Title
Notice/Advertisement Title: Public Utilities and Sustainability Committee Hearing
Contact Name: Chelsea Golterman
Contact Telephone Number: 614-735-0965
Contact Email Address: CLGolterman@columbus.gov
Body
Public Utilities and Sustainability Committee Hearing
Date: May 21, 2025
Time: 3:30 PM
Location: The Wells Barn, Franklin Park Conservatory, 1851 E. Broad St, Columbus, OH 43205
Subject: Second Hearing on Two Proposed Code Changes - Pollinator Gardens and Energy Reselling
Councilmembers Present: Councilmember Christopher L. Wyche, Councilmember Otto Beatty
Summary of Minutes:
CALL TO ORDER
Call to Order: 4:00 P.M.
Present: Councilmember Christopher L. Wyche, Councilmember Otto Beatty, Chelsea Golterman, Emiliana Morales, Joseline Martinez-Cortez, Skyler Goody, Marion Meadows, Jose Rodriguez, Brad Bader, Tony Celebrezze, Kyle Kirker, Bruce Harkey, Nolan Rutschilling, Mark Whitt, Rachel Wenning, Sharonda Link, Joe Recchie, David Rosemand, Alexis Nelson, Bettina Cooper, Ken Kiesel, Craig Toothman, Mike Hogan, Michael Keller, Chelsea Komula, Chris Tavenor, Annalisa Rocca, Shannon Rocca, Shannon Leimbach, Bruce Harker, Cameron McCaen, Sarah Flecker, Michele Bailey, Heather Bell, Julie Smith, Alyssa Wunerlich, Shelly Douglas, Chris Anderson, Kellen Calinger-Yoak, Hugh Crowell, Edithanna Malley, Londale Towns
INTRODUCTION
Opening Remarks:
[Chair Wyche] Good afternoon everyone! Thank you for joining us today to discuss pollinator gardens and utility reselling. And, a big shout out to the conservatory for hosting us today. Before we jump into testimony. I want to give the floor to Bruce Harkey, President and CEO of the Franklin Park Conservatory to say a few words.
[Bruce Harkey, President and CEO of the Franklin Park Conservatory] Thank you CM, it is an honor for FPC to host the second hearing of the committee. We’re here in the Wells Barn surrounded by pollinator gardens. The conservatory is committed to connecting people with nature and one of the great ways we can do that is encouraging pollinator gardens in our community.
[Chair Wyche] Thank you FPC for all that you do and sharing the importance of this issue, we want to support this and help people do it well.
We will start by hearing testimony on utility reselling since we only have two speakers signed up.
PRESENTATION - UTILITY RESELLING
[Chair Wyche] I want to encourage anyone who finds themselves dealing with a utility reselling issue to reach out to my office and I can meet with you. You can please email my Aide Chelsea at CLGolterman@columbus.gov. I understand many residents that are dealing with this issue are scared of retribution for speaking out. I have already heard from residents that are worried about retribution from landlords and I will be meeting with them over the coming weeks. One resident is a 70 yr old woman that has cancer and has been trying to get relief from her $400.00 electric bill for a 1100 sq foot apartment. Stories like these are why I want to find a solution to this problem.
I hope to find a middle ground where these companies can continue to operate while we also protect our residents. I am grateful to the individuals that have come forward to work with me as I explore what that middle ground may be.
The testimony we receive through the committee process will inform the final language that is brought before the full council for a vote. At this time, I have not changed the original proposal, but am looking at peer cities to see what should be changed.
With that, I would like to start the hearing by calling Nolan Rutschilling, the Managing Director of Energy Policy at the Ohio Environmental Council.
[Nolan Rutschilling, Ohio Environmental Council] Thank you Chair and all of Council, The OEC action funds mission is to protect the environment and health of all Ohio communities and empower those communities to thrive in harmony with the environment.
