Explanation
Council Variance Application: CV10-014
APPLICANT: The Pagura Company; c/o Donald Plank, Plank Law Firm; 145 East Rich Street, 3rd Floor; Columbus, OH 43215.
PROPOSED USE: Office/service/warehouse building and outside storage of materials.
CITY DEPARTMENTS' RECOMMENDATION: Approval. The 2.7 ± acre site has been used as a gas regulator station since 1956. In 1956, the facility, called a "town border station" consisted of gas regulators, measurement and testing devices and structures to house the regulators and testing equipment. The property was annexed to the City of Columbus in 1964 and zoned R-1, Residential District. In 1972, Columbia Gas obtained a Special Permit (SP72-089) from the Board of Zoning Adjustment (BZA) to construct a customer service crew building on the property. The property was rezoned to the I, Institutional District in 1981 (Z81-039), and BZA application 01311-00005 was approved July 24, 2001 which granted variances to driveway width, surface requirements, and a Special Permit (SP) for a portable building. Outside storage of materials and vehicles including but not limited to motor vehicles, dump trucks, construction equipment, excavation equipment, and associated trailers, are all activities and site functions that have occurred for many years on the property. Large areas of the site have had and will continue to have a gravel surface. Columbia Gas proposes to build a 5,000 square foot single story building, located as depicted on the submitted site plan. The proposed building will be used as a service facility for training of field employees, to maintain construction equipment/vehicles, and administrative support functions of this Columbia Gas facility. A Council Variance is necessary because, although the I District allows the gas regulator station use, it does not allow the proposed accessory uses including storage, equipment and vehicle maintenance, and general office/training/support. Approval of this...
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