The following was a presentation to the Dublin AM Rotary on August 10, 2018 by Ron Geese about the Growth of Dublin, Ohio between 1970 and 1990.
Question: Please let us know of your family history in Dublin and your involvement in local government.
Answer:
The following information was gathered from the book, Dublin's Journey, old newspaper articles from The Dublin Villager, old Muirfield Village promotional pamphlets, my parents, John and Helen Geese and my own recollections from being elected to the Dublin Village Council from 1977 to 1983 when we passed many of these planning and zoning ordinances. Soon afterwards, I served eight years on the Planning and Zoning Commission from 1983 to 1992 which enforced the ordinances.
Since I was born and raised in Dublin and since many of the original residents were my relatives, I have been asked to talk about the growth in Dublin from 1970 to 1990. In the 1960's Dublin was a small mid-west, close-knit, farming community with about 1000 residents. Everyone knew everyone else. Many residents were related because the previous farming generation had not traveled very far. Kids knew that whatever they did would be reported back to their parents even before they got home. Now today, about 50 years later, approximately 49,000 people live in Dublin.
Question: Tell us the layout and make-up of the structures in Dublin until the 1970's.
Answer:
In the early 1970's t h e Dublin Community Church was frequently the hub of the community social life in the heart of the Village of Dublin. In 1912 three other churches in Dublin had been destroyed by a tornado. The congregations of all the churches combined to form the Dublin Community Church in the only church that had not been destroyed. In 1970 It was still the only church in Dublin.
Socially, many men belonged to the Independent Order of Odd Fellows which was founded in 1848. They organized social events and provided the Friday Night Fish Fries and community service. Most women, whose husbands belonged the Odd Fellows Hall, were members of the Starlight Rebekah Lodge and were famous for their cooking skills for the Odd Fellows events.
Another center of activity was the Dublin Nite Club on the corner of Rt. 161 and Riverside Dr. where the Wendy's Drive-In once stood. The Dublin Nite Club burned down in 1967 and was not rebuilt. Northwest Columbus came to the Riverside Auto Theater on Riverside Drive where Friendship Village Retirement Center is now. Also on Riverside Drive, Bash Recreation for golfing and the Dublin Gun Club were popular. That area is now the East Bridge Street District.
When Tuller's Fruit Farm opened in the late 1960s, Sawmill Road was a straight, two-lane country road which was wide open and was occasionally used as a drag strip at night. The daytime traffic consisted of tractors and a few cars. Later, Tuller's Donut Shop was a favorite place to take our kids for Saturday morning donuts.
To give you an idea about Dublin's growth, in 1933 both of my parents graduated from the 1919 Building in the Dublin Schools with 17 in their class. In turn, I graduated from the same school in 1963 with 45 in my class. Now there are over 1700 in some grade levels.
Question: What changes can you report during the 1970's and why?
Answer:
In the1970's the Village of Dublin was transformed by convergence of three major events. Those transformational events were the arrival of:
1.) The 270 Outer Belt,
2.) The building of the Ashland Chemical headquarters and,
3.) The establishment of Muirfield Village.
Muirfield set the standard for Dublin in quality planning and housing. The Muirfield Village development and the Memorial Tournament helped to bring in Columbus City Water and Sewer from the North and fed it to the South. Before that time many residents had wells and septic systems on their property. With city water you could have ''country living'' with city conveniences.
Question: What was the history and background of the development of Muirfield and the Golf Club?
Answer:
Although the land for the Muirfield Village Golf Club was quietly acquired by1966, construction began six years later after land acquisition and development plans were negotiated. The Muirfield Development Corporation hired Howard Adams as a professional developer. The Muirfield Development Corporation sold stocks to investors to raise money to build it. The community master plan and site development were designed by Bassett Associates of Lima, Ohio.
Jim Bassett had worked in city planning for Hilton Head, SC. The Muirfield Village Golf Club officially opened in May, 1974, the same year that homes began to be sold. The first Memorial Tournament was held in 1976. In late 1972 an undeveloped tract of 3,914 acres, known as Muirfield Village, was annexed to the Village of Dublin.
The goal of the Master Plan for Muirfield was to create and preserve a quiet park-like environment, through which residential courts could be carefully dispersed. In the southern part of Delaware County and the northern part of Franklin County about 1400 acres and later 1600 acres of exceptional terrain became Muirfield Village. It was designed with quiet, narrow winding paved lanes and 40% green space, never to be developed, but left as golf courses, green belt pathways and lakes interconnecting residential groupings and recreational areas. Underground utilities were required to keep poles and wires out of view. Protected walkways and bike trails were woven through the village to connect all areas. The planned recreation areas included a swimming pool, tennis courts, a children's play area and often a lake for fishing.
Question: What were the outstanding characteristics you recall about the development?
Answer:
Jim Bassett brought planning ideas from Hilton Head and soon afterwards Dublin Village followed the futuristic thinking of architects, Friedel Bohm (NBBJ), Larry Hellman and village planner, Pat Bowman by passing these planning ordinances for the Village of Dublin for all future development. (In 1982 Patrick Bowman was hired as the first in-house planner.) Between 1976 and 1981, The Dublin Village Council was proactive and passed planning and zoning ordinances for the following areas:
- 8 Feet Wide Walkways and Bike Trails
- Sewer and Water
- Underground utilities which were the hardest to pass
- Planting and Landscaping codes
- Tree plans including street trees and walking trails
- Set aside park land requirements and acquisition of parklands in the budget
- Street ways and safety tunnels under busy streets
- Signage codes
- The start of roundabouts
These ordinances started the process of zoning as PUD. They were the first of their kind in the central Ohio area and they set a precedent for many other suburbs to follow. They required more development investment than ever before from developers and utilities. These developers were not happy and the Village Council members often were threatened to be sued. As time went on since these planning ordinances were established by law, the Village Council no longer needed to argue with developers because they knew what they had to do. The standards were in writing and thus the developers had to meet these criteria before presenting their plans for proposed new developments.
The Muirfield Development arrived with Phase One and later 43 phases were chronologically approved bringing approximately 2400 homes and 8,300 residents to Dublin today. At the same time other housing developments including Waterford and Donegal Cliffs were starting to be developed.