The long-term success of communities like Wellsville requires a threefold resiliency strategy – the components of which are 1) infrastructure/environment, 2) social and 3) economic in the face of external disruptors and changes. Each of these three must be in place and must be planned together in a way they are mutually supporting of each other, and where non is at the expense of another. These three elements in consort are scaffold to sustainable development. Resiliency begins with instituting diversity into the core of the sustainable scaffold. Diversity of resources and strategies within each of the three allow communities to weather disruptors such as economic downturns, pandemics, and climate change by providing the system many avenues to absorb damaging effects without damage to all or significant parts of the whole system.

Wellsville may be considered an out of the way location by many individuals living in larger urban centers. However, the Village is easily accessible via State Routes 7/39 and 45, which access other major highways across Ohio and into Pennsylvania and West Virginia. This affords the Village easy access to regional communities from which alternative employment, commerce, and services that are not available in Wellsville. These services and opportunities include a shopping center in Calcutta (8 miles), the Beaver Valley nuclear power plant (15 miles) and Shell Ethane Cracker Complex (25 miles). Wellsville has a nearly direct route to Pittsburgh’s International Airport, (30 miles) via Route 30 and an additional 20 miles further is the city of Pittsburgh. Wellsville is directly connected to Youngstown and the rest of Northeast Ohio. Youngstown (35 miles to the north) furnishes industrial, commercial, and transportation opportunities to the Village.

Connectivity to communities regionally and globally is not a significant impingement to the economic viability of Wellsville. Norfolk Southern owns and manages the active rail line next to the Ohio River. Along with rail line and highway system, the river is a critical transportation vehicle for industries located on the west side of the Village. Delivery of goods and services (such as health and medical services) will continue to improve as autonomous vehicles advance in safety and reliability.

Consequently, small to large scale industry can successfully capitalize on these modalities of transportation. Importantly, with the digital economy and emerging remote work world these transportation connections can afford individuals the opportunity to live and work in places like Wellsville which were less desirable as recently as recently as 5 years ago for individuals who would have to commute regularly to their place of employment. A transforming economy and work world now allows people the freedom to make decisions based on preferred personal lifestyle choices rather than work choices. Wellsville can capitalize on what is personally and emotionally important to future citizens.

Diverse renewable energy options for Wellsville offer cost savings options to residents, help ensure minimum risk to energy disruptions with intown energy capture and delivery systems. Wellsville is afforded these benefits because natural energy supplies within the geography of Wellsville are available.

First, the Ohio River may yield access to hydroelectric energy through wise turbine diverted water capture generation. Less intrusive renewable energy opportunities include geothermal, wind and solar energy capture… Incorporating multiple energy capture methods across the Village guards against energy loss if one modality is unavailable, as well as guard against the entire Village losing energy at once under most widely geographic power loss conditions.

Selling surplus energy to local utility companies for credit and other incentives are current options that may be available in the future. Energy sales to residential and commercial users within the township may also become an option. While alternative energy systems may take a few years to return the initial investment, the reduced dependency on utility companies will provide cheaper, and cleaner energy to the residents of Wellsville. This will also effectively help reduce the carbon footprint of the town significantly, as processes for energy production are very costly to the natural environment. An additional significant benefit would job creation within the community for installation, maintenance, and operations. All these factors combined, renewable energy production stands to reduce resident costs, create jobs and diversity within the power grid, in turn offering community stability with secured employment and affordable energy and overall increase regional autonomy.

Predicted increase in precipitation will challenge Village infrastructure and safety. Adoption of green infrastructure to help channel and mitigate overland flow is recommended. Passive infrastructure, such depressions within park areas have been a standard engineering design element to retain and slow the movement of floodwaters for several decades. Managing water flow and pollution abatement has advanced to include green infrastructure as part of integrated community approaches which serve to address several community needs. Instillation of

The potential for increased precipitation and storm events in the region along with Wellsville location on the banks of the Ohio River places the community at an increased risk of flooding. Further, two significant watersheds and several small watersheds discharge into the Ohio River across the Village of Wellsville from an elevated and steep sided mountain side adds substantially to flooding and landslide risks to the town. As such, Wellsville should consider modeling future flood and landside hazard prediction scenarios. From these scenarios, green infrastructure should be incorporated alongside other hazard protection strategies such as those offered in the American Planning Associations: PSA Report 584. green infrastructure increases the longevity of Village infrastructure such as roads, storm water pipes and buildings in addition to creating conditions which improve physical and mental health and property values.

