Westside Messenger - March 6, 2022

More documents

Recommendations

Info

Messenger PAGE 4 - WESTSIDE MESSENGER - March 6, 2022 By Katelyn Sattler Staff Writer The property at 2456 West Broad St. came before the Greater Hilltop Area Commission again, after being tabled in January. According to commissioner Jennie Keplar, the building was originally built by Eldon Smith in 1900. It was the Prepare for unexpected power outages with a Generac home standby generator REQUEST A FREE QUOTE! 866-643-0438 FREE 7-Year Extended Warranty* A $695 Value! Limited Time Offer - Call for Details Special Financing Available Subject to Credit Approval *To qualify, consumers must request a quote, purchase, install and activate the generator with a participating dealer. Call for a full list of terms and conditions. Government Focus Hilltop Historical Society office and at one point, it was an antique store. It has also been a church. Attorney Jeff Brown is seeking to add single family residential to the property for his client, Degas Real Estate Solutions. The area is currently zoned for commercial use, with the house sitting between a used car dealership and a collision repair shop. The commercial zoning prohibits first floor residential housing. “I can’t sell it as a single family house. I can’t finance it as a single family house, unless I have a piece of paper that says it can be used as a single family house,” said Brown. Commissioner Rachel Wenning questioned whether the applicant’s request counts as a hardship, since he knew when buying the property in 2017 that the building was zoned commercial. Commissioner James White said, “We’re trying to say that we want this building to be used as a commercial building in a commercial corridor, but you’re trying to rezone this building to allow for a single family use surrounded by commercial buildings.” “That house deserves to be preserved,” added Keplar, who would like to see it turned into a permanent home for the Hilltop Historical Society and other Hilltop community groups. Geoffrey Phillips, president of the Highland West Civic Association and former Hilltop commissioner, opposes the variance, saying the applicant wanted approval to use the building as a residential treatment facility in 2019, then in 2020 for use as residential care. “In both cases, the commission voted no for reasons of safety, lack of adequate parking, and a lack of clarity of what the applicant wants to do with it,” he said. “Now, the applicant is before you again, asking you to approve a single family dwelling in a www.columbusmessenger.com Commission against rezoning of West Broad Street property Food pantry at Hoge Memorial Hoge Memorial Presbyterian Church’s food pantry will be open the last two consecutive Tuesdays and Wednesdays of the month from 12 to 1:30 p.m. at 2930 W. Broad St. in Columbus. The dates include March 22, 23, 29, and 30. Clients are welcome one time each month. The food pantry serves residents in zip codes 43204, 43223, and 43228. For more information, call the church office at 614-276-5433. By Amanda Ensinger Staff Writer The Prairie Township trustees have approved a new dispatching agreement. Fire Chief Allen Scott asked the board to approve a five-year agreement with Grove City to continue the township’s dispatching services. Effective immediately and ending Dec. 31, 2026, the township agreed to pay $224,905 in 2022, $231,652 in 2023, $238,602 in 2024, $245,769 in 2025, and $253,142 in 2026. “Our current agreement, which expired on Dec. 31, was for $218,355,” Allen said. “At the end of this agreement, we will remain far below the $310,000 we were spending on dispatcher salaries in 2017.” In other news, Scott asked the board to approve the purchase of a medicine control cabinet at a cost of $8,200. commercial district.” After the last meeting, Brown checked with city zoning staff regarding concerns that the property may not be used as intended in the application. “City staff felt that there was no reason to put any additional conditions on the application because the request is very clear as to what we’re asking for. And the reason we’re doing it is that we’re trying to sell this as a house,” said Brown. The applicant wasn’t in attendance to answer questions about the intended use of the property, but Brown said, “We would like to reestablish the historic use of the property.” In an email communication with Columbus City Council member and chair of the zoning committee Rob Dorans, via his legislative aide, he explained, “City Council has wide discretion when considering a rezoning and variance. Every application is unique and we review each application that comes before us closely. A key part of that review process is the support from the local area commission or other neighborhood groups. When we receive a disapproval from the area commission, generally its council’s expectation that the applicant work to address the issues raised by residents. Often these efforts will help ensure that when the legislation comes before council many issues have been resolved. In the event that the applicant and the area commissions have not been able to come to a resolution, council must review the application holistically to determine whether we believe granting the application is appropriate.” Dorans added, “city council votes with the area commissions’ recommendations more than nine out of ten times. In those rare instances where council disagrees with the area commission, it’s important that we are transparent and can explain why.” The area commission voted the variance down 11-3. It will now be presented to city council. around the westside Wellness and foot care for senior citizens LifeCare Alliance provides a nurse at the Prairie Township Community Center weekly to provide free foot care and other wellness services. To schedule an appointment or for more information, contact