Last fall, the City of Medina embarked on an ambitious plan to hear from as many Medina residents as possible through a variety of venues including public forums at the City Council meetings, neighborhood meetings, and specific public meetings to address the various pieces of the 2030 comprehensive plan update for the city of Medina.

I had the opportunity to attend a few of these meetings.  It was clear to me that the city is very divided on the issue of development.  On the one side are the land owners.  Many of  them have held land for years – sometimes for generations.  They see that land is selling for $200,000 to $250,000 per acre and they would like to cash in.  Who can blame them?

There are those on the opposing side who do not want to see much for development.  Many of the people who hold this opinion are newer residents to Medina.  They purchased a beautiful, expensive home and bought in Medina for it’s rural character.

Given last November’s election, it’s hard to imagine that we will see runaway development in the City of Medina.  However, if we want to have more business services in the city, that’s going to require more roof tops.

During the past few months, the City of Medina has been taking requests from citizens regarding the City of Medina’s plan to update the 2030 Comprehensive Plan.  There are four pages of requests essentially for development.  Many of the requests are asking that the City of Medina include their parcel in the MUSA for 2030 so that they will have sewer and water.  This would increase their land value overnight by a very significant amount.

It will be interesting to watch how this plan comes together over the next several months as the new council begins its work and puts its mark on the City of Medina for the next 20 years.