City Council - Regular Meeting

Bye.

Regular meeting number 31 will now come to order. Please stand for the playing of the national anthem.

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Councilmember Remy, would you lead us in the pledge? This evening, Council is grateful to have Pastor T.J. Lynch from Gethsemane Lutheran Church to lead us in prayer. Pastor, welcome to Council.

Good evening, Council members, and thank you for having me this evening. If you would, please join me in prayer. Gracious and almighty God, we come before you with grateful hearts, recognizing that every good gift comes from you. We thank you for the privilege of living in this city and for those who have accepted the responsibility of public service. We ask your blessing upon the members of this council, our mayor, city employees, first responders, and all who work each day for the welfare of our community. Grant these leaders wisdom to discern what is right, courage to pursue justice even when it is difficult, humility to listen well, and compassion for every person they serve. Help them to seek not personal gain or political victory, but the flourishing of the people entrusted to their care. We also pray for the residents of Columbus. Teach us to be good neighbors, to show kindness to one another, to care for those who are vulnerable, and to work together for peace, safety, and opportunity for all. Where there's division, bring understanding. Where there's discouragement, bring hope. Where there is need, inspire generosity and faithful service. Remind us that true leadership is found not in being served, but in serving others. And may that spirit of servant leadership guide all who hold positions of authority. And may our city reflect the values of truth, integrity, mercy, and love. We ask all of this in your holy name.

Amen. Thank you, Pastor. Clerk, please call the roll.

Bankston, Barrosa de Padilla, de Acauer, Dorns, Green, Remy, Ross, Weiss, President Hardin. Any person who takes any action to obstruct or interfere with the conduct of tonight's meeting may be charged with disturbing a lawful meeting pursuant to Columbus City Code 2317.12. Any person who enters those areas of city council chambers reserved for city officials or invited guests may be charged with criminal trespass pursuant to Columbus City Code 2311.21. Thank you, Madam Clerk.

Can I get a motion to spend with the journal? Clerk, please call the roll.

Are there any additions or corrections to the journal?

Hearing none, the journal is approved. This week's communication received by the city clerk's office are listed on the agenda and will be published in the record. Are there any other communications to be written to the record?

Not at this time.

Thank you, Madam Clerk. We'll go around the dais for updates and resolutions by my colleagues, starting with Council Member Bankston.

Thank you, Council President. I do have one resolution this evening. And as I introduce Resolution 0149X-2026, I'm going to ask Director Sam Orth if he would come to the podium, our Chief Information Officer. This is to honor and recognize Sam Orth on retirement from the City of Columbus. Director Orth originally joined Mayor Ginther's administration in July 2016, bringing decades of experience in information technology government operations, education technology, and private sector innovation. Throughout his tenure with the City of Columbus, Director Orth has demonstrated exceptional leadership in advancing technology solutions, strengthening digital infrastructure, and supporting the delivery of efficient and effective city services. Director Orth's contributions have included transformative technology initiatives that have modernized city operations, improved service delivery, and positioned Columbus for continued innovation and success. Director, thank you for guiding our city with a cool head and a steady hand as we navigated one of the most complex technological advancements and challenges the city has ever faced during your tenure. You will truly be missed, but I know firsthand that you are leaving us in the hands of an incredible team at the Department of Technology. I wish you nothing but the best and hope your retirement is filled with travel, time with family, and amazing experiences. And as I said in those prepared remarks, to think about what we would go through in 2020. to turn on a dime, to shift an enterprise of 9,000 employees to virtual, which we were not set up for, and many governments weren't, then to also go through another challenging time with a cyber attack. Again, something that organizations our size are not It was not unique to us and something that we're not exempt from. But through it all, I think you handled it with grace and you stayed cool, calm, and collected even when I didn't know what the hell was going on, but you did. And so I appreciate that leadership. Before I ask you for any remarks, I'm going to ask if my colleagues have any comments before I turn it over to Director Orth. ALL RIGHT.

