Explanation
Rezoning Application: Z24-006
APPLICANT: OhioHealth Corporation; c/o Matthew E. Moberg, Atty.; Porter Wright; 41 South High Street, Suites 2800-3100; Columbus, OH 43215.
PROPOSED USE: Commercial development and parking lot.
DEVELOPMENT COMMISSION RECOMMENDATION: Approval (5-0) on October 10, 2024.
CITY DEPARTMENTS' RECOMMENDATION: Approval. The site consists of one parcel developed with part of the Riverside Methodist Hospital Campus in the I, Institutional District and L-I, Limited Institutional District. The requested CPD, Commercial Planned Development District will allow expanded commercial uses, including a parking lot, in association with the Riverside Methodist Hospital campus. The CPD text includes use restrictions and supplemental development standards that address building height and setbacks, vehicular access, parking arrangements, landscaping and screening, and graphics, and also includes a commitment to develop the site in accordance with the submitted site plan. Code modifications to building and parking setbacks and required parking are included in the text. The proposed CPD district will allows uses that are consistent with the Olentangy West Area Plan’s (2013) recommendation for “Institutional” land uses at this location, and will not add incompatible uses to the area.
Title
To rezone 550 THOMAS LN. (43214), being 7.22± acres located at the northwest corner of Olentangy River Road and Thomas Lane, From: I, Institutional District and L-I, Limited Institutional District, To: CPD, Commercial Planned Development District (Rezoning #Z24-006).
Body
WHEREAS, application #Z24-006 is on file with the Department of Building and Zoning Services requesting rezoning of 7.22± acres from I, Institutional District and L-I, Limited Institutional District, to CPD, Commercial Planned Development District; and
WHEREAS, the Development Commission recommends approval of said zoning change; and
WHEREAS, the City Departments recommend approval of said zoning change because the requested CPD, Commercial Planned Development District will allow limited commercial uses, including hospital-related uses and structured parking, in association with the Riverside Methodist Hospital Campus; now, therefore:
BE IT ORDAINED BY THE COUNCIL OF THE CITY OF COLUMBUS:
SECTION 1. That the Official Zoning Map of the City of Columbus, as adopted by Ordinance No. 0179 -03, passed February 24, 2003, and as subsequently amended, is hereby revised by changing the zoning of the property as follows:
550 THOMAS LN. (43214), being 7.22± acres located at the northwest corner of Olentangy River Road and Thomas Lane, and being more particularly described as follows:
Situated in the State of Ohio, County of Franklin, City of Columbus, lying in Quarter Township 2, Township 1, Range 18, United States Military District, Lot 12 of Rathbone Section, of record in Deed Book 15, Page 256 1/2, and being part of that 6.369 acre tract conveyed to Riverside Methodist Hospital, Inc. N.K.A Riverside United Methodist Hospital by deeds of record in Deed Book 3766, Page 609 and Official Record 12228H17, all of the remainder of that 0.107 acre tract conveyed to Riverside United Methodist Hospital by deed of record in Official Record 15572G06, and all of the remainder of that 1.2622 conveyed to Riverside United Methodist Hospital by deed of record in Official Record 15081E20, (all references are to the records of the Recorder’s Office, Franklin County, Ohio) and being more particularly described as follows:
BEGINNING at a point in the northerly right-of-way line of Thomas Lane, at the common corner of the remainder of said 6.369 acre tract and that 0.172 acre tract conveyed as Parcel Number 12-WD to City of Columbus, Ohio by deed of record in Instrument Number 201112190165111, in the easterly line of that subdivision titled “Thomas Lane Addition”, of record in Plat Book 27, Page 46;
Thence North 01° 10' 56" East, with the easterly line of said “Thomas Lane Addition”, a distance of 482.14 feet to the southwesterly corner of that 2 acre tract conveyed to Hospital Properties, Inc. by deed of record in Official Record 10784D12;
Thence South 86° 04' 58" East, with the southerly line of said 2 acre tract, a distance of
629.97 feet to a point in the centerline of Olentangy River Road;
Thence South 11° 36' 51" East, with said centerline, a distance of 363.05 feet to the northeasterly corner of that 0.328 acre tract conveyed as Parcel No. 1 WD to City of Columbus, Ohio by deed of record in Instrument Number 201809200127445;
Thence North 87° 48' 59" West, with the northerly line of said 0.328 acre tract, a distance of 87.53 feet to a point in the westerly right-of-way line, of said Olentangy River Road;
Thence South 11° 36' 51" East, with said westerly right-of-way line, a distance of 76.67 feet to the intersection of said westerly right-of-way line with the northerly right-of-way line of Thomas Lane;
Thence with said northerly right-of-way line, the following courses and distances: South 56° 17' 48" West, a distance of 39.61 feet to a point;
South 87° 45' 46" West, a distance of 113.52 feet to a point;
South 48° 12' 17" West, a distance of 8.40 feet to a point;
North 86° 11' 29" West, a distance of 53.38 feet to a point; North 89° 51' 29" West, a distance of 187.64 feet to a point; and
North 86° 11' 29" West, a distance of 246.50 feet to the POINT OF BEGINNING, containing 7.22 acres, more or less.