Our energy program is focused on a decarbonized, reliable, and affordable energy system. Transparency in how companies deliver and bill essential services is foundational to that mission, this applies to our water program’s work as well. I will be speaking specifically about energy
The OEC Action Fund supports this proposed ordinance, it is an important step to equitable and transparent access to utilities in Columbus
City of Columbus residents are being overcharged for electric and sometimes water by these utility reselling companies, prices that do exceed the standard service offering of our regulated utilities. Utility reselling, without further regulation results in a loss of consumer protections.
This is an energy justice issue. Currently a submetering and reselling company can dictate the cost in terms of utility service provided to customers. Submetered customers lose access to some low-income payment plans, disconnection moratoriums, and billing protections enforced by the PUCO. They also are not able to submit complaints to the PUCO if they believe their bill or disconnection is not fair. Submetered customers lose access to the competitive market to find a lower rate, secure pricing, or purchase power from clean energy sources, and are stuck with their landlord's choice. In this case their only option is to move, which is not feasible for many.
I want to acknowledge that there is talk of doing similar things at the State level, but we urge the City of Columbus to act now as residents are clearly being negatively impacted by submetering and utility reselling.
In a November 2024 article on cleveland.com, a resident of Columbus was charged thousands of dollars per month for electric and water through a submetering company, a utility reselling company. In that article and in the complaints filed at the PUCO, there are multiple examples of this extreme price hikes and no recourse for residents in communities.
The proposed ordinance does not address all of the above issues, but it does establish clear protections for our most vulnerable residents. Those who are already struggling to pay their utilities. Importantly, the exceptions in the ordinance do allow utility reselling that factors in common area charges, and allows a property owner to participate in the energy marketplace. This is important because it allows cases outside of standard utility billing while preventing price gouging.
Submetering as a practice can be a helpful tool to supply power, including solar power to customers, but we want to make sure folks aren’t being price gouged.
[Chair Wyche] Thank you Nolan. Happy to see what you’re doing at the State and local level, could you talk more about what is going on at the State level. We’re going to take this into consideration as well
[Nolan] There are a number of bills at the Ohio Statehouse right now regarding submetering and utility reselling
We encourage Council to act right now, as these bills are not guaranteed to move
There are two ways things could go. The first is supported by the submetering companies, which we believe would move us backward. It clarifies that those submetering companies are not subject to regulation by the PUCO. We don’t support this provision, it’s friendlier to the reselling industry than we would like.
Another piece of legislation, bipartisan, simply states that regulation by the PUCO applies to submetering companies, so it requires that those companies would be regulated like any other utility. We do support that provision, but I’m not sure if it’s officially on the docket yet.
[Chair Wyche] Thank you Nolan for this additional information, CM Beatty, any questions?
[CM Beatty] None at this time
[Chair Wyche] Nolan we appreciate you being here and thank you for your continued advocacy.
Next, I would like to call on Mark Whitt, a resident who has experienced hardship due to living in a property that is managed by a submetering company.
[Mark Whitt, Resident] I have a unique perspective here, I have been a regulatory lawyer for 28 years dealing with utility matters in primarily Ohio and Illinois, and about a dozen states
It is frankly an outrage that the submetering as we’re talking about today is allowed, other states and cities outright banned this practice decades ago. New York state and California, as well as most other major metropolitan areas have either banned this or the practice is regulated for what it is, an alternative method of providing utility service.
I have been a Nationwide Energy Partners customer for over 10 years, when it comes to submetering they are adamant that they do not owe any duty, legally or otherwise, to anyone who pays their bills.
I’ve litigated numerous cases against NEP, some ongoing, at the PUCO. I’ve had a case go to the Ohio Supreme Court. I last spoke at council on this issue in 2017
These resellers insist their customer is the developer that they pay to allow NEP to install its meters. They demand regulators just trust them.
The reality is that this phenomenon is largely concentrated in Central Ohio, this really isn’t an issue in most of the rest of the state.
To differentiate utility reselling from submetering, pure submetering firms track usage information to allocate bills in instances in multi-family settings to accommodate older buildings that may only have one meter but multiple different bills. These firms would charge a fee of $2-4 per bill, and this tends to be a valuable service.
