Explanation
Council Variance Application: CV21-151
APPLICANT: Woda Cooper Companies; c/o Dave Perry, Agent; David Perry Company, Inc.; 411 East Town Street, 1st Floor; Columbus, OH 43215, and Donald Plank, Atty.; Plank Law Firm; 411 East Town Street, 2nd Floor; Columbus, OH 43215.
PROPOSED USE: Mixed-use development.
LIVINGSTON AVENUE AREA COMMISSION RECOMMENDATION: Approval.
CITY DEPARTMENTS' RECOMMENDATION: Approval. The site consists of one parcel developed with a 54,269± square foot warehouse and is zoned in the M, Manufacturing District. The requested Council variance will permit a mixed-use development containing up to 124 apartment units and 5,500 square feet of commercial space. A Council variance is necessary because multi-unit residential uses are not permitted in the M, Manufacturing District. The request also includes variances to increase the building height from 35 feet to 46 feet, to reduce the number of parking spaces from 227 to 160, and to reduce the East Livingston Avenue and Rhoads Avenue building lines. This proposed development will be subject to a competitive funding process with the Ohio Housing Finance Agency which requires certain land attributes including compliant zoning. The Council variance process is supported to assist in this state funding application process as Rezoning Application #Z22-042, a request for the AR-2, Apartment Residential District, has been filed and is in the formal review process. The site is within the planning boundaries of the Near Southside Plan (2011), which recommends ”employment center” land uses at this location, and includes the adoption of the Columbus Citywide Planning Policies (C2P2) Design Guidelines (2018). Planning Division staff is supportive of the proposal as the inclusion of a commercial component is compatible with the prevalent mixed-use development pattern along Livingston Avenue. Staff has also reviewed conceptual building elevations to confirm consistency with the Plan’s and C...
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