Parcel Number: 010-103227, 010-103581, 010-103659, 010-103648, 010-103609, 010-103190, & 010-218200
Property Address: 550 Thomas Lane, Columbus, OH 43214
To Rezone From: I, Institutional District and L-I, Limited Institutional District,
To: CPD, Commercial Planned Development District.
SECTION 2. That a Height District of one-hundred and ten (110) feet is hereby established on the CPD, Commercial Planned Development District.
SECTION 3. That the Director of the Department of Building and Zoning Services be, and is hereby authorized and directed to make the said change on the said original zoning map and shall register a copy of the approved CPD, Commercial Planned Development District and Application among the records of the Department of Building and Zoning Services as required by Section 3311.12 of the Columbus City Codes; said plan being titled, “SITE PLAN,” dated April 4, 2025, and text titled, “DEVELOPMENT TEXT,” dated March 5, 2025, signed by Matthew Moberg, Attorney for the Applicant, and the text reading as follows:
DEVELOPMENT TEXT
EXISTING ZONING: I, Institutional and LI, Limited Institutional
PROPOSED DISTRICT: CPD, Commercial Planned Development District
PROPERTY ADDRESS: 500 Thomas Lane
ACREAGE: +/-7.22 acres
PARCEL: 010-103190-00
OWNERS: RIVERSIDE METHODIST HOSPITAL INC and RIVERSIDE UNITED METHODIST HOSPITAL INC.
APPLICANT: OHIOHEALTH CORPORATION
DATE OF TEXT: 3/5/2025
APPLICATION NUMBER: Z24-006
I. INTRODUCTION: The property consists of approximately 7.22+/- acres (the "Subject Property") and includes 6 tracts consolidated into one tax parcel zoned as LI - Limited Institutional. The site plan entitled “HR Parking Lot 550 Thomas Lane Site Plan Exhibit,” signed by EMH&T and dated 3/4/2025,” is incorporated into this zoning for the purposes of schematically showing the Subject Property, the parking and building setbacks and the height districts.
II. PERMITTED USES:
All uses permitted by Columbus City Codes Sections 3351.03, 3353.03, 3355.03, and 3356.03, all office use, hotel use, food service, parking lots and garages and all other uses listed in the Columbus City Codes as being permitted in the C-4 zoning district, subject to the following:
A. Each use permitted by this Section II must be a medical- or health-related use or a use oriented primarily toward providing for the convenience or comfort of the staff or clientele of the uses permitted above, including but not limited to administrative and other support functions.
B. Each use which is accessory to a principal use, building or structure may be located off of the parcel(s) on which such principle use, building or structure is located.
III. DEVELOPMENT STANDARDS: Development Standards for HR Parking Lot 550 Thomas Lane: All development shall be in accordance with the C-4 development standards, chapter 3312 off-street parking and loading, and chapter 3321 general site development standards, except as listed below:
A. Density, Height, Lot and/or Setback commitments:
From Thomas Lane, the minimum building setback shall be twenty (20) feet with a maximum of fifty (50) feet and the minimum parking setbacks shall be ten (10) feet with a maximum of forty (40) feet. From Olentangy River Road, the minimum building setback shall be fifty (50) feet, the minimum parking setback shall be ten (10) feet, subject to the provisions of H.1. and H.2. below.
B. Access, Loading, Parking and/or other Traffic related commitments.
1. The Subject Property shall not be subject to maximum parking requirements set forth in Section 3312.49.
2. Off-street parking spaces located on the Subject Property may support adjacent development with the Riverside Methodist Hospital Campus.
3. Subject to the approval of the Department of Public Service, signage may be installed at all parking lot / garage driveways that cross sidewalks to warn drivers of pedestrians or warn pedestrians of cars.
C. Buffering, Landscaping, Open Space and/or Screening commitments.
1. Internal parking lot landscaping for each parking lot may be located at the perimeter of that parking lot. No internal parking lot landscaping shall be required for parking located in or on any parking structure.
2. Each loading space shall be screened to a minimum of seven (7) feet in height, with such screening being so designed as to interrupt vision into such loading space from adjacent Streets and adjacent private properties which are not part of the Subject Property.
3. Reasonable effort will be made to preserve the existing trees and/or plant replacement trees to maintain the existing western property boundary buffer.