In modern times, with respect to electric service, a reseller’s services are not necessary to determine individual bills. AEP is required to install individual meters at the developer’s request. We don’t need these third parties to allocate the bills.
I live in the Arena District, both condos I’ve lived in down there are submetered. Other residents in multi-family units are not submetered, they have individual meters from AEP. Developers are financially incentivized to submeter by third parties because they will pay developers to install their meters. Landlords are also disincentivized to prioritize things like energy efficiency because resellers will offer them residuals on usage from the building.
Resellers like NEP will claim that they charge the same rate as the host utility, but that is only partially true. Even if NEP charges the same rates, what they don’t tell you is that they charge more for other service fees like automatic online payment fees where with AEP it's free. With AEP 21 days plus a 7 day grace period and then there's a 1.5% late fee. When I look at NEP, typically it's within 15-18 to pay, no grace period, and if the bill is over $100 you have a $20 late fee. This is effectively a 20% late fee.
PUCO has rules against disconnecting people in the winter, October-April. I was disconnected in November because NEP decided they would switch their billing systems and everyone had to re-enroll. I was disconnected until I paid to get reconnected, and the new system is not functional and makes it harder to access your past bills or view your usage.
Even if the reseller customer and direct utility customer have the exact same experience, then it begs the question what purpose do they serve? They provide no benefit to the consumers.
The resellers don’t deny this and in fact they offer less than the host utilities.
How can consumers be harmed if they are paying identical utility bills? They are now stuck receiving a service from a completely unregulated entity who can charge whatever they want, there are no legal guardrails to prevent them from price gouging. Utility rates are not a competitive service. We rely on regulation, not the market, to price these services. The utility rate reflects the cost of infrastructure, smart meters, energy efficiency discounts and rebates. This is all factored into the rate. Customers of resellers also pay the same rate as direct consumers with none of the benefits direct consumers get rebates and other benefits.
AEP has a fixed $10 charge to compensate for maintenance. NEP charges every customer $10, despite the fact that they do not do any kind of upkeep on this infrastructure. So for a multi-family complex, NEP pays less than $10 for the master meter for the fixed charge to AEP, then they will bill each of the residents $10 plus their usage.
The City is also shortchanging itself, the NEP and other resellers can pick who they serve. Multi-family is economical to serve, NEP can avoid risk, cherry pick where they want to serve, and leave the city covering more costly areas, raising rates for everyone.
[Chair Wyche] I want to have additional conversations with you about this topic.
[Mr. Whitt] NEP and other resellers are avoiding accountability that host utility providers cannot do.
[Chair Wyche] Thank you for being here Mark.
And, next, we will hear from Rachel Wenning, a resident who has worked in tenant organizing and can speak about the experience of the residents she has tried to help.
[Rachel Wenning, Resident] This is based on what I have heard from one tenant directly and other tenants over time. I know that we focus a lot on how it attempts to take away the harm of bills that are unpredictable, but not this tenant not only does he face extremely high water bills but also potential eviction because he was charged for these water bills without his knowledge. He paid his monthly bill on time and that money was put towards his water bill instead of his rent that was due. He found out when he was sent a letter threatening his eviction.
He forwarded to us a letter, but he is also scared to be identified publicly
“64 yr old single man, water bill increasing at an astronomical rate, my first notice was through an eviction notice
I was paying rent on their online portal but they put it towards my water bill. They put that rent money towards my overdue water bill, then sent me my eviction notice as though I had not paid my rent. I had no choice but to pay my water bill under threat of eviction. My bills used to be $80 but skyrocketed to $938
When I contacted the complex management, they stated the bill was based on usage. When I showed them my previous bills and the fact that I live alone, they had no answer for me. When the high bills came in I paid them to not get evicted, the complex denied I had a leak but my bills kept going up. They sent me a notice to enter the duplex next door, as the main shut off is on my side of the duplex.”
He lived in a duplex and was charged for a bill for a leak on the vacant other half of the duplex because he was the only user that they could account for even though there was a leak on the other side.
