Explanation
Council Variance Application: CV24-102
APPLICANT: Riewald Development, c/o Michael Shannon, Atty.; 8000 Walton Parkway, Suite 260, New Albany, OH 43054.
PROPOSED USE: Mixed-use development.
COLUMBUS SOUTH SIDE AREA COMMISSION RECOMMENDATION: Approval.
CITY DEPARTMENTS' RECOMMENDATION: Approval. The 0.90± acre site consists of one parcel developed with commercial uses in the UCT, Urban Center District. Because the applicant filed a site compliance plan prior to the effective date of the UCT district, the project is being considered under the former C-4, Commercial District. The site is also subject to the former Parsons Avenue Urban Commercial Overlay (UCO). Staff supports the project being reviewed under the former C-4 district because it had been designed well before the UCT district design standards had been made available to the general public. The requested Council variance will allow a new mixed use development with 2,108 square feet of commercial space and 86 dwelling units. A Council variance is required because the C-4, Commercial District does not allow ground floor residential uses. Variances to parking spaces, required parking, building setbacks, building design elements, and landscaping and screening are also included in this request. The Near Southside Plan (2011) recommends “Mixed Use (Neighborhood)” land uses at this location, which encourages residential and commercial uses along main roads with densities up to 28 dwelling units per acre. Staff supports the proposal because, although the proposed density exceeds the Plan recommendation, Columbus Citywide Planning Policies (C2P2) Design Guidelines consider support for such proposals if they exhibit a high level of design. Staff finds the building elevations and materials consistent with C2P2 guidelines with regards to transparency, entrances and balconies contributing to street activity, and building height transitions, as well as articulation and landscaping to screen areas where blank would otherwise exist. Staff also finds that the development will further the City’s goal to provide more housing units in all areas of the city.
Title
To grant a Variance from the provisions of 3356.03, C-4 permitted uses; 3312.29, Parking space; 3312.49, Required parking; 3312.56, Electric vehicle parking administrative requirements; 3372.604, Setback requirements; 3372.605(C)(D), Building design standards; and 3372.607, Landscaping and screening, of the Columbus City Codes; for the property located at 870 PARSONS AVE. (43206), to allow mixed-use development with reduced development standards in the C-4, Commercial District.
Body
WHEREAS, by application #CV24-102, the owner of property at 870 PARSONS AVE. (43206), is requesting a Council variance to allow mixed-use development with reduced development standards in the C-4, Commercial District; and
WHEREAS, Section 3356.03, C-4 permitted uses, allows apartment uses above certain commercial uses, but does not allow first-floor residential uses, while the applicant proposes first-floor residential and accessory uses within a mixed-use development; and
WHEREAS, Section 3312.29, Parking space, requires that a parking space shall be a rectangular area of not less than nine feet wide by 18 feet deep, while the applicant proposes a reduced width of 8.5 feet to accommodate structural components of the parking garage; and
WHEREAS, Section 3312.49(C), Required parking, requires 1.5 parking spaces per dwelling unit, 1 parking space per 75 square feet of eating and drinking establishment space, and 1 parking space per 150 square feet of outdoor eating and drinking establishment space, or 155 spaces with the Urban Commercial Overlay reduction as permitted in 3372.609(B)(1) for 86 dwelling units, 2,108 square feet of eating and drinking establishment space, and 680 square feet of outdoor eating and drinking establishment space or a total of, while the applicant proposes to provide a total of 78 spaces; and
WHEREAS, Section 3312.56.D.2, Electric vehicle parking administrative requirements, does not allow charging devices be placed within the dimensions of a parking space, while the applicant proposes charging devices be located within the dimensions of a parking space, subject to the approval of the Division of Traffic Management; and
WHEREAS, Section 3372.604(B), Setback requirements, requires a minimum parking setback of five feet, while the applicant requests a reduced parking setback of zero feet; and
WHEREAS, Section 3372.605(C), Building design standards, requires a minimum vertical element of 15 feet and a maximum vertical element of 35 feet, while the applicant proposes a minimum vertical element of ten feet and a maximum vertical element of 70 feet; and
WHEREAS, Section 3372.605(D), Building design standards, requires 60 percent of the area between the height of two feet and ten feet above the sidewalk of a primary building frontage be clear/non-tinted window glass permitting a view of the building’s interior to a depth of four feet, and continuing for the first ten feet of a secondary building frontage, while the applicant proposes zero percent window glass along a secondary frontage; and
