Bio – Matt Brown
Professionally – Matt is a city and regional planner with over 10 years of experience working with communities and stakeholder groups. He is passionate about helping communities preserve their natural areas and agricultural land, maintain community character, and provide transportation options for everyone.
Matt has served as Franklin County’s Planning Administrator for the past 3 years. As Planning Administrator, he oversees the work of the planning and zoning staff of the Economic Development and Planning Department. Matt is experienced developing recommendations for, and presenting to, Franklin County’s planning and zoning boards on development proposals requiring variances and rezonings. Through his community planning experience Matt has managed and led robust, multi-phased community engagement processes, facilitated discussions with residents, businesses, and elected officials on how they want their communities to look in the future, and worked with these stakeholders to identify solutions for achieving their desired future. In addition to land use planning activities, Matt served as Franklin County’s lead in developing the Columbus and Franklin County Local Food Action Plan. This plan identified actions to strengthen the local food economy, to increase resident access to healthy food and to prevent food-related waste.
Matt serves on the Franklin County Local Food Council, the Ohio District 3 Natural Resources Assistance Council, and the Ohio State University Extension State Advisory Committee. Matt is a member of the American Planning Association and the Ohio Floodplain Management Association (OFMA). He is also a Certified Floodplain Manager (CFM). In 2011, Matt received the Franklin Soil and Water Conservation District’s Conservation Stewardship Award for his work implementing stream setback requirements in Franklin County. He also received a Distinguished Member Service Award from OFMA in 2014 for his service on the OFMA managing board.
Personally – Matt and his wife, Hanna Greer-Brown, have lived on West North Broadway since 2008 and they have two young sons. Matt helps coach his oldest sons sports teams including basketball at the Whetstone Recreational Center and baseball through NCIL. Hanna works for the Solid Waste Authority of Central Ohio and is the President of the Immaculate Conception School Advisory Board.
Matt also volunteers on the CAC Planning and Development Committee and the Clintonville Neighborhood Plan subcommittee.
I am running for the CAC to put the knowledge and experience I have gained as a professional planner to use in the neighborhood in which I live and raise my family. Clintonville is a desirable location for new development and we as a community must have a unified vision for how the community grows. The Clintonville Neighborhood Plan serves as this vision and new development/ redevelopment needs to adhere to the principles contained in the Plan. My priority as Area Commissioner will be to listen to the community and to use that input, in conjunction with my professional experience, to make decisions that will most benefit the neighborhood. I also want to work proactively with residents, developers, other Clintonville Area Commissioners, and the City to identify and implement solutions to problems before they become problems. Matt Brown