Columbus water dept was contacted but they were unable to assist. If we had this legislation at this time, he would have more options in this moment
Some of the testimonies at the previous hearing make it seem landlords and companies are more than happy to assist, and in this instance they did not care to provide any help to tenants. They were happy to have someone else paying that bill.
The goal of the landlords and companies will always be to avoid regulation. We need to be standing up for the tenants here especially as evictions are on the rise in Columbus
[Chair Wyche] We know utility costs are going up, we want to build in some more protections. We appreciate your advocacy and want to take in your feedback.
[CM Beatty] Through your work and organization, have you seen any market effect for what you’ve done? For instance if a particular apartment complex is known for these practices that it hurts their business
[Ms.Wenning] I did not focus on submetering, rather unfair fees and evictions. Complexes definitely have a reputation, but tenants in Columbus do not have the opportunity to shop due to the limits on housing availability.
[Chair Wyche] I’d like to introduce our next speaker
[Sharonda Link, Resident] I am no longer at the Life at Edgewater Landing where all of my troubles started. I genuinely believe that the apartment complexes had to be getting some kind of money or something to make them want to do this
I’m under case 2205 with the city because of life at Edgewater.
What happened to me was midway. I was a flat rate lease tenant. The reason they can do this is because there’s no paperwork on it. When the electric submeter change happened, I received an eviction notice. I pay my rent every month on time, when the electric submetering change happened I was $300 behind. That means three months went by that they claimed I didn’t do something.
I took it to the management and they told me they can’t separate the flat lease from the sublease so I had to go in every month and get my rates adjusted. It bothered me because she told me, you don’t have to worry about this until your next lease, you’re still in the flat lease. I am continuously going to my office to get this adjusted. Since there was no paperwork for my situation, I knew if she got mad at me I’m out the door.
A young tenant moving into my building was not aware of this, and I had to prove to her that our bills are shared. Despite the fact she is never home, her bill was the exact same as mine. The property manager wouldn’t tell us we were sharing, just that we were incurring the bill.
Our upstairs neighbor who has over many guests we have to pay for their electric because all of the units are charged the same
We told our apartment manager that our bills matched to the penny despite the fact they told us they would not. When we pointed this out, I was getting called about owing people money. I went to Legal Aid and they told me they can’t do that. I had to leave, I am on disability and through this process they tried to take all of my monthly income and ruined my rental history. Despite having never been late on my rent, I am now homeless with a bad rental history due to a corrupt property manager and shared utility practices.
I reported all of this, but the more I reported the worse it got. I lost the apartment I had, and I worry that the next apartment even if I can afford it won’t take me.
Apartment complexes are not being transparent when asked if they do this practice. They’re suing me because I spoke out about this issue. People are still calling about me owing them money. They did not give me transparent information, and since they lied to me
I felt guilty hosting my own grandchildren once I learned our utilities were shared because it would add to everyone’s utility bills. A submetering situation to me is a prison. If I was fair to my neighbor, I would have to not take any guests.
I hope you decide like New York and California that we don’t need this practice
[Chair Wyche] Please stay in touch with us, thank you for being here. Before we move into the next part of the hearing, is there any one else in the room who would like to provide testimony on utility reselling?
Okay, come on up
[Joe Recchie] I am here to advocate for fair utility bills and stronger protections for renters. I work with nonprofit housing partners across the country, across Ohio tenants in large apartment communities are subject to higher bills for electricity. Resale companies benefit from lower rates that they then mark up and resell to customers, and residents have no choice in this issue when they are signed onto a lease. Submetered tenants are getting charged more, have less protections, and are often ineligible for utility assistance. Residents with fixed incomes are often unable to support themselves with these programs. Submetering companies tout “free money” to developers, that comes from overcharging residents. In order to preserve fair landlord-tenant relationships, they must be knowledgeable about the conditions they are agreeing to, and able to make informed choices. These additional costs create barriers to true affordable housing, the costs for housing are inflated. As a property owner, I would like to rebut the utility of submetering.
