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The next Athens Porchfest is scheduled and its organizers want more people talking about porches
By: Theo Peck-Suzuki | Report for America
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ATHENS, Ohio (WOUB/Report for America) — Rob Delach wants to talk about porches.
It’s only been one month since the first-ever Near East Side Neighborhood Porchfest, and Delach, who helped organize the event, already has the next one penciled in for May 18, 2025. On Tuesday, he met with interested community members at Jackie O’s to gather feedback and suggestions — and discuss the importance of Athens’ porches more broadly. A dozen people answered his invitation.
“Porches are very, very integral to a community when they exist,” said Delach. “And if they don’t exist, generally it’s not a very tight, cohesive neighborhood. You think of a suburban neighborhood, (it) doesn’t have front porches, houses are set way back so you can’t talk to people if they’re walking by on the street, even. It doesn’t build community.”
Other attendees at the meeting echoed Delach’s enthusiasm. East side resident Bob Stewart spoke fondly of how his porch led to a new friendship with one of his neighbors, a woman named Phyllis who walks by his house regularly while exercising.
“Now, she just comes up on our porch,” Stewart said, drawing laughs. “I mean, she asks, but the answer is always ‘Yes.’ … That would never have happened, we would not be in the same circle (without the porch).”
Bill Hayes told the group that roofed porches can also have financial benefits for homeowners: Namely, they reduce the thermal load on a house, which lowers the cost of air conditioning.
Delach said porches play a vital role in combating the loneliness epidemic in the United States. The severity of the problem prompted U.S. Surgeon General Vivek Murphy to issue an advisory on the subject last year.
“If you were to try and rebuild my house in the Near East Side neighborhood, according to the restrictions in code, you couldn’t even build it. It would, first of all, have to be set back 25 feet, 17 feet further than it is currently, from the sidewalk and street,” Delach said.
The code restrictions make it challenging for homeowners to repair or remodel existing porches, let alone add a new porch to a building that doesn’t have one. However, the city planning commission has proposed altering the code to reduce setbacks and allow tighter infill of empty lots.
Delach, who also chairs the city’s board of zoning appeals, said that would make it much easier to build and maintain porches.
Athens city council has yet to vote on the proposal.
As for the next Porchfest, attendees pitched a variety of ideas, including modifying the traffic flow and adding additional activities for kids. Two representatives from the West Side neighborhood said there are discussions of starting a Porchfest there, as well.
Delach said community members who want to get involved can do so via the public NENA Porchfest page on Facebook.