History

NWCA was founded as an unincorporated association in 1966, and became a non-profit corporation in 1969. It originally encompassed the area bounded by Kenny Road on the east, Dierker Road on the west, Bethel Road on the north, and Old Henderson Road on the south. Over the years, the NWCA area was expanded to the boundaries of the Olentangy River on the east, the Scioto River on the west, State Route 161 on the north, and the border of Upper Arlington/Highland Drive on the south.

This area includes some parts of Perry and Sharon Townships, the City of Dublin, and the City of Worthington. In 2007, the boundaries were changed to include only property that is in the City of Columbus. In the future, if property within our service area is annexed to the City of Columbus, it becomes part of the NWCA area.

NWCA is a non-governmental body that performs some of the functions of area commissions, which are arms of Columbus City Council. Although it is not required by law to do so, the City recognizes and acts on NWCA recommendations concerning zoning, graphics, code enforcement, and other matters that area commissions handle in other parts of the City.

Sometimes the NWCA and the City differ on development, zoning, capital improvements, or other issues – sometimes NWCA prevails (e.g. right-sizing Carriage Place Shopping Center; opposition to a Morse-Bethel connector) and sometimes it doesn’t (zoning and graphics recommendations that weren’t followed; a referendum against a development on West Case Road that failed to get on the ballot in 2003).