[Chair Wyche] In the first hearing, we heard from other property owners that this was overwhelmingly helpful, so it’s good to have this other perspective
[CM Beatty] Are you seeing a similar phenomenon with bulk internet services? This is also now starting to come as a utility
[Mr. Recchie] I am not seeing a predatory practice with this, delivering this service in bulk is very different
Bulk buying for the internet can actually be more beneficial to residents, but I can see that this could turn into a predatory practice.
[Ms. Link] With the internet, they prey on older people. When you ask about the services, they sign you up for services you didn’t ask for. I also had additional penalties. I was signed up for a phone I didn’t request and not told a transparent rate. These companies rely on the fact these are necessary services and know that there is not much we as consumers can do.
[CM Wyche] Is there anyone else who would like to speak? This is a working document to protect the residents of Columbus as costs rise. If none, we will move on to pollinator gardens.
PRESENTATION - POLLINATOR GARDENS
[Chair Wyche] Now, we will hear testimony on the second interaction of proposed pollinator garden language. The changes we will review today reflect the testimony we heard in the April 30 hearing.
This initiative to define pollinator gardens in city code will help residents who are trying to do their part for our pollinators stay out of court. It will also help alleviate the burden on our court system. Many of our pollinators are on our endangered species lists, most people know about our shrinking bee population but there are many beneficial pollinators that are also in danger of extinction.
Pollinator gardens provide food and shelter for many of our pollinators, increasing their chance for survival. Additionally, they help with stormwater management, reduce the heat island effect, and provide various ecosystem services. These are just a few reasons why I am excited to bring this code change forward for discussion.
To kick off this part of the hearing, I would like to hear from Tony Celebrezze, Deputy Director of the Columbus Department of Building and Zoning to go over the new proposal and outline what has changed.
Tony and Kyle Kirker, thank you both for all the time you have put into learning about the importance of pollinator gardens and your willingness to work with my office and the community to find a compromise that works for everyone.
[Tony Celebrezze, Columbus Department of Building and Zoning] Kyle Kirker and I and the team made adjustments to the proposed language. Bottom line is we want to make pollinator gardens an opportunity for people. Our code officers may not be as aware of these things and we have to balance these concerns as well
We went ahead and removed the 50% maximum and the 30 inch buffer around the property. We removed shrubs from the list of weeds, we did include live or dormant plants which hopefully will get some of the fall foliage. We kept the sidewalk, we say a pollinator garden is designed and maintained because we recognize there is a level of maintenance required even for pollinator gardens
The City Attorney did not necessarily like our changes, so a lot of this was placed under the definition section. While the code looks different, it is the same as promised.
[Chair Wyche] Thank you Tony for your willingness to take in feedback and make adjustments. The pro-turf grass folks are concerned this will allow grass to never be cut and become overgrown
[Mr. Kirker] As far as turf grass goes, there is still a limit of 12 inches growing in a normal parcel as a safety hazard.
[Mr. Celebrezze] To make things easy for our code officers, the 12 inches is measured by a piece of printer paper and used to show residents when they are out of code.
[Chair Wyche] Will code officers still go out to check?
[Mr. Celebrezze] Code officer checks are complaint based. Different neighborhoods in Columbus care about different things, officers only go out if there is a complaint made. All code officers have access to previous inspections, so if there are similar complaints they can just talk to the residents and neighbors.
[CM Beatty] Do code officers need training to identify pollinator gardens?
[Mr. Celebrezze] Yes CM, we have ongoing training that we will incorporate these code changes into. They also all have identification apps on the cell phones, but we tell them to err on the side of the property owner.
[Chair Wyche] We appreciate this overview. We had folks reach out to provide additional testimony
Next, we have David Rosemand the VP for the Friends of Alum Creek & Tributaries (FACT)
[David Rosemand, Friends of Alum Creek & Tributaries (FACT)] We are presently within the Alum Creek watershed, I support the proposed city code changes to enable pollinator gardens. I have questions and comments
I am pleased to see the changes since the first hearing.