D. Building, Design and/or Interior-Exterior Treatment Commitments:
N/A
E. Dumpsters, Lighting, Outdoor Areas and/or Other Environmental Commitments:
N/A
F. Graphic and Signage Commitments:
Graphics on the Site will comply with the Graphics Code, Article 15, Title 33 of the Columbus City Code as it applies to the C-3 Commercial District. Variances to the sign requirements shall be submitted to the Columbus Graphics Commission or master graphic plan for the Site may be submitted to the Columbus Graphics Commission for consideration.
G. Miscellaneous Commitments:
A development plan titled “HR Parking Lot 550 Thomas Lane Site Plan Exhibit,” signed by EMH&T and dated 3/4/2025, showing lot lines, setbacks, and access is submitted with this text. The CPD Site Plan may be adjusted to reflect engineering, topographical or other site data and changes developed at the time of development and engineering plans for all or a portion of the Site affected by said development. Any such adjustment may be reviewed and approved by the Director of the Department of Building and Zoning Services or his/her designee upon submission of the appropriate information regarding the adjustment.
H. Modification of Code Standards: The foregoing development standards for HR Parking Lot 550 Thomas Lane effect the following Code Modifications; provided, however, that the foregoing development standards shall control over the listing of Code Modifications below, and the failure to describe below any Code Modifications effected by the foregoing development standards shall not invalidate those standards:
1. Parking setback Code 3312.27 modified from a minimum of 10 feet to 0 feet on the South lot line, adjacent to Thomas Lane to accommodate the existing Bing Cancer Center drop-off and modified from a minimum of 50 feet to 40 feet on the West lot line to accommodate the existing parking lot.
2. Building setback Code 3356.11 modified from 20 feet on the South Lot line, adjacent to Thomas Lane, to 12.97 feet to accommodate the existing improvements.
3. Code Modification from Section 3312.47 and 3312.49 to permit the required number of off-street parking spaces to be the number determined in accordance with H.4. below and to permit the required off-street parking for each use to be located off of the parcel on which that use is located, subject to the provisions of H.4. below.
4. Parking Requirements:
a. Parking standards will meet requirements of Columbus ordinance 3312.49, as they pertain to hospital and medical offices.
b. For the purpose of determining the number of parking spaces available on the Subject Property during the construction of any improvement on any portion of the Subject Property, the number of parking spaces located on that portion immediately before the commencement of construction of that improvement shall not be deemed to have been removed from that portion of the Subject Property until completion of that improvement.
c. Off-street parking spaces required for any use may be located off of the parcel on which that use is located so long as such parking spaces are located on the Subject Property, Riverside Methodist Hospital Main Campus and any other off-site parking serving Riverside Methodist Hospital.
I. CPD Criteria.
1. Natural environment: The Subject Property is essentially flat and contains no wetlands or streams. The only vegetation is street trees and landscaping which have been provided in connection with the existing development of the property. Storm water drainage for all of the property is provided by existing City storm sewers.
2. Existing land uses: The Subject Property is developed with a number of buildings and parking facilities used by Riverside Methodist Hospital and related medical research facilities, medical offices, parking and other facilities.
3. Transportation and circulation facilities: The Subject Property is located at the corner of Olentangy River Road and Thomas Lane. Olentangy River Road has bus stops at or near the Subject Property. Visual form of the environment: The property is currently developed with medical office buildings and surface lot parking. The new design removes one existing structure and adjacent surface parking lot to add an additional surface parking lot on only the southeast portion of the Property.
4. View and visibility: Visibility at intersections of public streets shall include the 10 foot clear vision triangle.
5. Proposed development: The Subject Property will be developed with a combination of the following: a hospital and related facilities; facilities for medical and health-related uses; and parking.
6. Behavior patterns: The principal use of the Subject Property is a hospital and related support uses, including medical offices and parking. The hospital operates 24-hours a day seven days a week, although the more intensive activity is during the daytime. The other medical practices operate primarily during normal business hours. The hospital staff utilizes private vehicles for transportation to and from the Subject Property. Most of the patients utilize private vehicles for transportation to and from the Subject Property, and it is assumed that some small percentage utilize public transportation.
7. Emissions: Light emitted from the Subject Property is currently and will be directed down by virtue of cut-off (downlighting) fixtures, except that some pedestrian lighting, accent lighting and lighting for signs is not cut-off lighting. The principal sound emissions will be: the sound of motor vehicles being operated by both employees and visitors to the Subject Property; the sound of HVAC equipment; the occasional sounds of emergency generator use and the intermittent sounds of emergency helicopters and emergency vehicles. Types and levels of sound emissions from the Subject Property are anticipated to continue to be consistent with the current sound emissions existing on the Subject Property. There currently is, and it is anticipated that there will be, negligible dust (except such dust as is typically generated by demolition and construction projects in which all dust control measures required by law are employed) and odor emissions from the Subject Property.
SECTION 4. That this ordinance shall take effect and be in force from and after the earliest period allowed by law.