Community Engagement Drives Gahanna, Ohio, Strategic Planning Effort

The City of Gahanna is taking a proactive approach to shaping its future through Our Gahanna, a strategic planning effort designed to balance growth while preserving the City’s unique charm. Led by Planning NEXT, this process is rooted in community input, ensuring that community voices play a central role in decision-making. The first round of public engagement recently wrapped up, with over 1,000 participants contributing their insights. 

To ensure broad participation, a variety of activities were conducted, including 86 Meetings-in-a-Box, a grassroots effort that empowered the Steering Committee to host their own discussions, as well as 400+ online survey responses which resulted in 900+ visions of the future, and over 2,400 community “love inputs.” Community members also shared insights relating to what they think makes Gahanna unique compared to other Central Ohio suburban communities, and offered up their thoughts on how they hope to see the City improve over the next 10 years. In total, more than 5,200 pieces of input were gathered which are now being analyzed to shape the plan framework. 

These community-driven insights will directly shape the vision, values, and strategic focus areas of the plan. The process will continue with a second round of engagement this spring, featuring in-person activities, an additional online survey, and a variety of opportunities to interact at community events including a family friendly gathering, a senior lunch, small business coffee meeting up, and a young professional happy hour. A third phase of engagement is planned for the fall, giving community members even more chances to provide feedback before the final plan is developed. 

As Gahanna continues to evolve, ensuring that the community’s voice is at the heart of this process is essential. Our Gahanna is more than just a plan—it’s a collective vision for the City’s future, shaped by those who live, work, and invest in it.