A nonprofit publication of the Kentucky Center for Public Service Journalism

Villa Hills Mayor Heather Jansen wants to manage growth, keep community-feel of her city


This is part of an occasional series about Northern Kentucky city mayors.

By Josie Shriver
NKyTribune reporter

The late Jim Reis, a longtime Kentucky Post columnist, once described the city of Villa Hills as “…little more than farmland before the construction of I-75. With the opening of the expressway, the farmland became prime subdivision land and the housing boom hasn’t abated.”

Present-day Villa Hills mayor, Heather Jansen, seen the housing boom impacts her city, particularly given the sale of the Benedictine Sisters’ land.

The Benedictine Sisters of Walberg Monastery own approximately 230 acres of land in Villa Hills. The Sisters recently sold 90 acres to be developed into what will be known as Sanctuary Village along Amsterdam Road. They named Ashley Builders Group as the developer of the project with help from Drees Homes and Fischer Homes corporations.

When running for mayor, Jansen was not only interested in getting more involved in the community, she really wanted to make the city’s government more transparent and available to the community. One of her biggest reasons for running for the position was she disagreed with some decisions and plans being made in regards to the Benedictine Sisters’ property.

Mayor Heather Jansen, Villa Hills

Jansen “disagreed with Council’s decision to disregard the 2,000+ signature petition that had been submitted in opposition to the zoning change.

“While I agreed that the Sisters had the right to sell their land, I believed the addition of a large apartment building would have been incongruous with the community-feel of which Villa Hills residents are proud.”

Since Jansen’s election in 2019, the development project was reduced from “…495 to 325 (a 35% reduction) and the four-story 187-unit apartment building has been removed and 11 single family homes will be built on that spot,” according to the 2019 Villa Hills newsletter. Just in Phase I of the construction of the Sanctuary Village, there are plans to build 152 homes, 16 townhouses, and 14 cottages on the plot of land.

Plans for Villa Hills

Currently, Jansen says the city is working to bounce back from the COVID-19 pandemic. Jansen is really looking forward to having events for the residents again after so many of their plans were canceled due to the pandemic.

Music Fest, Haunted Trails, and Safety Night with the Villa Hills Police Department are some of the events that residents can look forward to this year.

The city has also begun Phase II of the Villa Drive/Villa Marie road reconstruction and storm water project, where the replacement of outdated water pipes and re-pavement of Robin Lane will be the final outcome.

Looking towards the long-term, the city means to improve the intersection signalization at the Collins and Amsterdam Road intersection due to the increased traffic volume from the Sanctuary Village construction. Jansen is also hoping to extend and create sidewalk installation throughout various parts of the city. The most exciting long-term goal for the city is a new firehouse for the Crescent Springs-Villa Hills fire department, which will hopefully be moving towards construction soon through the various committees that have been set in place to choose a design and analyze the financing by both Crescent Springs and Villa Hills.

Accomplishments and Challenges

Several large scale road projects have been completed since Jansen took office, including the new signalization at Collins Road and Buttermilk Pike that has resulted in zero accidents since the change and the storm water system improvement on Buttermilk Pike, which was followed by a “major reconstruction that extends the useful life of one of Villa Hills’ most used streets.”

Jansen helped approve the funding, purchase and training of the first police canine, Onexx. She commented on how great a team Onexx and Officer Dooley are by saying, “Together they have arrested a number of drug traffickers and confiscated tens of thousands of dollars worth of narcotics.”

Without a doubt, Jansen said the most challenging part of her position as mayor is social media. While she recognizes that social media can be a great way to quickly send out information about the city or any events occurring, it can become a place where false information can be spread as well.

“I have found in some instances that people would rather complain about things in the City rather than calling the office to get either the problem fixed or perhaps get an explanation about the situation.”

Overall, Jansen is enjoying her time as mayor and finds the most rewarding part of the position is the people. She has and still holds positions within the community that give her a chance to interact directly with the people of the city. She is Executive Director at the Cincinnati Foundation for the Aged, President of Highland Cemetery in Fort Mitchell, and Treasurer of the Athletics Board at St. Joseph School in Crescent Springs

“The essence of our City is seen in the smiles of the residents, heard in the laughter of its children and felt through the friendliness and helpfulness of the close-knit community,” Jansen states.

Mayor Jansen is a long term resident of the Northern Kentucky community. She attended Blessed Sacrament, is a graduate of Notre Dame Academy and continued her education at Thomas More College, where she began working in the tax department for a local Fortune 500 company upon graduation. She attended night school at Salmon P. Chase College of Law, where she graduated with her juris doctorate in 2001. Jansen and her husband have lived at their current home in Villa Hills, where they have added four children and four dogs to the mix, for almost 20 years.


Related Posts

Leave a Comment