Explanation
Council Variance Application: CV22-094
APPLICANT: Turner Construction; c/o Charlie Egbert; 262 Hanover Street; Columbus, OH 43215.
PROPOSED USE: Temporary parking lot.
NEAR EAST AREA COMMISSION RECOMMENDATION: Approval.
CITY DEPARTMENTS' RECOMMENDATION: Approval. The site is zoned C-1, Commercial District, and is currently being used as a temporary parking lot as approved by Ordinance #1611-2020 (CV20-025) and Ordinance #2874-2016 (CV16-066) for the parking of personal vehicles of construction employees as construction continues at the Nationwide Children’s Hospital campus. The previously approved ordinances were conditioned on a three year expiration from the effective dates. This Council variance will permit a two-year extension of the temporary parking lot which is to expire on August 19, 2023, with a new expiration date of August 19, 2025. Variances to C-1 District uses, and requirements for setbacks, landscaping/screening, and parking lot standards are carried forward in this request. The site is subject to the East Main Street Urban Commercial Overlay and is located within the planning area of the Near East Area Plan (2005), which recommends “Higher density residential and mixed use” development along the northern half of the site. The Plan also encourages Urban Commercial Overlay (UCO) guidelines for parking lots, which includes the lot being screened from public streets with a four-foot-high decorative metal tube or solid metal bar fence and landscaping, or a masonry or stone wall. Although the Plan endorses these UCO guidelines for parking lots, Planning Staff recognizes that this parking lot is temporary in nature and is a renewal of an existing Council variance. Staff is supportive of extending the time for the temporary parking lot as it will alleviate short term parking issues created by ongoing construction projects in the area, will only be used for workers’ private vehicles and not construction equipment, and will be screened ...
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