Explanation
Council Variance Application # CV13-023
APPLICANT: Columbus Metropolitan Library; c/o Christopher N. Slagle, Atty.; Bricker & Eckler; 100 South Third Street; Columbus, OH 43215.
PROPOSED USE: Public library and parking lot.
LIVINGSTON AVENUE AREA COMMISSION RECOMMENDATION: Approval.
CITY DEPARTMENTS' RECOMMENDATION: Approval. The requested Council variance will allow the site to be redeveloped with a 15,000 square-foot public library and an over-flow parking lot in the C-4, Commercial and R-3, Residential Districts, respectively. The R-3 District does not permit a parking lot as a primary use, and the C-4 District property that encompasses the library building site is included to vary stacking/by-pass lane requirements, interior parking lot landscaping, vision clearance, and building setbacks. Although the C-4 District property is within the Urban Commercial Overlay (UCO), institutional uses do not qualify for the UCO setbacks which are more consistent with the established development pattern along East Livingston Avenue. The new library will replace the currently outdated, undersized Driving Park Library located at 1566 East Livingston Avenue, with a modern, energy-efficient facility that will become a long-term community asset. The Near Southside Plan (2011) recommends mixed-use neighborhood commercial/medium density residential development for this location. The Plan generally discourages commercial developments from encroaching upon residential uses beyond the alley, but this scenario may be supported in limited circumstances, provided that the project adequately addresses the following key considerations: compliance with the Urban Commercial Overlay, provision of buffering and landscaping for adjacent residential uses, minimizing impact on contributing neighborhood building stock, and avoidance of negative off-site impacts, such as noise, light, and odor. Support is also based on the proposal's consistency with other recommenda...
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