Central Ohio’s long running tug of war over the Big Darby Creek is back, and the clock is already ticking. A public draft of the Big Darby Accord, the multi jurisdiction agreement that guides development and conservation across the Big Darby Creek watershed, went online in late March with a public comment window officials say closes April 7, 2026. It is the first full scale update in nearly 20 years and it tries to pull off a tricky balancing act: stronger safeguards for a fragile stream system while still making room for much needed housing. Early reaction has ranged from applause for tougher monitoring to immediate criticism of maps that could green light denser construction in parts of the watershed.
What's in the draft
The proposal keeps the Accord’s conservation first spine but layers in more technical tools meant to make protection measurable and easier to fund, according to the Big Darby Accord. It calls for standardized, science based water quality monitoring, updated definitions of conservation areas and a new land use pattern that pushes higher density development toward areas already served by sewers and regional transportation. The package also sketches out revisions to the Darby Revenue Program intended to raise money for stream restoration and open space acquisition.
Numbers and limits
Some of the big guardrails do not move. The draft keeps the 20,000 Equivalent Residential Unit sanitary sewer cap for Franklin County and recommends steering the remaining capacity toward the urban edge, according to materials posted by the City of Hilliard. Hilliard’s summary notes that about 13,850 ERUs were still unused as of late 2025 and calls out proposed protections like 150 foot stream setbacks and standardized water quality testing before and after construction. Those numbers matter because wherever the final hookups land is where farmland and habitat are most likely to disappear.
Local governments and conservationists clash
Local officials and conservation voices are already squaring off over how far the Accord should go. A draft land use map would allow densities up to 12 units per acre in some spots, a sharp turn from the current low density baseline, and that shift prompted Hilliard and Brown Township to ask for a pause, WOSU Public Media reported. City staff argue that putting more homes near existing sewer and road corridors actually lowers per household environmental impacts and can help with housing costs. “Dense development has been shown to be much better for the environment,” Columbus deputy development director Bryan Clark told WOSU. As reported by The Columbus Dispatch, the draft went up in late March and opened an online feedback period that runs through April 7, 2026.
How to weigh in and what's next
Residents can dig into the full amendment and submit comments through the Accord’s website or via participating local governments, and the City of Hilliard’s page includes supporting documents along with an online input form. The Big Darby Accord Advisory Panel has set meetings for this spring as part of the review, and the City of Columbus has posted the panel’s 2026 meeting calendar for anyone who wants to follow the process. The panel’s recommendations, followed by votes from each jurisdiction, will determine whether this draft is elevated into a new Memorandum of Understanding.
The Big Darby watershed is still one of the Midwest’s most biologically rich stream systems, and how leaders spend the last of its development capacity will shape habitat, farmland and flood resilience for decades. Expect a packed comment period and a full slate of public meetings as communities decide whether this latest compromise between housing and habitat is good enough.