The successful community revitalization projects begin with and maintain a vision based on a positive “Sense of Place. Sense of place is core to cultivating the local community and in turn engagement in revitalization. A sense of place first forms from the emotional attributes individuals and the collective have towards a specific location. This will vary between people based on personal experiences with specific locations. Sense of place occurs at all scales from a school desk to a nation. Consequently, a Village such as Wellsville will have thousands of “senses of places” within the Village as well as an overall sense of place and a sense of place within the context of the region it is in for each individual. Some of those locations will have contradictory feelings whereas others will have congruent feelings. Identification of positive commonly shared sense of place along with shared values should be identified to accomplish every other variable within a resiliency plan. It is important that a shared sense of place is achieved by authentic inclusion of the community members. Imposing a sense of place or providing the illusion of community participation in establishing will result in adverse outcomes for community buy in.

With the establishment of a commonly held sense of place, placemaking can begin. Placemaking is the process of creating public spaces that clearly express in an identifiable sense of place. Along with connectivity and land use attributes suggested more fully in this document, four other components of place making include, creation of identifiable themes, events, gateway features, and signage. Each of these four elements utilizes common visual threads such as highly recognizable and graphic village logo/image. Such a logo would thread through the community in signs, pamphlets, and formal documents.

Community events have become important features in community placemaking and development of sense of place. Not only do events help produce a cohesive culture but they can become elements in supporting the local economy… Themes around Wellsville’s history/heritage and local geography (Allegheny Plateau, Ohio River, and pottery culture) can be good anchor themes. Unusual events, or hobbies (mystery books) could add novelty.

Cross community impact zones which house commercial and social space offer equitability and novelty to Wellsville’s citizens. These zones are designed as “live, work, play” locations similar to retrofitted neighborhoods within larger communities. These impact zones aim to increase social investment into a community allowing neighbors a point of contact where many of their life needs can be met. Such areas infuse a sense of belonging for individuals and a sense of establishment in the neighborhood.

Mixed-Use Development

Mixed-use developments are a sustainable development approach to development intended to enrich quality of life by providing residents with a range of amenities. Many cities have adopted planning policies that require new development be mixed-use to create “one-stop” destinations for residents to live and work. The results create neighborhoods that are not defined by nine-to-five workweek. This creates spaces that are used for more than a few hours in a day or week. Residents may enjoy leisure activities, employment, shopping, and other lifestyle amenities within the same space. Such spaces increase physical and mental health for most people as their day is more economically managed. They spend less in time consuming activities such as commuting between locations affording more time for necessary activities and leisure activities. Consequently, stress reduced as the time required for the commute is reduced, managing of the commute is reduced, the associated stresses of the commute are eliminated, and time is added to one’s day.

Impact Zones

Adding appealing areas of impact (*Impact Zones) in each Zone will attract citizens that will result in cross community movement for social and resource acquisition. It is recommended that one impact zone be established within each activity zone. A key element or elements which acts attractor for steady business or engagement should be strategically considered to bring community movement across the Village. Such elements will be anchoring features to the zone and are most successful when they combine a base necessity for citizens while tying to people’s sense of values. This creates a recognition of cohesion and dynamic shared space across the village.

Ideally impact zones will have two or more vendors or features which offer a good or service with at least one vendor or feature acting as an anchor. A classic and successful small-town anchor is a bread bakery. Most individuals purchase bread weekly, if not more often. Bread is a shared symbol of togetherness and can be priced affordably. When considering placement, we recommend placing a bread bakery within the Impact Zone on the west side of town for three reasons. First, prevailing wind conditions are out of the west and southwest. This will draw the smell of fresh bread across the town and may even help to counter any odors from the industrial site. Second, it will offer residents on that side of town ease of access to a daily item. Third, it will attract residents from across town in Zones A and B.

