

Like I said, countywide participation participation.

1:59

Pala Sunbury, Delaware, Galena, Shawnee Hills are all involved in this.

2:04

And it's really three parts in our part or on our end.

2:09

The VSO will do the coordination.

2:12

There will be a local administration through our veterans committee, and then the city itself has a role within this process.

2:21

So to break down the governance.

2:27

Although the city itself is responsible for the policy and for writing the rules surrounding the program.

2:34

And really the policy surrounds the use of our public right-of-way, the polls themselves, and city staff to help put the banners up and take them down.

2:45

And then the BSO will be the ones that will actually pay for the banners and pay for the brackets that the banners will hang on.

2:58

So this program constitutes the city's own expression of tribute.

3:03

It's not a public forum for private speech.

3:15

So their pictures, their name, their rank when they were honored discharge and the like.

3:25

Application process is pretty simple.

3:27

There will be a drop-off at City Hall from that standpoint, or from that point, we will give those applications to the Veterans Committee for vetting.

3:36

They will vet those applications and then send off the applications to the BSO to enter that information and then start the process of designing and actually completing the banner work and then getting us scheduled for those banners to go on our city.

3:59

The process we're we're hoping to have a 60-day lead time on the process.

4:09

So we're kind of pushing up against that at this point for Veterans Day.

4:15

There are two display windows.

4:17

One will be for Memorial Day, the other one will be for Veterans Day.

4:21

The idea is that we will put banners up seven days prior to those events, and we will take those banners down seven days after those events.

4:30

Again, our city staff will be responsible for the raising of the banners and uh taking of the banners down from our city polls.

4:40

So we've already kind of uh discussed the application review deadline, those types of things.

Discussion Breakdown — Share of Meeting
Cannabis Regulation█████████████████████████████████████████████64%
Veterans Affairs████████████17%
Community Engagement███████10%
Public Engagement████5%
Procedural███4%
Summary of Proceedings

Powell Development Committee Meeting - September 1, 2026

The Powell Development Committee met on September 1, 2026 to discuss two main items: the Hometown Heroes Veteran Banner Policy and zoning regulations for cannabis dispensaries. The committee approved the previous meeting minutes and provided direction on both topics.

Consent Calendar

  • Approval of the minutes from the August 4, 2026 Development Committee meeting was approved unanimously by voice vote.

Discussion Items

Hometown Heroes Veteran Banner Policy

  • Staff presented the proposed countywide veteran banner program, which would display banners on city poles for Memorial Day and Veterans Day. The program involves coordination with the Veterans Services Office (VSO) and the local Veterans Committee. The display windows would be seven days before and after each holiday. The city would cover staff time for installation, but the VSO pays for banners and brackets. Key policy question: whether the program should be approved by City Council or administered administratively.
  • Committee members expressed support, with a suggestion to adjust the May display window to also cover Armed Forces Day (third Saturday of May). A question was raised about government speech concerns; legal counsel had reviewed the policy.
  • The committee gave informal approval (thumbs up) and will proceed to determine if the policy needs a council resolution or can be handled administratively.

Cannabis Zoning Code Regulations

  • Staff provided background on the state legalization of cannabis (Issue 2, 2023), the current moratorium since 2024, and the decision to separate cannabis regulation from the broader zoning code rewrite.
  • Three potential zoning districts were identified: Commercial, Flex Industrial, and Downtown Mixed District. Options include allowing by right or as a conditional use, with distance restrictions beyond state-mandated 500 feet from schools, playgrounds, churches.
  • Committee members offered diverse opinions:
    • Councilor Simpson strongly supported allowing dispensaries, arguing it is a legal substance with medical benefits and a revenue opportunity ($175,000 – $300,000 per dispensary in tax revenue), and questioned why the committee acts as a "moral authority."
    • Councilor Herman expressed desire for community input via a survey before making a decision, noting that voting for state legalization does not mean residents want dispensaries locally. He was open to conditional use but not in downtown.
    • Other members echoed the need for community input and favored conditional use as a regulatory tool.
    • The potential for challenge to conditional use decisions was discussed but not seen as a major obstacle.
  • Staff noted the moratorium is being extended to December 31, 2027, or until a cannabis regulation is adopted.

Key Outcomes

  • Hometown Heroes Banner Policy: The committee endorsed the program informally. Staff will clarify whether the policy requires council approval or can be administrative and report back.
  • Cannabis Zoning: No formal vote was taken. The committee directed staff to explore methods for gauging community opinion (e.g., a survey similar to the e-bike outreach) and to bring back additional information, including legal perspectives on conditional use. The moratorium extension will be considered by City Council.
  • Other Business: None. Meeting adjourned.

Meeting Transcript

Okay. Calling for the PAL development committee. Can we have a roll call? Thank you. Carlos Crawford. Taylor Herman. Here. Here. Kurt Ramsey. Here. Sean Simpson. Here. All right. The next item on the agenda is the approval of the minutes. Did everybody have a chance to review? Are there any additions or corrections? Okay. Is there a motion? So moved. Second. All those in favor say aye. Aye. All those, same sign. Minutes are approved. Moving on to today's business. First item is the hometown heroes veteran banner policy. Hoover's presenting, take it away. I will be the one that present on this and I'll take it away. So what we want to do this evening is discuss the Home Town Heroes Banner Program. We'll outline it and we can go through this fairly quickly. I will say we have a member of the Veterans Committee here to assist me if necessary. So if there are any questions as to where the Veterans Committee stands on these issues, we do have the representative. We'll give you an overview of the program. We'll talk about it being a countywide participation program. We'll explain the governance model because I think that that's really important here. Speech to government speech determination is another aspect that we have to talk about the application process and then the policy decision that I'm looking for the committee to assist us with. So this program is a countywide program that is really handled by the Veterans Services Committee. And we are one of the recipients, one of the recipient cities to hopefully hang banners on our 43 polls. Like I said, countywide participation participation. Pala Sunbury, Delaware, Galena, Shawnee Hills are all involved in this. And it's really three parts in our part or on our end. The VSO will do the coordination. There will be a local administration through our veterans committee, and then the city itself has a role within this process. So to break down the governance. Although the city itself is responsible for the policy and for writing the rules surrounding the program. And really the policy surrounds the use of our public right-of-way, the polls themselves, and city staff to help put the banners up and take them down. And then the BSO will be the ones that will actually pay for the banners and pay for the brackets that the banners will hang on. So this program constitutes the city's own expression of tribute. It's not a public forum for private speech. So their pictures, their name, their rank when they were honored discharge and the like.

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