COUNCILMEMBER RUBIO. THANK YOU VERY MUCH, COUNCILMEMBER Director, well deserved. Thank you for your service to this city. Thank you for the work that you've put in and even some advice about which internet I should have at home. So appreciate that. But certainly we appreciate all that you've done and your contributions to our technology here. And hopefully you've got some good plans for the future. Well deserved relaxation and we appreciate all that you've done. So thank you and Yeah, we appreciate you.

President Poteau. Yeah. George Worth, congratulations. Well deserved. You know, I had the pleasure of working with you as the chair of the Technology Committee when I first came on council. It was actually a great way for me to learn so much of the functions of the city. You were so generous with your time and really helping me better understand from a technology standpoint, everything that city does, everything from, you know, literally keeping council running to our folks in public safety, uh, to our folks, you know, as, uh, council member banks had mentioned Lily during COVID talking about turning thousands of workers into virtual workers overnight. Uh, you know, that, that was such a monumental task and navigating that you've, you've done, uh, throughout your career at the city. definition of a public servant and just want to thank you for spending all these years with Columbus to help us serve our residents better. So well-deserved retirement and just appreciate the service.

All right. With that, I will turn the floor over to you, Director.

Well, good evening, President Hardin, President Pro Tem Dorrance, Chair Bankston, and members of Council. I'm calm, cool, and collected. I know if I'm gonna be able to do that tonight. My mom grew up in Clintonville. She attended North High School and taught at Indian Springs Elementary School. My grandfather and father operated our family business at Fifth and Norton in Grandview for over 60 years. In 1976, when my father's company was catastrophically damaged by a four alarm fire on my mother's birthday, It was the Columbus Division of Fire that saved what remained of the business, support that proved to be vital and pivotal in keeping the company alive that's still in business today. As you know, I've served in many government roles over the last 29 years, but in many ways, coming to work for the City of Columbus has always felt like coming home. I felt that way from the day I walked in the door, I will carry that with me, that sense of teamwork, collaboration, support as I leave public service. I've long believed that the best we can do as public servants is to leave our organizations better than we found them. There's a long list of successful initiatives, programs, and projects we could point to over the last decade. Together, we set up the city's first body-worn camera program, modernized our data centers and core infrastructure, helped replace legacy 3-1-1 payroll and income tax systems, enabled departments to adopt literally hundreds of new technology platforms, expanded the city's use of data integration analytics and visualization, supported remote government operations during COVID, and helped the city navigate to recover from a cyber attack. The scale, complexity, and importance of that work cannot be overstated. Having worked in IT for 44 years, I can tell you there's no such thing as perfect. There's highs and lows, successes and setbacks, but there's one constant that drives value in information technology. It's always been about the people. Over the course of my career, I've learned that technology changes constantly, but leadership, teamwork, integrity, trust, and commitment to service endure. Those qualities are what I've seen repeatedly throughout the city, and especially among the women and men of the Department of Technology. They are what give me confidence in its future. One of my favorite quotes is from Alfred Lord Tennant's poem, I am part of all that I have met. As I reflect on my time with this city, that quote resonates deeply because each of you has shaped my journey as a leader, colleague, and public servant. I will carry those experiences, the lessons, friendships, challenges, successes, and even failures with me long after I leave this role. I want to express my gratitude to Mayor Andrew Ginther for the opportunity to serve the residents of Columbus. and lead the Department of Technology over the last decade. I'd also like to thank three chiefs of staff. I've had the privilege to work alongside during that time, Greg Davies, Ken Paul, and Elon Sims for their leadership, partnership, support, and friendship throughout the many challenges and opportunities we face together. And I want to express my appreciation to city council, especially Chair Stenziano, Dorans, and Bankston, as well as to my many cabinet city attorney and auditor colleagues and partners across city government whose collaboration made so much of our work possible. But most importantly, I want to thank the employees of the Department of Technology, past and present, who made all of this work possible. They are and remain the little engine that can achieve many great things. Serving as a city CIO has been one of the great honors of my professional life. Thank you for your professionalism, resilience, friendship, and unwavering commitment to public service. Most importantly, thank you for the opportunity to serve alongside you and to grow with you. I wish you all peace, joy, and continued sense of purpose in your service to the residents of Columbus.