Goods and services do not always need to be economic in nature or even housed within the same building. Examples of a noneconomic feature could be a rentable space for a regional office for a Boys and Girls Club or Boy Scouts America or a pocket park could become a meeting area for regular outdoor yoga or Tai Chi. Each Impact Zone creates space for small businesses. Although building ownership is highly valued, ensuring there is rentable space in these areas reduces the economic barriers for small businesses, which help attract entrepreneurs and by helping them succeed early in their business venture. Affordable rentable venues also support community initiatives which are non-profit.

Co-reviving the central business and retail area along Main Street as an Impact Zone, alongside other Impact Zones is critical to the success of Wellsville’s economic and cultural recovery. There are several substantial buildings that would serve as a Market like Akron’s Northside Market. We suggest that the CF Building would offer several spaces for small vendors as little required substantial renovations would be. Other options for this and or other buildings include flex rental space for professional services such as lawyers, nutritionists, and tax services, where space may not be needed fulltime. Additionally novel use of structures with various room sizes includes artist studios and shops, like the National Transit building in Oil City, Pa, or community workshop and education spaces found in several cities.

Creating highway signage that invites both intentional and incidental visitors into impact zones invites additional revenue stream to the Village. Additional intriguing artisan directional signs, within Wellsville, to specific amenities and shops invites a welcoming curiosity to explore impact zones and other venues and amenities. Figure 18. We suggest signs be uniform in design which highlights and distinguish Wellsville’s unique identity. Distributing and linking these impact zones with signage across town also invites visitors to explore the Village longer and thus invest more time.

Bringing people deeper into Wellsville with highway and in town directional signs is an important element to building and sustaining impact zones and Main Street. That connectivity is important, but automobiles are quick means of access, that results in limited contact time with merchants and residents. Social and environmental structures must offer the resident and visitor greater contact time to interact with the community. Interaction is increased by offering multiple options for connection. Creating appealing walkable streets surrounded by a combination of essential and novel businesses (fresh food market from local suppliers) and beautiful landscapes has been proven to encourage pedestrian traffic. The ability to walk to venues reduces the dependency on automobiles and frees up congested parking and traffic areas – which additionally improves aesthetics. Walkable and attractive streets are known to attract new residents who no longer need to live near their employment due to the revolution in remote working and want a community with small town attributes for a more balanced way of life. Well-designed walkable spaces to amenities may also be attractive to individuals wishing to retire and those wishing vacation or cottage homes in small communities.

A detailed walkable trail and park network are proposed facilitate the connectivity between each impact zone. This network physically and emotionally connects to an individual’s place identity in three ways. One, by offering each resident, merchant and visitor similar access avenues to community amenities and aesthetic features within a short and comfortable walking distance. Doing so provides a sense of belonging. Second the network facilitates equitable access to environmental and traditional infrastructure that is safe and welcoming mobility. Thirdly, the network places the pedestrian within the heritage of their community, connecting past to present and, while informing the commuter of the Villages green infrastructure.

Mobile Homes

Wellsville’s mobile homes would benefit from modifying and changing bylaws and ordinances to allow this home option to be stabilized. This affords the homeowner and renter equitability to leverage their futures. Bylaws could include options for mobile home parks to adopt a condo model, where residents own their unit and hold the condo property collectively. It is also recommended that these areas are included in landscaping and infrastructure retrofits. This includes landscape planting of trees and art instillations as well as direct access to the trail network and parks.

A substantial component of this report is centered on the need for ample and accessible public greenspace in Wellsville. Currently the distribution of public greenspace is limited to a few areas in the Village. Initial investment in greenspaces will have both direct and indirect positive impacts to Wellsville’s revitalization and long-term resiliency from the environmental factors already mentioned as well as health and social benefits.