WHEREAS, Section 3372.607, Landscaping and screening, requires parking lot screening comprised of a four-foot high solid masonry or stone wall, or a four-foot high metal tube or solid metal bar fence located at the street right-of-way line (property line), with or without masonry pier supports, with a minimum three-foot wide landscaped area along either side of the fence, while the applicant proposes an increased maximum fencing and screening height of six feet, to allow fencing and screening materials to be made of aluminum panel, and to waive the requirement for a three-foot landscaped area; and
WHEREAS, the Columbus South Side Area Commission recommends approval, and
WHEREAS, the City Departments recommend approval because the requested variances will allow mixed-use development that is consistent with infill developments in urban neighborhoods, and citywide initiatives to provide more housing units in all areas of the city; and
WHEREAS, this ordinance requires separate submission for all applicable permits and Certificates of Occupancy for the proposed development; and
WHEREAS, said variance will not adversely affect the surrounding property or surrounding neighborhood; 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 870 PARSONS AVE. (43206), 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 3356.03, C-4 permitted uses; 3312.29, Parking space; 3312.49, Required parking; 3312.56, Electric vehicle parking administrative requirements; 3372.604, Setback requirements; 3372.605(C)(D), Building design standards; and 3372.607, Landscaping and screening, of the Columbus City Codes; is hereby granted for the property located at 870 PARSONS AVE. (43206), insofar as said sections prohibit ground floor residential uses as part of a mixed-use development in the C-4, Commercial District; reduced parking space width from 9 to 8.5 feet; a reduction in the required number of parking spaces from 155 to 78 spaces; electric vehicle charging devices located within the dimension of a parking space, as approved by the Division of Traffic Management; a reduced parking setback from five to zero feet; a reduced minimum vertical element interval from 15 to ten feet and an increased maximum vertical element interval from 35 to 70 feet; a reduced minimum percentage of window glass along a secondary frontage from 60 to zero percent; an increased maximum fence and screening height of six feet with use of aluminum as a fencing and screening material; and to waive the requirement for a three-foot landscaped area; said property being more particularly described as follows:
870 PARSONS AVE. (43206), being 0.9± acres located at the northeast corner of Parsons Avenue and East Kossuth Avenue, and being more particularly described as follows:
DESCRIPTION OF 0.897 ACRE
EAST OF PARSONS AVENUE
NORTH OF KOSSUTH STREET
CITY OF COLUMBUS, OHIO
Situated in the State of Ohio, County of Franklin, City of Columbus, Section 22, Township 5, Range 22, Refugee Lands, being all that land as described in a deed to Parsons Development TH LLC, of record in Instrument Number 202309200097864, Recorder’s Office, Franklin County, Ohio, and being more particularly described as follows:
Beginning at the intersection of the easterly right-of-way line of Parsons Avenue, 60 feet in width, with the northerly right-of-way line of Kossuth Street, 50 feet in width;
Thence North 3°42’22” East, along said easterly right-of-way line, a distance of 279.00 feet to the intersection of the southerly right-of-way line of Columbus Street, 30 feet in width;
Thence South 86°05’29” East, along said southerly right-of-way line, a distance of 140.00 feet to the intersection of the westerly right-of-way line of Lisle Alley, 20 feet in width;
Thence South 3°42’22” West, along said westerly right-of-way line, a distance of 279.04 feet to the intersection of the northerly right-of-way line of Kossuth Street;
Thence North 86°04’38” West, along said northerly right-of-way line, a distance of 140.00 feet to the place of beginning and containing 0.897 acre of land.
Bearings herein are based of GPS observations utilizing the Ohio State Plane Coordinate System, South Zone, NAD 83 (2011).
This description was prepared by Arcadis Group Survey, based on
information obtained from an actual field survey of the premises performed in
June 2023.
SECTION 2. That this ordinance is further conditioned on the subject site being developed in general conformance with the plans titled, "PARSONS & KOSSUTH APARTMENTS ZONING PLAN," and "PARSONS & KOSSUTH APARTMENTS LANDSCAPE PLANTING PLAN," and elevations titled, "PARSONS AVE. APARTMENTS ELEVATIONS," and "PARSONS AVE. APARTMENTS ELEVATIONS - VERTICAL ELEMENTS," all dated September 25, 2024, and signed by Eric Zartman, 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 adjustment to the plans shall be reviewed and may be approved by the Director of the Department of Building and Zoning Services, or a designee, upon submission of the appropriate data regarding the proposed adjustment.
SECTION 3. That this ordinance is further conditioned on the applicant obtaining all applicable permits and a Certificate of Occupancy for the proposed development.
SECTION 4. That this ordinance shall take effect and be in force from and after the earliest period allowed by law.