the wellness office at 614-437-2878. Trustees OK new agreement for dispatching “This cabinet will assist us in inventory tracking of our medications and other perishable supplies, as well as increase security for our narcotic medications,” Scott said. “We currently lose about $3,000 to $4,000 worth of expired medication and other supplies each year. The up front cost of this device is $8,200 and the annual software cost is $1,200. I expect to see a return on our investment in less than five years.” The main supply of medication will be located at Station 241. According to Scott, the fire department has a drug license to purchase medications, which is signed off by the medical director. Residents also asked about drug drop-off at the fire stations. “Due to the DEA license, we are not permitted by law to collect them,” Scott said. “There is a quarterly drug take-back day held at the firehouse, but it does not have to do with the fire department.”
www.columbusmessenger.com March 6, 2022 - WESTSIDE MESSENGER - PAGE 5 Senior housing project clears zoning hurdle By Hannah Poling Staff Writer Zoning requests were discussed at the February meeting of the Westland Area Commission. Sarajane Steffes, from National Church Residences, presented the request to commissioners. The property in question is located at 5719 West Broad St., at the southeast corner of Galloway Road, and includes 3.95 acres of undeveloped land. National Church Residences would like to build a four-story, 92-unit apartment complex for senior citizens. To qualify for housing in the complex, residents must be 55 or older and must make less than $42,000 a year with no health requirement. These residences will feature a community room, community kitchen, community fitness center, a screened in porch and free transportation five days a week for its residents. The National Church Residences requested four variances for the property. The first request is to reduce the number of required parking spaces. According to Steffes, since the property is tailored toward seniors, they do not need the required 1.5 parking spaces per unit as many of their residents do not drive or use the free transportation. The next variance request was to increase the height of the building from its currently allowed 35 feet to 50 feet to allow for the four-story building design. The designers have looked at options to make the building shorter to comply with the current allowances, but have thus far not found a successful solution. The other two variances are requesting reduced setback lines on Galloway Road and West Broad Street. National Church Residences want to reduce the setback from West Broad Street to the building from 80 feet to 67 feet and 11 inches and the setback from Galloway Road from 60 feet to 8 feet. The main concern the commissioners had with the request is if there were an expansion on Galloway Road, would there be enough room with the building closer to the street to add lanes. Steffes showed the commissioners a mock up of what the design would look like with lanes added to Galloway Road to show that they believe there is still plenty of available space for expansion within their design. There is also a stream corridor protection zone on the property, which adds a nice feature for the residents, but also limits the opportunity to shift the building to make it fit into the space without obtaining a variance. “This site is primed for senior housing with so many amenities right near by,” said Steffes. The zoning committee opposed the application 1-3. However, the motion for the variances passed 8-4 with the Westland commissioners. The same applicant also made a request to rezone the property from commercial to residential. The National Church Residences want to have 23 units per acre and believes that density of units is in line with what was approved two years ago. The rezoning motion was also passed 8-4. In other news, newly-appointed city council members Lourdes Barroso de Padilla and Nicholas Bankston attended the meeting to introduce themselves to the commissioners. Barroso De Padilla is a bilingual first generation Cuban-American who was born and raised on the eastside of Columbus and attended the Columbus public school system. She has worked for City Year through AmeriCorps for over 20 years. Barroso De Padilla wants advocacy for the people who have been “left behind.” Bankston is a native of Columbus and a graduate of Ohio State University. He is the president and CEO of Gladden Community House, which stabilizes families and builds a thriving neighborhood and community. “I came to say thank you to you all,” said Bankston. “The commission is the resident experts here and it’s imperative to work together so the decisions I make are centered on our city.” around the westside WNA accepting applications for annual scholarship The Westgate Neighbors Association is now accepting applications for the 2022 Westgate neighborhood scholarship. The $1,000 scholarship is awarded annually to a qualified resident of Westgate who contributes to the betterment of their community through their demonstrated service and leadership. To print an application and for additional information, visit westgateneighbors.org. Applications are due back to the WNA by March 31. Produce giveaway at YMCA The Hilltop YMCA hosts a fresh produce giveaway the third Wednesday of each month from 4 to 6 p.m. at 2879 Valleyview Drive in Columbus. For more information, call the YMCA at 614-276- 8224.
Page 1 and 2: Messenger Westside March 6 - 19, 20
Page 3: www.columbusmessenger.com County bo
Page 7 and 8: www.columbusmessenger.com Governmen
Page 9 and 10: www.columbusmessenger.com March 6,
Page 11 and 12: www.columbusmessenger.com xFocus on

Westside Messenger - March 6, 2022

You also want an ePaper? Increase the reach of your titles

Delete template?

Save as template?