709.03 Regarding right of way, between sidewalk and curb, that disallows shrubs, vines and grass, what is allowed there? Is there green landscaping allowed around mailboxes? A lot of people plant in this right of way.
[Mr. Celebrezze] Code officers are encouraged to use common sense, these plants in the right of way are not a safety issue. Code violations are everywhere, but we are a reactionary force so we want to only enforce when things are a problem.
[Chair Wyche] Those exist to prevent the city from being liable for things damaged during work on infrastructure under the right of way.
[Mr. Rosemand] Define health hazards, perhaps not so suggestive. Define “native plants”, is there another section on what is considered non-nuisance. What if the plant is a beneficial pollinator but it is a non-native plant? Native to where? Why are some of these listed as nuisances?
What is “suffer to grow”, “well maintained”, and other arbitrary subjective qualities? Many of us don't cut dont spent flowers or stems through the winter because they are habitat and food for wildlife. Is this considered well maintained or not? I appreciate your clarifications.
[Chair Wyche] Thank you David. Obviously we’ll take this feedback, we appreciate you raising this concern.
Next, we have Alexis Nikole. Thank you for being here again to help with this proposal
[Alexis Nikole, Resident] I really appreciate the proposed amendments to the original proposed code change. I received a ticket for my garden in the past and was panicked at the prospect of losing all of this hard work.
I’m going to continue to advocate around pokeweed, as it is important for local bird populations and insects. I know there is a lot of fear around this issue
I have one additional thing to say about the code enforcement with it being subjective, and it takes one neighbor having a bad day to override any good experiences with these gardens. I really appreciate the specificity of turfgrass in the code.
I mostly wanted to say thank you for hearing us, and making these changes.
[Chair Wyche] Thank you Alexis. The challenge will always be that this is a culture shift for most people.
Now, we will hear from Bettina Cooper with Nature Wise Columbus.
[Bettina Cooper, Nature Wise Columbus] Our readers love to learn how they can make a difference, pollinator gardens are a big topic for those that engage with our work. Pollinator gardens are one of the most accessible ways for families to participate in conservation efforts
Pollinator gardens in public spaces bring nature back into the city, and they can have lasting benefits like stress relief for those who engage with them.
We support these changes to city code.
[Chair Wyche] Thank you Bettina. Getting the next generation involved is so important.
Next, we will hear from Ken Keisel.
[Ken Kiesel, Resident] I have a few comments, I applaud council’s urgency with making these changes
I have a few places where the code update is that Pokeberry will remain on the city’s list of noxious weeds. I ask that the council take this opportunity to take pokeberry off the list, it has historic significance as well as ecological significance for bird populations.
[CM Beatty exits]
[Mr. Kiesel] The loss of pokeweed and pokeberry advance our habitat loss
The language in the changes will be understood differently by Franklin co code enforcers and Columbus.
“Well-maintained” is strictly defined by Franklin Co, by their definition milkweed would not be allowed.
The term “does not create a health hazard” is very different by Franklin Co and Columbus, with any plant over 12 inches tall being considered by Franklin Co as habitat for vermin and therefore hazardous. The term health hazard should be replaced by a term that is more specific to describe what will actually be permitted.
I would ask at some point for us to look into the weaponization of the city complaint line by neighbors. We should do something to address this, my neighbor filed 64 complaints against me after finding out I was Jewish
[Mr. Celebrezze] Our code officers are the only ones operating in Columbus and they do not use Franklin Co definitions. For this to be brought to court, it would have to reach a certain point of noncompliance. We focus more on extremes.
[Mr. Kiesel] The complaints that we made against me was that my front yard was attracting bees, and that unless I took immediate action to keep bees out of my yard there would be further action. Within two weeks I had a court date, and at the court I was told they don’t use city code
[Mr. Celebrezze] This is inaccurate, we do not move this fast
[Mr. Kirker] I do have experience at court, as far as “attracting bees” and species, we do pay attention to species and have to reference the noxious weed list.