Well, thank you, Director. Again, for your service, you know, IT, especially now, sometimes is a thankless role, right? We love it when it's working well. When it's not, you're the first person we call and cuss out and point and say, what is going on? But it's an evolving world in information technology, and I think that you help guide us through that and put the city in a better footing to be able to address issues We are an evolving institution, and not just from a technological standpoint, but even processes. And having you in those conversations when we talk about things like budgeting and forecasting and how we think about the city, all of that centers now around technology. And we can't divorce the two. And I think I said this many times during what we were going through, that this is now vital infrastructure for the city. It's no longer just simply a tool. but it is critical public infrastructure that we have to protect, that we have to continue to invest in. And I think through your leadership, we have a framework that will help guide us there. Now, the rest of the team, you gave them the hard work to finish it. Now, you didn't give them the framework, but they got to finish the work. But I think you have an amazing team and really looking forward to what they will do. But more importantly, thankful to you, and hopefully you get some rest and relaxation. I'm going to say this, and I'm not saying it out of confidence. The director expressed to me he has not left the United States from a travel standpoint. So we want you to go travel with your wife and have a great time. Where are you going? You told me, where's the first place you're traveling to?

Probably Great Britain, where my mom's family's from. My dad's family's from Germany. But I'm probably going to start in Great Britain.

Well, we wish you all the great travels. I look forward to looking at all of the pictures and watching you as you sell off into retirement. Any other final comments before? All right. With that, I move for adoption on Resolution 0128X-2026.

As chair of the Finance Committee, I thought he was going to say, and you have a paid trip to somewhere. But congratulations. And, clerk, please call the view. 0149.

And I'll call the roll.

It's Bankston, Barrosa de Padilla, Dayock, Howard Dorns, Green, Remy, Ross, Weiss, President Hardin.

Adopted. Council Member Barrosa de Padilla.

Thank you, Council President. I have one very long overdue announcement today. That is happy World Cup, everyone. As of today, there are 64 games left in the World Cup. And while we tried very, very hard today, to get our guests from Ecuador, Team Ecuador, to come to council. Monday was not a good day for them. We had lots of holidays, but I have lots of Ecuadorian friends and constituents that have been calling me, so I wanted to make sure that we made the acknowledgement today. I want to officially give a shout-out to the Ecuador World Cup team. Since May 21st, Team Ecuador has called Columbus their home, or base camp, during their stay in the United States for the FIFA World Cup. On June 2nd, nearly 1,000 Ecuadorian fans came to a free community open training to watch Team Ecuador train. On June 7th, they beat Guatemala 3-0 at Scott's Miracle Grove Field in a friendly game to prepare for the World Cup. There were over 10,000 people in attendance with 100 free community tickets provided to the Ohio Hispanic Coalition and the local Guatemalan Consulate. Latino students from CCS and around the region were invited to come out and walk with the players from both Guatemala and Ecuador. Their last stage match will be on June 25th against Germany at 4 p.m. in New Jersey. So, una gran bienvenida al equipo de Ecuador y mucha, mucha suerte, mi gente. I hope you enjoyed your time here and wish you good luck in the rest of the World Cup. And that's all for me.

Thank you, Council Member. Council Member De Acara.

Thank you, Council President. I would like to take a couple minutes and invite up Colonel Bill Butler from the National Veterans Memorial and Museum. to discuss an exciting new initiative. In the past, NVMM has organized a meaningful remembrance ceremony on September 11th to honor the lives lost to the terror attacks in 2001. However, this year, they are looking to reinvent how we come together as a community to remember this solemn day by starting a citywide day of service, as is done in numerous cities across the country. Later on in the agenda, Council will be voting on Ordinance 1835-2026 to provide funding for this initiative. And so given the extensive agenda this evening, I've invited Colonel Butler to speak at the top of this meeting about this exciting new initiative. Colonel, the floor is yours.

