Rejection of apartment complex on Far East Side among actions by Columbus City Council

Columbus City Council voted 5-2 on Monday to reject rezoning property along McNaughten Road on the Far East Side for a proposed apartment complex after the council’s zoning committee heard arguments from those in favor and opposed to the project.

Metro Development LLC applied to rezone about eight acres of land at 1555 McNaughten Road in hopes of building up to 126 apartment units on the site, a mix of wooded and open land located on the west side of McNaughten Road between East Livingston Avenue and East Main Street.

Council member Rob Dorans said the application has been pending for about six months. He said the zoning code in Columbus is outdated and the land in question hasn’t changed since the 1950s.

Jeff Brown, an attorney for the developer, told the council that the site is surrounded on three sides by other multi-family developments, including the 160-unit Waldren Woods complex across McNaughten Road from the site that the same developer created in 2021. That zoning change application had no issues or discussion at council, Brown said.

The issue with this one, Dorans said, is a lack of proper infrastructure in the area, especially the lack of sidewalks for pedestrians along McNaughten (there is a sidewalk in front of the Waldren Woods development) and significant traffic along the two-lane road.

Those who spoke out against the apartment project brought up the 2019 death of an 11-year-old girl who was killed crossing the roadway.

In other action Monday, the council approved an $849,600 contract with MKSK, a local landscape architectural firm, to create a community plan for the Eastland area with community engagement and input. The plan, which includes the area where Eastland Mall closed late last year, will be similar to other city plans developed for Linden and Hilltop neighborhoods, said Carla Williams-Scott, director of the city Department of Neighborhoods.

“This is a long time coming and we’re very excited,” Williams-Scott said, adding that MKSK won the bid out of 13 organizations.

Council member Lourdes Barroso De Padilla said there will be more funding to come for the project, and this amount is just the initial phase.

The city also passed two resolutions Monday related to the city’s Christopher Columbus statue, a gift from Italy which was removed from outside city hall in 2020 in the wake of racial and social justice protests over the murder of George Floyd Jr. in Minneapolis.

The council authorized the director of the city Department of Development to accept and execute a private grant from the New York City-based Andrew W. Mellon Foundation in an amount up to $2 million as part of an initiative called “Reimagining Columbus.” The initiative will use the city’s public art displays to emphasize inclusion by relocating the Columbus statue from storage to a public site while at the same time including information about Columbus' violence toward and enslavement of indigenous peoples.

On another matter, the council also authorized a $413,402.82 contract with an engineering firm to improve two area parks: Gender Road Park on the Southeast Side and McCoy Park on the West Side. The parks are underdeveloped, according to the city. Gender Road Park has 32 acres of land and McCoy Park has nearly 20 acres.

The expense will go toward park improvements, including master planning, design, park programming and public engagement. Planning for McCoy Park will begin to be implemented in 2024 and will include therapeutic recreation space for outdoor sports opportunities including athletic fields, pickleball courts, a splash pad, family park amenities, parking improvements, and access improvements.

The council also:

• Approved $2,883,026 as part of a continuation of a contract the city entered into last year with Axon Enterprise, Inc. to provide the Columbus Division of Police with body cameras, dash and in-car cameras, interview room cameras and related accessories.

• Agreed to pay Triumph Communications $150,000 to create a public advertising campaign to educate the public on the new Columbus City Council districts that voters will elect representatives to in the November general election. The districts, which will increase the number of council members from seven to nine, were mapped in December 2021 to create geographic diversity in where members reside, said Councilmember Emanuel Remy. He said the educational campaign is important so that residents know how the districts work when they vote in November.

• Approved $5,389,650 in annual funding for the Community Shelter Board to serve homeless people from its general fund in the same amount as last year, said Jennifer Fening, deputy director of the Department of Development. However, due to an increase in the homeless population the shelter board serves, total funding to the nonprofit from the city through other grants and allocations has increased, she said.

• Conducted a first reading on a resolution to pay the Columbus Next Generation Corporation $500,00 to purchase and develop key urban property in central city areas, including Linden, the Hilltop and the Near East Side. The purchases are intended to advance industrial, economic and commercial development, eliminate blight and create job opportunities.

• Conducted a first reading on proposed changes to the rules on creation of affordable housing in Community Reinvestment Areas in return for controversial property-tax abatements to developers. A public hearing on the proposed changes is set for 5:30 p.m. Tuesday at city hall.

More on affordable housing rules: Columbus plans to again tweak affordable housing rules in developer tax abatement deals

dking@dispatch.com

@DanaeKing

This article originally appeared on The Columbus Dispatch: Rezoning rejection for apt complex among Columbus City Council actions