Court Battle Looms Over Hilliard Rezoning Dispute

Noor Islamic Cultural Center’s legal team accuses City Council of unconstitutional action, with federal litigation on the horizon.

The City of Hilliard is the defendant in a complaint filed Dec. 6 in Franklin County Common Pleas Court concerning City Council’s denial on Nov. 12 of a rezoning application filed by Britton Parkway Holdings LLC, an extension of the Noor Islamic Cultural Center.

The complaint also names Hilliard City Council and City Manager Michelle Crandall.

“My client looks forward to presenting this appeal to the Court of Common Pleas. We are confident that the Court will find that the City acted in an arbitrary, capricious, unreasonable, and unconstitutional manner in denying the rezoning application,” attorney Nathan Painter said Dec. 18.

David Ball, community relations director for the City of Hilliard, said the city did not have any additional comment beyond a statement the city provided prior to the Nov. 12 City Council meeting.

That statement and a summary of the Nov. 12 City Council meeting where Hilliard City Council rejected the rezoning application, can be read here:

The Dec. 6 filing in Franklin County Common Pleas Court is only the first volley in other legal action against the city concerning the decision, Painter said.

The complaint in Franklin County Common Pleas Court seeks to reverse the decision of Hilliard City Council and order the City of Hilliard to approve the rezoning application as submitted, Painter said.

Additional litigation is forthcoming, according to Painter.

“This is simply the first legal action to be taken,” Painter said of the Common Pleas Court filing.

“My client looks forward to presenting additional claims of violations of its Constitutional rights to the federal courts in the near future,” Painter said.

“Even if the Court of Common Pleas reverses the City Council, we will still proceed on federal claims, in federal court, to recover damages, including attorney fees,” Painter said.

As of Dec. 18, the schedule includes numerous dates or the filing of motions and briefs extending through March 7, 2025.

The complaint stems from the decision of City Council on Nov. 12, in 1 4-3 decision, to deny a rezoning application for the property owner, Noor Islamic Cultural Center, to occupy and commercially utilize the former BMW Financial Services headquarters, a 226,000-square-foot building on 15 acres, at 5550 Britton Parkway.

The applicant told the city then litigation would result from the denial.

“You’re driving us to litigation is what you’re doing. We don’t want to sue the city but that’s what you’re driving us to do,” attorney Joe Miller said after City Council rejected a resolution amending the current PUD-zoning to allow, in addition to office space, conditional uses otherwise permitted that included a community center, event center, and a worship area.

Councilman Les Carrier and Greg Betts and Councilwoman Cynthia Vermillion voted in favor of the rezoning; Council President Tina Cottone and council members Peggy Hale, Andy Teater and Emily Cole voted against the measure.

The city made its argument on Nov. 12 for denying the rezoning.

Crandall said the BMW parcel should be re-developed as a mixed-use campus similar to TruePointe, a 300,000 square-foot development under construction just to the south with restaurants, offices and luxury apartments.

“Both the current zoning in place for (BMW) and what is in the community plan for the I-270 corridor are focused on the same underlying priority (and) that priority is this corridor is a primary economic-development driver for the city, providing key employment locations with numerous high-paying jobs that in turn translate to string income-tax revenue for our city,” Crandall told City Council Nov. 12.