Good evening, President Hardin, Council Member Day-Ackower, other esteemed members of the Columbus City Council. Thank you for the opportunity to speak tonight and for your continued support of the National Veterans Memorial Museum. Over the past year, the museum has refined its mission and vision. Today, our purpose is clear, to honor all veterans, elevate their stories, and amplify the power of service for everyone, everywhere. That vision has challenged us to think differently about how we commemorate September 11th. For many years, communities have gathered to remember where we were when we learned of the terrorist attacks. We remember the lives lost, the courage displayed, and the unity that followed. Those memories remain important. But 25 years later, we believe the most meaningful way to honor that legacy is not simply to remember service and sacrifice, it is to practice it. That is why the National Veterans Memorial and Museum is partnering with 9-11 Day, the City of Columbus, Mid-Ohio Food Collective, local schools, nonprofits, corporate partners, and community organizations to transform September 11th, 2026 into a citywide day of service. Columbus has been selected as one of only 50 cities nationwide participating in this effort, and NVMM will serve as the official host site for our community. This is not intended to be a single event at the museum. Our vision is a citywide movement of service. with opportunities for residents to participate through neighborhood-based projects, community centers, parks, schools, nonprofit organizations, and civics groups across Columbus. At the museum, the centerpiece of the day will bring together approximately 200 volunteers to pack 75,000 meals. Those meals will be distributed by the Mid-Ohio Food Collective to families facing food insecurity throughout our region. The goal is simple, honor their sacrifice, bring people together, and serve others. One day, one community, hundreds of volunteers, and approximately 100,000 acts of service to others. That's real impact. With your support, we can create a lasting tradition that transforms September 11th from a day of remembrance alone into a day of remembrance through action. We can inspire thousands of Columbus citizens residents to ask a simple but powerful question. What can I do to serve my community? Together we can honor the past, strengthen our neighborhoods, and demonstrate that the spirit of unity and service that emerged from September 11th is still alive in Columbus today. Thank you for your partnership, your leadership, and for your support.

Thank you, Colonel, for being here this evening. And I look forward to partnering with you and the museum on this community-focused initiative to honor 9-11. So thank you so much. And that's all from me, Council President. Thank you.

Thank you. Thank you, Council Member. Principal Tim.

Thank you. Just one announcement tonight. This Wednesday at 1 p.m. here in City Hall, we will be having a hearing with the Workforce Education Labor Committee on the proposed transition of Columbus's Early Start program to Franklin County. Early Start Columbus is the city's high-quality preschool initiative that helps eligible Columbus families access free or low-cost pre-K opportunities for their children through community-based providers and Columbus City Schools. We will hear from representatives of the Mayor's Office of Education and County Commissioner Erica Crowley, representatives from the county, an action for children about the transition and what that would mean for our child care providers and families if council decides to move forward with this proposal. The hearing will be live-streamed on YouTube and Facebook, and we will be accepting speaker slips from now until 11 a.m. on the day of the hearing. If you're interested in testifying, please email my aide, Annie McDonald, at abmcdonald at columbus.gov to sign up to speak. That's all I have. Thank you. Thank you, President Portillo. Council Member Green.

Thank you. Council Member Ramey. Thank you very much, Council President. I just want to remind everybody that the Public Safety and Criminal Justice Committee will be hosting a hearing on the Division of Fire Apparatus this Thursday, June 25th at 2.30 in Council Chambers. So anyone wishing to submit written or public testimony should email my aide, Pedro Mejia, at pdmejia at columbus.gov with the title Fire Hearing by 12 p.m. on Wednesday, June 24th. Thank you very much. That's all I have this evening.

Thank you, Councilmember. Councilmember Ross.

Thank you, Council President. No announcement, but I do want to recognize some special guests that we have here in chambers this evening. We have members of the Third Masonic District of the most worshipful Prince Hall Grand Lodge of Ohio under the leadership of Roderick Q. Blount and Leonard Cousin. We also have the Chair of Community Engagement, Mr. Daryl Cobb, here with all the members of the Third... District Masonic Hall stand up today. Thank you for joining us here at Council Chambers. We hope that you learned something. We hope you have a little bit of fun, and we encourage you to not stay the entire time. We will be here for a long night, but we are certainly glad to have you. Thank you. That's all from me, Council President.

