Explanation
Council Variance Application: CV09-002
APPLICANT: National Church Residences; c/o Robert A. Meyer, Jr., Attorney; 41 South High Street; Columbus, Ohio 43215.
PROPOSED USE: Multi-family residential development.
CITY DEPARTMENTS' RECOMMENDATION: Approval. The site is undeveloped and is zoned in the C-2, Commercial District. The applicant requests a Council variance to allow a 100-unit supportive housing facility which will be constructed in two phases. The C-2, Commercial District allows dwelling units only when located above the permitted uses in the district. The site is bordered by multi-family residential development to the east, an adult daycare center to the northwest, and single-family residential development to the south and west. The applicant is committing to a site plan which incorporates buffering, screening, and landscaping in consideration of the surrounding residential uses. The site is located within the planning area of the draft Livingston East Area Plan, which recommends mixed use development for the site, including multi-family residential development. Additional variances to reduce required parking from 200 spaces to 65 spaces and a building height increase from 35 to 45 feet are included in the request. The proposal is consistent with established development patterns and with the land use recommendations of the draft Plan.
Title
To grant a Variance from the provisions of Sections 3353.03, C-2, Permitted uses; 3309.14, Height districts; and 3342.28, Minimum number of parking spaces required, of the Columbus City Codes; for the property located at 3349 EAST LIVINGSTON AVENUE (43227), to permit multi-family residential development with increased building height and a reduction in required parking spaces in the C-2, Commercial District and to declare an emergency (Council Variance # CV09-002).
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WHEREAS, by application No. CV09-002, the owner of property at 3349 EAST LIVINGSTON AVENUE (43227), is requesting a Council Variance to permit a multi-family residential development with increased building height and a reduction in required parking spaces in the C-2, Commercial District; and
WHEREAS, Section 3353.03, C-2, Permitted uses, does not permit ground floor residential uses or off-site parking, while the applicant proposes a 100-unit apartment building with units located on the ground floor; and
WHEREAS, an emergency exists in the usual daily operation in the City of Columbus in that it is immediately necessary to pass this ordinance due to the need to complete its application for funding approval by the Ohio Housing Finance Agency for the immediate preservation of the public peace, property, health and safety; and
WHEREAS, Section 3309.14, Height districts, requires the maximum height of a building or structure in the thirty-five (35) foot height district not to exceed thirty-five (35) feet, while the applicant proposes a forty-five (45) foot height for the new building; and
WHEREAS, Section 3342.28, Minimum number of parking spaces required, requires two (2) parking spaces per residential unit, or 200 spaces, while the applicant proposes a total of sixty-five (65) parking spaces, a reduction of one hundred thirty-five (135) required spaces; and
WHEREAS, the Columbus Public Health Healthy Places program reviews applications for active living features and recognizes this development has residential sidewalks that are 5 feet to increase walkability; centrally located bike racks for employees or visitors that ride their bike by choice or because of limited alternatives; texturized sidewalks at points where cars cross the sidewalk to alert drivers of pedestrian traffic and pedestrian connections to adjacent uses and the public sidewalk; and
WHEREAS, City Departments recommend approval because the proposed 100-unit apartment building is consistent and compatible with the zoning and development patterns of the area, and the land use recommendations of the draft Livingston East Area Plan; and
WHEREAS, said variance will not adversely affect the surrounding property or surrounding neighborhood; and
WHEREAS, said ordinance requires separate submission for all applicable permits and Certificate of Occupancy for the proposed use; and
WHEREAS, the granting of said variance will not impair an adequate supply of light and air to adjacent properties or unreasonably increase the congestion of public streets, or unreasonably diminish or impair established property values within the surrounding area, or otherwise impair the public health, safety, comfort, morals, or welfare of the inhabitants of the City of Columbus; and
WHEREAS, the granting of said variance will alleviate the difficulties encountered by the owners of the property located at 3349 EAST LIVINGSTON AVENUE (43227), in using said property as desired; now, therefore:
BE IT ORDAINED BY THE COUNCIL OF THE CITY OF COLUMBUS:
SECTION 1. That a variance from the provisions of Sections 3353.03, C-2, Permitted uses; 3309.14, Height districts; and 3342.28, Minimum number of parking spaces required, of the Columbus City Codes; is hereby granted for the property located at 3349 EAST LIVINGSTON AVENUE (43227), insofar as said sections prohibit a 100-unit apartment building with an increased building height of forty-five (45) feet and a parking space reduction from 200 required spaces to 65 space; said property being more particularly described as follows:
3349 EAST LIVINGSTON AVENUE (43227), being 3.1± acres located on the south side of East Livingston Avenue, 132± feet east of Barnett Road, and being more particularly described as follows:
Being situated in the State of Ohio, County of Franklin, City of Columbus, being part of the Northeast Quarter of Section 19, Township 12, Range 21, Refugee Lands, and being part of the original 6.00 acre tract conveyed to Grant Hospital by Deed of Record in Deed Book 3273, Page 279, Recorder's Office, Franklin County, Ohio, and being more particularly described as follows:
Commencing at a point in the centerline of Livingston Avenue, which said point bears South 89° 59' West, a distance of 181.94 feet, from the centerline intersection of Barnett Road (60.0 feet wide) and said Livingston Avenue, as the said intersection is shown in the platted subdivision known as Liv-Moor Heights No. 3, of Record in Plat Book 28, Pages 36 and 37, Recorder's Office, Franklin County, Ohio, (the intersection of the centerline of said Barnett Road and Livingston Avenue also represents the northeast corner of Northeast Quarter Section 19, and the northwest corner of Northwest Quarter Section 20), said point being the northeast corner of the original 6.00 acre tract;
Thence South 00° 15' 45" West, along part of the east line of the south 6.00 acre tract, a distance of 40.00 feet to an iron pin, said pin being in the south right-of-way line of East Livingston Avenue and being the southeast corner of the City of Columbus 0.069 acre tract as recorded in Deed Book 2332, Page 173, and the true point of beginning of this description;
Thence South 00° 15' 45" West, continuing along the east line of the said 6.00 acre tract, and along the west line of Reserve "A" and Lots 1 to 10 inclusive of Liv-Moor Heights No. 3 of Record in Plat Book 28, Page 36, a distance of 831.20 feet to an iron pin, said pin being the southeast corner of this said original 6.00 acre tract;
Thence South 89° 59' West, along the south line of said 6.00 acre tract and along the north line of Lots 12, 13, 14 and 15 of said Liv-Moor Heights No. 3, a distance of 300.00 feet to an iron pin, said pin being the southwest corner of the said original 6.00 acre tract;
Thence North 00° 15' 45" East, along the west line of the said 6.00 acre tract and along part of the east line of Liv-Moor Heights subdivision as recorded in Plat Book 26, Page 49, a distance of 388.94 feet to an iron pin;
Thence South 89° 24' 42" East, across the said 6.00 acre tract, a distance of 259.50 feet to an iron pin, said pin being in line 40.50 feet west of and parallel with the east line of the said 6.00 acre tract;
Thence North 00° 15' 45" East, across the said 6.00 acre tract, along a line 40.50 feet west of and parallel with the east line of the said 6.00 acre tract, a distance of 365.00 feet to an iron pin;
Thence North 06° 30' 49" West, across the said 6.00 acre tract, a distance of 80.52 feet to an iron pin in the south right-of-way line of Livingston Avenue (said line being 40.0 feet south of and parallel with the centerline of Livingston Avenue), said pin also being in the south line of the said City of Columbus 0.069 acre tract;
Thence North 89° 59' 00" East, along the said south right-of-way line of Livingston Avenue and the south line of the said City of Columbus 0.069 acre tract, a distance of 50.0 feet to the place of beginning, containing 3.090 acres of land.
SECTION 2. That this ordinance is conditioned on and shall remain in effect only for so long as said property is used for a multi-family residential development not to exceed 100 units, or those uses permitted in the C-2, Commercial District.
SECTION 3. That this ordinance is further conditioned on the Subject Site being developed in general conformance with the plans titled, "PROPOSED SITE PLAN," and "ENLARGED PROPOSED ENTRY PLAN," drawn by Berardi Partners, dated April 24, 2009, and signed by Robert A. Meyer, Attorney for the Applicant. The plans may be slightly adjusted to reflect engineering, topographical, or other site data developed at the time of the development and when engineering and architectural drawings are completed. Any slight adjustments to the plans shall be subject to review and approval by the Director of the Department of Development, or his designee, upon submission of the appropriate data regarding the proposed adjustment.
SECTION 4. That this ordinance is further conditioned on the applicant obtaining all applicable permits and a Certificate of Occupancy for the proposed use.
SECTION 5. That this ordinance is further conditioned on the applicant dedicating sixty feet of right-of-way from the center line of East Livingston Avenue at the time of site plan review.
SECTION 6. That this ordinance shall take effect and be in force from and after the earliest period allowed by law. That for the reasons stated in the preamble hereto, which is hereby made a part hereof, this ordinance is hereby declared to be an emergency measure and shall take effect and be in force from and after its passage and approval by the Mayor or 10 days after its passage if the Mayor neither approves nor vetoes the same.