Hilliard Council Denies Zoning Change, Noor Islamic Cultural Center Prepares Legal Challenge
Rejection of proposed 'mixed-use' modifications for Britton Parkway property ignites community response and potential civil rights case
Litigation against the City of Hilliard to achieve a property owner’s desired use of the 226,000-square-foot former headquarters of BMW Financial Services on Britton Parkway appears likely after Hilliard City Council on Nov. 12 rejected a modification to the current zoning district.
“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 council’s 4-3 vote against a resolution amending the current PUD to allow, in addition to office space, conditional uses otherwise permitted that included a community center, event center, and a worship area.
Several hundred members of the Noor Islamic Cultural Center, 5001 Wilcox Road, filled council chambers, the hallway, and other parts of City Hall where those who could not fit into chambers watched it streaming.
The application, filed by Britton Parkway Holdings Inc., an extension of the Noor Islamic Cultural Center, took three hours to consider before City Council voted on a motion to amend the resolution- made by Councilwoman Cynthia Vermillion and seconded by Councilman Greg Betts- that included removing area limitations staff had placed on a floor-by-floor basis, that a community center, including for the purpose of worship, be made a conditional use (but not to exceed more than 10 percent of the building’s area), that size limits be removed on an event center, reception area, training center, and a school, and that overnight parking be allowed for vehicles associated with kitchen and catering operations.
Other proposed uses included a day care facility, fitness center, training center, personal services, and other businesses all to be leased to yet-to-be-identified operators.
Only Councilman Les Carrier voted with Betts and Vermillion to amend the PUD.
Council President Tina Cottone and council members Peggy Hale, Andy Teater and Emily Cole voted against the measure.
Then, city council unanimously rejected the original resolution, as it allowed for office use only on the site.
Knowing the applicant’s desire, according to Carrier, the members who had voted for the amendment voted against it, resulting in its unanimous failure.
Nathan Painter, a former member of the city’s BZA and past president of City Council, represented the applicant and was not short on words, before or after the meeting.
“Last night, the City of Hilliard knowingly and intentionally violated the civil, property and constitutional rights of a private property owner,” Painter said Nov. 13.
“As a former member of the Hilliard City Council, I am shocked and appalled at the bigotry and intentional violation of rights of members of our community. The city’s intentional violation of its own ordinances can only be seen as having the objective to deny people of color and of the Muslim faith their rights,” Painter said.
The City’s Position
But staff and Hilliard City Manager Michelle Crandall laid out the city’s concern about the proposed use: the freeway-adjacent building 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 income-tax revenue for our city,” Crandall told City Council Nov. 12.
“Income tax is our primary revenue source that pays for the critical services we provide for our community, the infrastructure that is in place and the amenities we enjoy,” Crandall said.
“For 20-plus years, up until late 2023, BMW Financial Services occupied it as a major employer and income tax contributor… We know this site is still viable for companies looking for this kind of highway frontage in central Ohio, both as a stand-alone building as it sits today, and as a mixed-use site,” Crandall said.
Despite that claim, the 15-acre property at 5550 Britton Parkway was the subject of a foreclosure and ownership of it transferred to Britton Parkway Holdings on Feb. 23, 2024, according to Franklin County’s Auditor’s Office records.
It is valued at $23.6 million, according to the auditor’s office.
City Planner John Talentino told City Council that while staff wanted the applicant to be able to use a variety of uses in the building, it remained cautious as to its recommendations owing to the city’s community plan calling for office use.
“This is kind of uncharted waters for us, in terms of having an office building that is going to be used for (something) other than an office, so the commission wanted to be cautious with how they proceeded,” Talentino said.
Prior to Nov. 12, the zoning application was before the city’s planning-and-development commission on Sept. 12, where Painter opined that the era of single tenants occupying a multi-floor building in excess of 200,000 square-feet was a thing of the past, but Crandall challenged Painter’s view at City Council.
“We know the market will support premium office uses with good high-paying jobs,” said Crandall, pointing to the international headquarters of Forsee Power, on Lyman Drive, a manufacturer of energy supply systems, at the former Highlights for Children site.
“Holding true to the goals of our community plan, and a little patience, brought us a significant win, to Ohio, and most importantly, to the city of Hilliard,” Crandall said about passing on other proposals before accepting Forsee Power.
Crandall lamented the attention the issue caused, with cameras from three television stations recording the meeting.
“I wish we were not here tonight with the level of tension surrounding this decision, and the divisiveness it has caused between the city and the members of our Muslim community,” Crandall said.
“I wished the applicant, or a representative, would have reached out to city staff before purchasing this building. We could have helped them understand the importance of this building as a premium office location and how much it translated into the city providing critical infrastructure and amenities to our community. We could have helped them explore other alternatives and sites to consider as there are numerous other areas in the city with zoning more suitable to uses this applicant desires to have,” Crandall said.
But the applicant was under no obligation to do so, the applicant’s attorneys said.
“The plan they have presented meets the standards of the city’s comprehensive plan, and in fact, what staff proposes undermines the goal of the comprehensive plan,” Painter told City Council.
“The Noor Islamic Cultural Center has been a catalyst for bringing a vibrant culture to the Hilliard community, both socially and economically. Members of the Noor Center are our neighbors, business partners, and most importantly, your constituents,” Painter told City Council.
“(But) instead of reviewing the zoning application on its merits, the city administration has taken this application and replaced the requested PUD amendment with what it thinks should be on that site. The city has usurped the role of a private-property owner, and asserted itself as developer of my client’s private property, and is attempting to foist its own subjective view of how that private property should be used and operated,” Painter said.
