Jersey Township making it easier to get a drink near Intel plant

With businesses expected to follow Intel to western Licking County, Jersey Township is making it easier for restaurants, hotels and other entertainment venues to obtain liquor licenses near the factory.

After about three months of discussion, the Jersey Township Trustees on Dec. 4 unanimously approved a revitalization district, which is a tool under Ohio law that promotes the investment and development of new restaurants and other social and entertainment establishments within a defined area.

Within the district, up to 15 new liquor permits can be issued without the businesses going to the ballot, Jersey Township Administrator Rob Platte said in a Dec. 5 interview. But voters will still have a say as the local liquor option will appear on the March 19 primary ballot.

Platte said the revitalization district is a way to make the township's major corridors attractive to restaurants, hotels, retail stores and similar development types so properties stay in Jersey Township and don't annex into a neighboring municipality.

This is the latest step in Jersey Township's process to control future development after watching thousands of acres be annexed for Facebook, Amazon, Google, Intel and other businesses in the New Albany International Business Park over the last two decades.

"We're positioning those properties to already have access to those permits, and that will remove one of the barriers to development," he said. "They don't have a delay then and have to go back to the ballot every time that a company wants to seek a liquor permit."

The revitalization district is along most of the major roadways in the township. Here are the areas included:

• 1,000 feet along each of the north and south sides of Worthington Road from Harrison Road to Ohio 310/Hazelton-Etna Road.

• 1,600 feet along the east side of Mink Road from Worthington Road to Green Chapel Road.

• 1,000 feet along the west side of Ohio 310/Hazelton-Etna Road from Worthington Road to the Jersey Township and City of Pataskala boundary.

• 300 feet along each of the north and south sides of Morse Road from Harrison Road to Ohio 310/Hazelton-Etna Road.

• 800 feet along the south side of Morse Road from Harrison Road to the Jersey Township, City of Pataskala and City of New Albany boundary.

• 1,000 feet along the west side of the Jersey Township and the St. Albans Township boundary from Worthington Road to the Jersey Township and Monroe Township boundary.

Having the revitalization district in place doesn't mean that any business that would have a need for a liquor permit can locate within it. Properties still have to be zoned properly, and this doesn't undermine the township's authority to zone properties, Platte said.

"Ultimately, the township's zoning still governs," he said "If they are not permitted by zoning for a use on a property that would need a liquor permit, then it would be it would be pointless for them to pay for a liquor permit. Nobody's going to pay that cost if they can't use it, obviously."

If the liquor option is approved by voters, businesses wanting one of the permits will apply through the Ohio Department of Commerce and pay the the fee for the liquor permit to get issued. They'll also pay a renewal fee just like any other business. The township will not issue the permit nor does it receive any kind of fee, Platte said.

"The township's control remains with the zoning and any approved used on a property," he said. "The revitalization district is simply a designated area where these permits can be issued. If it's approved by the voters, then they would go seek their permits through the state like they normally would."

Eventually, if all 15 permits are issued and another business would like a liquor permit, Platte said that business would have to go on the ballot for voter approval.

Township exploring PUD near possible Pataskala tech park

The trustees also approved contracting with Crossroads Community Planning, which has created the township's comprehensive plan and overlay zoning districts, to develop a planned unit development district for a roughly 20-acre property at the township's southern border with Pataskala.

The property, which is southwest of the Morse and Summit roads intersection, is owned by Fair Lady LLC, which also owns about 200 acres of adjacent property that's within the Pataskala city limits.

Pataskala City Council will discuss rezoning the nearly 200 acres from rural residential and medium-low density residential to planned manufacturing district for a potential technical park. Pataskala Planning and Zoning Commission unanimously recommended denying the rezoning in October. City council will have a public hearing on the matter Jan. 16.

While the plan for the Pataskala portion of the site includes warehouses, Platte said the township wants to position the Jersey Township property for service uses, such as restaurants, or professional office space.

Platte said during the Dec. 4 township meeting that the developer doesn't yet have plans for the Jersey Township portion of site, but the township should be proactive knowing that the site will likely develop in the future.

Over the last year and a half, the leaders of Framework — the unprecedented 15-jurisdiction, public-private effort in Licking County to help plan for Intel Corp.'s $20 billon development — have preached the need for collaborative planning efforts. And this is an example of that, Platte said.

"We just didn't want this to be an afterthought and not a well planned out development there," he said. "This is a an opportunity for Jersey and Pataskala to work together there on how that property develops."

mdevito@gannett.com

740-607-2175

Twitter: @MariaDeVito13

This article originally appeared on Newark Advocate: Jersey Township makes it easier for restaurants to get liquor permits