There are many opportunities to create public spaces within Wellsville in addition green infrastructure walkways. Conversion of vacant lots into interconnecting greenways, parks, pocket parks, community gardens, dog parks, or playgrounds and larger spaces can host community events. Lot conversion also increases path curvature offering interest and softening the landscape.

Notably absent from Wellsville’s landscape is a community park within the Village which can accommodate large crowds. An ideal location for this park is the field located in Zone B (see the Report for Figure 15) on main street intersection with Bengal Blvd through to 17th street. As a waterfront park it can serve a year-round scenic walkway connecting to Riverside Avenue and perpendicularly inland into the Village at various points through a greenway path network. The proximity to both City Hall and a proposed Impact Zone creates an advantageous district of mutually benefiting serves making it a substantial Hub Park for the Village. The addition of benches, drinking fountains, bike rentals, kiosks, stages and gazebos could facilitate community (summer concerns and holiday festivities) and private (weddings) events. Maintaining this area as green space will also allow it to serve as a significant component for flood control.

A novel idea adopted from Iceland is a public greenhouse, that would serve multiple functions.

Walkability

There is a particular need for walkable space in Zone C (See the report for Figure 15). Achieving walkability in this area would be to connect the stadium, to the elementary school, and high school, using several vacant lots to create a promenade and pocket parks beginning at the intersection of Main Street and Center Street. Similarly additional vacant lots along Main Street can be connectors to 13th Street and on to Commerce Street connecting to the proposed greenhouse at the former ceramics factory location.

Wellsville Heritage Trail

The unique history of Wellsville is visible, but not prevalent. To foster community and a sense of place, visible investment in local history could provide many benefits. The creation of a Wellsville Heritage trail along the Ohio River would significantly aid in highlighting the towns rich history. This walking path would feature the war veteran memorials through to the riverfront. From here, it could be linked to Mainstreet creating connectivity between these spaces. Stops along main street and the river front would highlight events, places, and people important to the community. As information is uncovered about the history of Wellsville in the Underground Railroad participation trail markers would be added that include sites and stories and information on the Railroad. The Heritage Trail should include the area of town that was predominantly African American, the locations of the foundry, paddle wheel factory and ceramic factory. Three distinct paths could make up the heritage trial, Mainstreet/Commercial, Memorial/Scenic and Settlement/Industry. Together these routes would tie into each other and into the greenbelt/ green infrastructure pathways, allowing pedestrians and bike riders many options to travel through the Village, achieving a 15-minute walk network. Wellsville should capitalize on its history by becoming included in registries for Abraham Lincoln, the Underground Railroad, industrial and ceramics organizations and others. Inclusion on registries, organizations and associated tour sites will help bring notoriety to the Village and visitors with interests in various histories.

Recreation

Trails within the Village afford local recreation opportunities. Connecting these trails directly to a larger regional trail network provides recreational access to the countryside for residents and can attract outdoor recreation seeking tourists. Primitive trials (not paved but includes signage) from Wellsville to Yellow Creek State Forest, Hellbender Bluff County Park, Thompson Park, and Indian Pulpit may have great appeal, particularly if regional efforts are made to connect these and other (e.g., Beaver Creek State Forest, Bush Creek Wilderness area) destinations together with a trail network. Potential recreationists within a half day drive include people from Pittsburgh, Youngstown, Canton, Cleveland, and Wheeling.

Linking these trails to other well-known national trials such as the North Country Trial can attract national and global visitors. Further, large scale recreation events such as the Rachel Carson Trail Challenge are growing in popularity. The rugged terrain and scenic beauty would be an attractive pull for hiking enthusiast looking for outdoor experiences and challenges such as these events.

The Ohio River is a second untapped recreation opportunity that can be capitalized on. A canoe and kayak launch along with a boat rental business could be established. Several vacant parcels of land between first and second street could furnish parking and other complementary recreational activities. Additionally, buildings in this area can house seasonal recreational shops, a bed and breakfast, and coffee shops or casual dining. With ample parking in this area, a walking path could comfortably link this area to Main Street. The challenging intersections on 1st street and to the boat launch along with entering traffic from Hillcrest Road together with Mc Donald’s traffic could make this area congested and hazardous. Improved street signs and directional signs are required at minimum, but modification of traffic patterns may need to be considered in the future to include one-way traffic on 1st street. An established low grade walking path should also be considered over the berm to allow canoes and kayaks to portage to and from the boat launch.