“Never in my experience, serving and working on behalf of the city, have I seen an applicant treated in this manner, moreover, never in my time as a member of the BZA, and on City Council, has this city dictated to a private property owner how to use that property on a floor-by-floor basis,” Painter said.
“It is clearly an arbitrary and capricious act by the city with no evidence to justify these uses… This limitation must be removed as a matter of law. Let me be crystal clear: there is no applicable law preventing this council from granting any of the uses requested by my client,” said Painter, who pointed out City Council’s previous $1 million donation toward construction of Hilliard’s YMCA.
“There is a worship service at YMCA, it’s Christian. These people, who are Muslim, are asking for the same thing and you’re not giving it to them,” Painter said.
Joe Miller, a partner and head of the litigation group at Vorys, Sater, Seymour and Pease LLP, made his point even sharper.
“The Noor Islamic Community Center has tried to partner with the city, and while City Manager Crandall took issue that they did not come talk to the city prior to purchasing the property, there is no requirement they do so. What they have done since then is try to accommodate any of the city’s legitimate concerns and those efforts have been rebuffed,” Miller said.
“If you deny this application, or if you approve what staff would like to see on this site, rather than what the private property owner actually wants, rather than what city code allows, rather than what the real estate market will bear, than you as a City Council will needlessly be subjecting this city, your constituents, and taxpayers, to liability for substantial damages and attorney’s fees. Federal civil-rights laws exist for situations just such as this,” Miller said.
“To do anything other than accept this applicant’s proposal needlessly exposes this city to damages and attorney’s fees, under those federal laws. You can spare the city that, and its citizens and its taxpayers,” said Miller, who borrowed the term “front door” that city staff had referred to in describing the parcel’s prominent positioning.
“But these taxpayers, and these citizens, and constituents, feel as though throughout this process, that door has been closed to them because of who they are and how they worship,” Miller said.
“Do not follow your staff, into what (Talentino) called uncharted waters, with this zoning through paint-by-numbers that I have never seen before in my career, but instead, this city should act for the empowerment of this community,” Miller said.
After the staff and attorneys for the applicant addressed City Council, 15 proponents spoke until another proponent asked for comments to end to allow for City Council to deliberate.
During council deliberation, Carrier challenged Crandall on the city’s staff making the zoning issue a question of return-on-the dollar, but Crandall doubled down.
“As I stated previously, this (property) is important for economic development, and generating income tax, that is why current zoning is for office. Yes, this is an important piece of property to be zoned this way for income tax. There are many other zoning districts, within the city of Hilliard, that allow for the desired uses that this applicant wants. They picked one of the few pieces of property that are vitally important to this community (to create the income tax needed) to provide services to our community today and tomorrow,” Crandall said.
As the vote began, Vermillion, in making the amendment, opined “community wealth is not just measured in dollars; it is measured in what we do for our people,” Vermillion said.
What’s Next…
After the vote, only Cole offered a comment for voting against the zoning application.
“I firmly believe in the value of the diversity of Hilliard, and the value that the Noor Islamic Cultural Center brings to the city, and I have not once felt that this is not how they feel as well. This has been incredibly difficult for me… I truly, personally would like to find a way to make this project work but we are not there yet. It is devastating. I hope people come back to the table, what you bring is invaluable,” Cole said.
The remark stirred something of a reaction from the crowd, but the majority began to disperse and many had left the chambers before the second roll call on the original resolution was conducted and the session almost immediately adjourned.
Painter said “multiple paths” will be taken in reaction to City Council’s decision, including litigation or even a possible referendum, in which a ballot issue would ask voters to approve the zoning, but no time table has been determined.
A couple of similar situations have come up over the years:
1) the parcel on Cemetery Rd where Life Community Church sits now and has for 20 years of more, was before a Sutherlands home improvement center. LCC wanted to build a church on the parcel, and also to have the parcel declared exempt from property tax. The Mayor and Council opposed this use for a parcel on the main thoroughfare of the city. As I recall, there was vocal community support for LCC, leading the Mayor and Council to relent. Today that parcel is indeed property tax exempt;
2) Tree of Life industries similarly wanted to buy the former Henderson Rd headquarters of CompuServe to make it a religious school, but was told by the leadership of the City of UA that a rezoning to property tax exempt status would not be approved, and that ToL should seek another site. ToL disregarded this advice and purchased the property anyway. When UA refused to change the zoning, ToL began litigation which dragged on for years. ToL brought in a number of commercial tenants, and paid taxes, but eventually gave up on making the property into a school. It has since been sold to GOSH, which operates Charlie's Cheesesteaks and Bibibop, who has made it their headquarters.
3) Cardinal Healthcare would like to sell one of their two headquarters buildings on Emerald Pkwy to Dublin City Schools, which would also make this top class commercial office building a property tax exempt parcel. The City of Dublin opposes this.
City governments are dependent on income tax revenue to fund operations, and Class A office building capable of housing lots of high paying jobs is not something they want to see slip through their fingers. And it should also be noted that the property tax revenue from these parcels are important to the school district as well as the township (which provides fire/EMS protection).
So the City Council has a tough decision: let a high value commercial revenue generator become one that generates much less, or take the political heat, and litigation costs, for denying a request by a large and important religious community.
This situation could have been avoided had Noor/BPH worked out the rezoning stuff with the CIty prior to purchasing the property. No commercial developer would put themselves in this position, and would typically require the seller to get the necessary zoning before closing on the purchase.
But they didn't. So a solution has to be worked out with Noor/BPH already holding title.
Maybe the best solution is for the two parties to sit down and develop an economic development agreement that provides income/property tax revenue to the three primary local governments (city, schools, township), and also allows Noor/BPH to use the building in the way they planned.
Fascinating story and very solid reporting. Thanks!