4 days ago
City officials discuss how population has increased
(WKBN) — US Census figures released a few weeks ago showed that of the 76 communities in Mahoning, Trumbull and Columbiana Counties, only two have increased population in the last four are the City of Columbiana and Fairfield Township, which surround Columbiana. Columbiana in the last four years gained 187 people, and Fairfield Township 150.
Behind the new Drug Mart on Route 164 in Columbiana, a new housing development is being built.
'It's going to be a combination of all different types of housing opportunities,' said Mayor Rick Noel.
Rick Noel, 75, is Columbiana's mayor, who has lived in Columbiana his whole life.
'It's a recognition regionally, almost that we're a great place to be,' Noel said. Noel highlighted the downtown, where there are no vacancies. Columbiana has an active planning commission and has joined with Salem to have building permits processed in as little as two weeks.
'One of the great things is we have a great city government here, planning commission, park board — we have so many people involved and they're all working in a positive direction,' Noel said.
Columbiana also has in place a Community Reinvestment Area — or CRA — which allows people building new homes to pay no property tax for 15 years.
'And there's no doubt that our growth, a lot of our growth, is because of the CRA,' Noel.
'We are at this point piggybacking off Columbiana,' Barry Miner said.
Barry Miner is a Fairfield Township Trustee, where the population has also increased. It's primarily a farming community but the Fairfield Trustees have contributed to the growth of Columbiana. The land under the TownCenter at Firestone Farms was once Fairfield Township, but was allowed to be annexed into Columbiana.
'That we are going to work with the city and over the years, if you look at the acreage that we have lost the city of Columbiana by annexation, type 2, it has grown, so we have benefited from that,' Miner said.
Minor pointed to a map where shades of yellow indicated areas zoned for housing. With many communities struggling with housing, Fairfield Township could grow.
'In the future, I think there will be some type of growth throughout the township,' Miner said.
'And we've really worked hard to make this a place where people want to come to and want to live and want to enjoy life,' Noel said.
Columbiana's Mayor is not yet concerned about too much growth, though he said some people in Columbiana are concerned. There has been a noticeable increase in traffic and, well, Columbiana has just 2025 Nexstar Media, Inc. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed.
