Proposed changes to the Big Darby Accord were presented Tuesday night in Prairie Township.
The accord was approved 20 years ago to protect the environmentally sensitive watershed in Franklin County.
The new plan would allow denser housing development which some believe would degrade the water quality in the Big Darby Creek and its watershed.
Hilliard City Councilmember Cynthia Vermillion is one who has concerns. The city of Columbus is pushing for the changes. Vermillion said Columbus has other places to build housing besides the watershed in western Franklin County.
"My feeling is the city of Columbus has plenty of room infill where they could be adding housing units. They don't need to be extending out into the watershed," Vermillion said Wednesday.
"I think that we need to be concerned about the quality of our watershed. That was what the Darby Accord was created to do," Vermillion said.
Columbus deputy development director Bryan Clark said the new plan is stronger than the 2006 plan because it will protect more acreage — 28,000 acres, up from 25,000 acres — and include more buffers than the state requires to protect the creek.
"The area around the stream is one of the most important places to look at protecting habitat, water quality, all the things that make the Darby special," Clark said.
Clark also said that the city needs not just urban infill housing but also housing on the edges of the city.
"There isn't one magic solution. We have to be willing to look at housing at every price point and housing in the places where people want to live," Clark said. "And in this instance it does include some green space development in the Darby. And that was expected as far back as the '06 plan."
Clark said Columbus City Council will hold a public hearing on the plan on April 7.
Columbus City Council is likely to get legislation later in April. Hilliard and the eight other jurisdictions in the Accord will take it up at some other point.
Anthony Sasson, of the Darby Creek Association, said that the amendment draft is not protective, insufficient in its demonstration of protection and inadequate and unclear in stating protection goals.
"The rare and sensitive species and high biodiversity are what set Big and Little Darby Creeks apart from other Ohio streams," Sasson said in an email. "Protecting these factors is fundamental to any efforts, and the consequences of inadequate efforts could be permanent if they are inadequate for protection."
Sasson said a recent Ohio Department of Natural Resources study found no mussels in Hellbranch Run, which is in the watershed and feeds into the Big Darby Creek.
The Darby Creek Association said at least 44 mussel species have been recorded in the watershed.
Sasson said more analysis needs to be done.
Sasson also said that Franklin County sets a standard for counties such as Madison and Union, where development in the watershed is proceeding at a relatively rapid pace. Jurisdictions in those counties are not part of the Big Darby Accord.
Vermillion said any decisions should come after the state completes a water quality study for the area.