Thank you, thank you. Council Member White. Well, thank you. Just my quick announcement is that this is our second to last council meeting before our summer recess. So there will be a lot of work happening this week between the administration and council member offices. We look forward to continuing to work with the administration and get towards that recess. Also, tomorrow night we have a community council meeting at 6 p.m. at the main library. Even though this is downtown-centric or located, we, of course, invite anyone from around in any neighborhood to come and join us at that community meeting. And that's all I have. Are there any comments by our elected officials' offices?

Seeing none, at this time I'm actually going to turn it over to Press Pro Temp. Thank you, Council President. At this time, I request the following ordinance be removed from the consent action of the portion of our agenda, the Public Safety and Criminal Justice Committee, Ordinance Number 1841-2026. Are there any other requests by members of council for the removal of an ordinance or resolution from the consent agenda? Seeing none, may we have a motion to waive second reading of the titles of 30-day legislation by the city clerk? Second. Clerk, please call the roll.

Banks, Timber, Rosa de Padilla, Day, Ock, Howard, Dorns, Green, Remy, Ross, Weitsch, President, Hardin.

Thank you. The following ordinances appear on the agenda as consent actions. Will the clerk now read those ordinances numbers of each into the record?

First reading?

Yes. Okay, yes.

I'm sorry. In Finance and Governance Committee, we have Ordinance 1618, 1663 and 1850-2026, Economic Development and Small and Minority Business. We have Resolution 146X-2026, Ordinance 1173, 1174, 1304, 1648, 1651, 1652, 1694, 1707, 1761, 1766, 1815, 1858, 1870, 1871, 1872, 1886-2026, Public Service and Transportation Committee, we have ordinances 1494, 1623, 1709, 1711, and 1875-2026. Neighborhoods, Recreation, and Parks Committee, ordinance 1595, 1749-2026. Workforce, Education, and Labor Committee, we have ordinance 1568-2026. Health, Human Services, and Equity Committee, ordinances 1536 and 1633-2026. Public Safety and Criminal Justice Committee, Ordinances 1327, 1675, and 1791-2026. Housing, Homelessness, and Building Committee, Ordinances 1698, 1713, 1760, and 1904-2026. Public Utilities and Sustainability Committee, Ordinances 1248, 1323, 1490, 1521-2022. 1529, 1539, 1543, 1551, 1552, 1554, 1569, 1578, 1580, 1581, 1585, 1598, 1628, 1657, 1659, 1661, 1669, 1679, 1686, 1703, and 1887-2026, Rules and Policy Committee, we have Ordinance 1882 and 2005-2026. In the Zonings, we have Rezonings 1607 and 1611, 1923 and 1927-2026. Variances 1924, 1928, and 1929-2026.

Thank you, clerk. Moving on to the consent agenda, the following ordinances appear on our agenda as consent actions. Will the clerk now please read the ordinance numbers of each into the record?

Resolution of expression, we have 147X-2026. Finance and Governance Committee, we have ordinances 1525, 1541, 1547, 1565, 1571, 1579, 1604, 1606, 1664, 1678, 1680, 1688, 1693, 1699, 1701, 1718, 1719, 1743, 1756, 1757, 1771, 1799, 1806, 1823, 1847, 1860, 1873-2026, Economic Development and Small and Minority Business Committee, Ordinance 1481, 1574, 1590, 1649, 1650, 1783, 1829, 1832, 1551, 1552, 1553, 1885, and 1900-2026. Public Service and Transportation Committee Ordinances 1221, 1495, 1549, 1602, 1609, 1619, 1624, 1647, 1672, 1682, 1836, 1843, 1856, and 1876-2026. Neighborhoods Recreation and Parks Committee Ordinances 1404, 1405, 1409, 1584, 1632, 1665, 1723, 1762, 1842, and 1846-2026. Workforce Education and Labor Committee, Ordinances 1655 and 1807-2026. Health Human Services and Equity Committee, Ordinances 1615, 1627, 1670, 1687, 1690, 1710, 1813, 1896, and 1933-2026. Public Safety and Criminal Justice Committee, Ordinances 1431, 1617, 1620, 1642, 1683, 1708, 1720, 1752, 1834, 1839, and 1881-2026. Housing Homelessness and Building Committee Ordinances 1553, 1745, 1767, 1802, 1810, and 1819-2026. Public Utilities and Sustainability Committee Ordinances 1424, 1575, 1621, 1622, 1691, 1726, 1770, 1824, 1869-2026. In rules and policy, we have appointments A113, A114, A115, A116, A117, A118, A119, A120, A121, A122, A123, A124, A125, A126, A127, A128, A-129, A-130, and A-131-2026.