Additional recreation opportunities can come from the inclusion of simple exercise infrastructure installed Village wide. Exercise equipment/ facilities such as pullup bars can be installed in parks and pathways to incentivize working out. Bicycle lanes can be clearly delineated on roads and trails, normalizing a shared transportation option. Hopscotch and other sidewalk games can be painted and regularly refreshed along sidewalks outside of park areas. Signs along residential streets can impart family friendly stories to the pedestrian. Where each sign tells a page/part of the story, and the reader must walk to the next sign to keep reading. These stories can be changed out at regular intervals to keep people reading and moving. Kinetic interactive public art can engage the participant to physically in play with the art. Finally, installation of solar and motion sensitive lighting can allow people to walk the Village under low and no natural light conditions.

Culture and Arts

Public art installations are a successful element of most community revitalization strategies. Like public parks and greenways public art transforms impressions of a place creating positive emotions that transform to favorable community actions (all of which have been mentioned within the section on public parks and trails). Art expresses and supports a sense of neighborhood history, culture and identity and helps drive economic vitality.

Wellsville has many exceptional public murals and paintings adorning her streets which reflect important events and people of the Village. It is recommended that Wellsville produce additional murals across all three connectivity zones the village. We encourage diversity of the mural subject matter to go beyond historical references and lean into community values and be forward-looking.

There may be several viable ways in which Wellsville can include more public art to revitalize. Successful grants and fundraising for community beautification projects can help fund public art. Artists can be commissioned, or national competitive calls can seek to bring in artist design instillations. Partnering with a university art program such as Youngstown State University, could benefit Wellsville, students, and faculty in several ways. Likewise, public art can be carried out by students from Wellsville schools.

The creation of art communities and the transformation that they bring to a place is not limited to larger urban centers. Creating an invitation to artists to find, live and create in Wellsville carries much potential as seen by small and isolated towns across the continent.

Romanticized small towns within America have a complex sense of place. The laid-back lifestyles and small, and home-grown businesses are often at odds with the increasingly globalized economy. The challenges of low populations, long distances to major job hubs, declining manufacturing, and resource constraints render traditional economic revitalization approaches as unlikely to be successful. To combat these challenges Wytheville, Virginia adopted a person and place-based approach. This approach included leveraging local assets, building regional partnerships, and encouraging community capacity. This was a two phases approach. First was aesthetic by initiating major renovations to the downtown streetscape. The second phase focused entrepreneurship, specifically addressing the lack of human capital. Recognizing that small loans and financial incentives were not enough to encourage and promote long-term success of entrepreneurs as entrepreneurs required access to skills, training and mentorships, and resources. To address this challenge Wytheville held a small business competition with the Industrial Development Authority and Chamber of Commerce that included recruiting and building partnerships with downtown property owners. Eight competition finalists were matched with mentors and required to take a series of entrepreneurship courses, who then presented their business plans to a panel of business leaders. Four winners received $75,000 in prize money and opened two breweries, a Vietnamese bakery, and an art school. Wytheville now offers free business classes and marketing assistance to residents and incentives for store front improvements and signage programs.

Everything about Wellsville’s location has formed her heritage and will form her future. The point bar Wellsville sits on was undoubtably used by Native people pre-European occupation – investigations into this are needed. Since then, the most notable heritage characteristics that formed from this landscape are the Paddlewheel factory, shipping and emerging industries that utilize the Ohio River. African American slaves cross the Ohio River at this location to freedom as part of the Underground Railroad, because water elevations were shallow here. Further, the insized creek and river valleys provided complex topography to hide within. Shale and mudstone hydrologically sorted in this region produced high quality clay deposits that permitted a thriving pottery industry to establish in Wellsville. Wellsville’s geoheritage can be used to set the stage for a tourism industry as well as an attractor to various other economic and cultural endeavors such as an arts school that features ceramics and other forms of pottery and clay artwork.

