[UPDATED] Dublin Road Development at Decision Point
Local Collective Cites 2002 Rejection in Upcoming Appeal to City Commission
UPDATE: Developers of a proposed apartment complex on Dublin Road, south of Hayden Run Road, will need to submit a revised plan to the Columbus Development Commission if it is to advance.
The developer, Rock Run LLC, asked that it be tabled after the commission indicated it did not support the development as proposed Feb. 8.
"for a year, we have insisted, "It's NOT "No," it's WHAT." The developer pointed out more than once last night that he "has met with" neighbors. Sadly, he apparently doesn't understand the distinction between trying to dictate and actual collaboration and meaningful compromise. Our community is pleased that the Columbus Development Commission understands this and pointed it out in their comments. If the developer is actually willing to listen, we will work with him. We offered that option to him two months ago and he refused," Holly Hollingsworth said Friday, after the commission's Thursday night meeting.
In comments Thursday, commission members told developers the apartments as proposed did not transition well with adjacent single- family residences and that modifications were perhaps possible.
The Development Commission of the City of Columbus on Feb. 8 is to consider the rezoning of 14.7 acres on the west side of Dublin Road, south of Hayden Run Road, to allow for the construction of apartment buildings.
The applicant, Rock Run LLC, is seeking to rezone the parcel from R- rural district to L-ARLD, limited apartment residential development, according to the Feb. 8 agenda of the Development Commission.
It is the last of four cases the Development Commission is set to consider beginning at 4:30 p.m. Feb. 8 at the Michael B. Coleman Government Center, 111 N. Front St., Columbus.
You can monitor the hearing through the City of Columbus YouTube channel at http://www.youtube.com/cityofcolumbus.
Despite opposition from owners of adjacent single-family residences, Norwich Township Trustees and the Hayden Run West Civic Association, a Columbus staff report recommends the Development Commission recommend approval of the rezoning application.
If approved, Columbus City Council would consider the recommendation of the Development Commission.
The staff report says the proposal is “consistent with” the citywide planning policies, but area residents call the proposal the epitome of spot zoning.
A written city staff report says, “The requested (zoning) will allow the site to be developed with a 220-unit apartment complex. The limitation text includes appropriate supplemental development standards and a commitment to develop the site in accordance with the submitted site plans and building elevations.”
It continues, “While there is no council adopted land use recommendation at this location, the proposal demonstrates landscaping around the sides and rear of detached garages, supplemental trees in adjacent open spaces, and existing tree preservation, all of which are consistent with Columbus city wide planning policies design guidelines.”
In addition to the rezoning application, Rock Run LLC has also submitted a variance application, separate from the rezoning, that, if granted, would allow the developer to make changes in specific manners enumerated in the variance but contrary to what is permitted in the L-ARLD zoning district.
These include reducing the minimum setback from Dublin Road from 50 feet to 35 feet, and increasing the maximum height of buildings or structures from 35 feet to 37-feet and 4-inches, according to the variance request.
According to the rezoning application, 220 apartments are to be built on the 14.7-acre site, which consists of five separate parcels.
In a Feb. 6 letter to Columbus Development Commission, Norwich Township Administrator Jamie Fisher, on behalf of Norwich Township Trustees, expressed the township’s opposition to the rezoning for reasons including lack of proper infrastructure such as sidewalks, traffic volume, and storm water runoff causing flooding of tributaries and residential properties.
”It is the goal of the Norwich Township Board of Trustees to support the community and preserve existing neighborhoods surrounding these parcels. The Board of Trustees request that the City of Columbus City Council and its employees consider the impacts and review the concerns outlined in this letter. Please consider the disapproval of the proposed rezoning and site plans for the high-density housing development known as the Rock Run Development,” Fisher wrote.
Holly Hollingsworth, an adjacent property owner on Dublin Road who last year helped establish the Scioto Property Owners Collective (SPOC) to oppose Rock Run when it was first proposed, said she will represent SPOC on Feb. 8 at the Development Commission.
“This is spot zoning (and) there is nothing else like it within a mile of us,” said Hollingsworth, who is hopeful that the Development Commission will consider Columbus City Council’s 2002 rejection of a similar rezoning case for apartments that were to be built on Antrim Road, and called Brittany Place, owing to, in the words of Columbus City Council at the time, that the 14 units per acre was “too high in consideration of adjacent single-family uses.”
According to Hollingsworth, the site, if developed as proposed, would be almost 15 units per acre with 220 units on the nearly 15-acre parcel.
In May 2023, developers said this about the site:
“We will come back to you with changes,” Sean Mentel, co-owner of Rock Run LLC, said at the conclusion of the two-and-a-half hour meeting May 1 at the Joint Safety Services Building, 5181 Northwest Parkway, before residents largely opposed to the proposal.
Rock Run representatives described the proposal May 1 as a 19-building, 256-unit apartment complex to include a dog park, pickle-ball court, sand volleyball court, and clubhouse.
Mentel is the applicant on the Feb. 8 rezoning application before the Development Commission, which now calls for 17 apartment buildings and 220 units.
While the parcel lies in the City of Columbus, it is adjacent to the Shire Cove subdivision in Hilliard.
A majority of the proposed site for the apartments is within the Hilliard school district but the northernmost part of the parcel lies in the Dublin school district.
Mentel had not returned calls for comment as of publication time.