[Mr. Kiesel] I was encouraged to share with the judge that I would rip everything out. If I get another notice for a court date what should I do?
[Mr. Mr. Celebrezze] If you get another violation, reach out to the supervisor or me.
[Chair Wyche] Ken, Thank you for being here again to share your support for our pollinators.The floor is yours.
And last, but certainly not least, we have Craig Toothman the Executive Director of Franklin County Pollinator Pathways
[Craig Toothman, Pollinator Pathways] Our mission is to create and restore connected pathways for pollinators.
I am pleased to say that we at Pollinator Pathways find the changes to the code to be positive improvements. The proposal language provides good guidelines and believe that these changes will support the CAP and the Urban Forestry Plan. We appreciate everyone’s work on this important conservation issue. I would like to separately speak as just myself, in reading the proposal there are some things that are not addressed that could make the code more clear. This is a culture issue. I like to use the term “naturalized” to better describe a driver behind complaints to better describe appearances more directly and gives the opportunity to talk towards invasive plant species. The issue of native to Ohio is that there are dozens of definitions. It complicates the issues of ornamentals and hybrid plants. I also raise a science-based approach to noxious weeds, the Ohio Dept of Ag has a list, and ODOT also has a list. Making a specific reference in the code standard for the basis of the city noxious weed list could provide clarity to residents. Code officers should be more empowered to make cultural judgements around the gardens and determine how intentional these spaces are.
[Chair Wyche] Craig, thank you for all you do for our pollinators and being part of this process.
Before I close out the hearing, is there any one else in the room who would like to provide testimony on pollinator gardens?
If yes- Please come up to the podium and introduce yourself. Before you leave, please make sure to connect with my staff so they can get your information.
[Alyssa Wunderlich, Resident] I would like to speak today not only as a gardener/environmentalist, but as a homeowner, and a professional expert in environmental planning. We must support the expansion of pollinator gardening and reject the centering of turfgrass lawns. I wrote this prior to seeing the updates, but I am pleased to see native pollinator gardens being codified. I would also like to applaud the removal of the 50% rule and 30 inch border. The term well-maintained however opposes the point of pollinator gardens, we are rewilding the environment not enforcing colonial constructs. Landscape choices have ripple effects in how we manage water and pollution, these pollinator gardens are good at sequestering fertilizers and reducing runoff and flooding. Native plants also require very little maintenance. These are vital as our climate and ecosystems are rapidly changing.
Allowing dormant seed heads is also a very crucial habitat. I would also like to speak about Pokeweed’s antiviral and anti-inflammatory properties and is medicinal. This other plant that is on the noxious weed list is also medicinal and recognizing their value is important as we see declines in our healthcare system. I think it is also important to educate code officers and that they bring technical experts on these site visits or use app-based tools to help identify. I would like to advocate that there are protections for those who are only just getting into rewilding, and that there may be some kind of registry for people to indicate they are trying to grow a pollinator garden to protect themselves from code violations [Chair Wyche] Thank you for your advocacy, we’re having more conversations but it’s challenging. Was there anyone else who did not sign up who wants to make a comment
[Mr. Kiesel] In Clintonville, we have something called Project Blueprint to address our sewer system. They’ve been placing bump out rain gardens, and we already have city employees even forcing putting these same plants in the community. It ultimately reduces rainwater runoff.
[Chair Wyche] This is part of why we do this and push for this.
CLOSING REMARKS
[Chair Wyche] You can visit my council website to read the written testimony from the first hearing and tonight. If anyone did not want to testify but has any questions or comments they would like to share with me or the Department staff we heard from tonight, please email Chelsea at CLGolterman@columbus.gov. Thank you all again for joining us this evening. My office will be in touch if we have any followup questions for those that testified.
I hope you all have a great evening.
ADJOURNMENT
Adjourned: 6:09 P.M.
Visit <https://bit.ly/WycheCBUSCityCouncil> to review submitted written testimony and draft code changes
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