Ordinances and Zoning Laws

Policy actions to achieve complete neighborhoods include:

• Defining mixed-use areas/activity centers in land use plans and development which designate preferred locations for activities.

• Permit residences on the upper floors of buildings in appropriate existing commercial districts.

• Remove obstacles to mixed-use development by creating zoning mixed-use development districts (i.e., without the need for a rezoning or special discretionary approval process).

• Develop a variety of mixed-use developments with proactive placement for Live, work, place balance can be met (e.g., Main Street, neighborhood settings)

Redefine Urban Dimensions through Compact Spaces

Policy actions to achieve compact spaces include:

• Create options for standards to develop more compact spaces, such as switching minimum standards with maximum to promote development of smaller spaces. This includes decreasing requirements for yards, heights, building coverages, and increased floor area ratios.

• Create incentives that provide multiple housing types in existing areas driven by dimensional standards

• Modify codes in commercial districts to allow residential development over first-floor activities

• Revise codes for existing areas to encourage neighborhood redevelopment through new (reduced) dimensional standards

Increasing Population in Community Center

Policy actions to achieve greater population density include:

• Designate locations for high-density development centers

• Create activity districts through creating specific activity zones or zones for selective modification, or entirely rezone areas to be activity centers with increase population density

• Set parking maximums rather than minimums

Modernizing Streets

Options for transitioning into improved street designs include:

• Design to serve multi-modalities of travel equally well (pedestrian, vehicular, public transit, and bicycles).

• Create streets that are not meant for pass-through traffic to reduce wasted space and increase room for alternate development.

• Create safe and walkable/exercise space

• Design space that is safe for those with disabilities, the elderly, and all patterns of foot traffic

• Designed streets with features to naturally manage storm water, prevent flooding, cool streets, block rain, and sequentially protect water and air quality.

• Providing parking spaces can increase property value.

Policy actions to achieve street modernization include:

• Update standards for street design to include attributes of a Universally Designed Street, including pedestrian curb ramps, crosswalks, and curb extensions.

• Assess current streets and identify opportunities for improvement, continually adopt standards for specific area as appropriate for the location (i.e., for areas of local traffic, implement narrow local requirements), even including in Community Resiliency Plan

• Clearly resolve maintenance issues with new street design and technology conventions

Because citizens are the most important stakeholders it is critical that all Wellsville residents understand that their participation is wanted and needed, and that that all people’s ideas and opinions are respected, valued, and heard. To accomplish this the process must be conducted with authentic transparency. A common sense of place and value systems must be established that best represents a clear majority of the citizens. From this, an agreed vision for the Village’s revitalization and resiliency plans can begin by setting a theme or motto that people can agree to, which encompasses their positive sense of place and value systems while being future focused.

A resiliency plan should be adaptive and flexible to accommodate social and technological change. That plan should contain the three pillars of the sustainability model as seen in the first section, but with a modification to split the cultural scaffold into two components 1) Arts and Culture and 2) Historic Preservation and Education for ease of conceptualization and implementation. However, we underpin that all elements of a sustainability model and a resiliency plan for Wellsville will not have the best successful outcome if each scaffold is considered and implemented in isolation of the others. These are mutually supportive elements.

Several additional elements are also recognized as necessary. One is the need for an online communication platform for the Village to assist in mobilization of the resiliency plan and other aspects of community life. The authors of this document recognize the strong cultural context of communication mechanisms across the Village that are in place. It is important that any online presence does not supplant the long-standing communications culture in place, that are emblematic to community connections, relationships, and resiliency. It is a core element in the success of Wellsville to maintain the face to face and other place driven ways to share knowledge, ideas, and visions. An up-to-date online presence communicating. Goals, plans and accomplishments online will not only be a part of that communication for current Wellsville citizens, but it will most be the first place outside investors and potential future citizens will look to learn about the Village.