Imagine Hillsboro

Adopted: 2020 (CP), 2018 (ZC)
Client: City of Hillsboro, OH
Project Type: Zoning Code and Comprehensive Plan

About This Project

The City of Hillsboro, Ohio is a small rural city located 60 minutes east of Cincinnati in Highland County. In 2017, the city retained McBride Dale Clarion to conduct a zoning assessment of their existing code.

The city’s zoning code was primarily written in 1958 and the assessment recommended a complete reorganization and refreshment of the city’s regulations as much of the administrative requirements, uses, and standards were outdated and obsolete.

The code update process focused on reorganizing the code and modernizing the format; a complete rewrite of the city’s permitted, accessory, and conditional uses; new signage regulations; off-street parking and loading regulations; and updated development review procedures.

Following completion of the code, MDC worked with the city to prepare a strategic comprehensive plan to help stimulate economic development, stabilize neighborhoods, address transportation challenges, and revitalize downtown. This was a heavy public participation effort intended to promote engagement of the citizens in the city’s renaissance.

There was significant emphasis on communication, collaboration, and accountability in the implementation tactics. Early successful actions for the city included hiring a Building Inspector and a Community Outreach/Public Relations staff member.