Thank you, clerk. Earning your paycheck tonight. May I have a motion for approval of these items designated as consent actions? Clerk, please call the roll by voice.

Bankston. Yes. Barossa de Padilla. Yes. Dayakower. Yes. Dorans.

Yes.

Green. Yes. Ramey. Yes. Ross. Yes. White. Harden.

Thank you. Consent agenda items are passed with the noted abstentions. And I'll hand it back to you, Council President.

Thank you, Mr. Chair. The first committee to come before Council is the Oh, actually, we're going out of order this evening. We're going to start with the Housing, Homelessness, and Building Committee. I'm going to turn it over to Councilmember Ross.

Thank you, Council President Hardin. We just have one piece of legislation on second read out of Housing, Homelessness, and Building. It is Ordinance No. 1684-2026 to authorize the city clerk... to enter into a not-for-profit grant agreement with Enterprise Community Partners Incorporated for the mission-driven affordable housing initiative in an amount up to $148,000 to authorize the appropriation and expenditure in an amount up to $148,000 from the neighborhood initiative sub-fund. This legislation complements Yes in God's Backyard, a piece of legislation previously passed by council to engage houses of worship, educational groups, and mission-aligned nonprofit organizations who own or have access to underutilized land. Current piece will empower enterprise to work with emerging developers, minority developers, and faith institutions with educational technical training support and tools to navigate the development process, assess the feasibility and desirability of developing affordable housing and community facilities on that land, and support them through real estate development and through that process. Enterprise will provide 20 hours of classroom instruction with subject matter experts covering various aspects of the development process, both virtual and in person. sessions could include but are limited to real estate development 101 site studies ordering phase one environmental study gathering market data having a feasibility study prepared having a market demographic study prepared having a traffic impact study prepared project mission site development process zoning evaluation acquisitions project programming and planning process selecting a development team developing concept design pre-development budgeting and putting together project economics Tools and resources Enterprise will provide are paramount to help assist with our need for affordable housing at every price point for Columbus residents. Certainly eager to work alongside Enterprise and Council President Hardin to be creative and intentional as we combat our housing crisis. Pass it over to you, President Hardin, for further comment.

Thank you, Madam Chair, and thank you for the partnership. I just want to, as I start, invite up Ayanna Blue-Donald from Enterprise Community Partners, who's here to represent the organization this year. And certainly, like I said, thank Council Member Ross for her her partnership and leadership on this legislation. Last year, Council took an important step forward passing Yes in God's Backyard, or Yigwe, legislation. We recognize that throughout Columbus, there are churches, faith communities, and mission-driven nonprofits that own land and want to be part of the solution to our housing crisis. We also recognize that too often, the barriers standing in the way are not a lack of willingness or vision, it's a lack of capacity and technical expertise and access to development process. Yigby helped remove one of those barriers by making it easier for houses of worship to pursue affordable housing development on their property. But changing zoning rules is only the first step. The reality is that developing housing is complicated. It requires understanding land use regulations, financing structures, environmental reviews, feasibility studies, design concepts, development teams, project budgets, and countless other pieces that can feel overwhelming to an organization whose primary mission is to serve its congregation. That's why this grant and program is important. Through this partnership with Enterprise, we are creating a pathway for faith-based organizations, educational institutions, and mission-driven nonprofits to move from simply having an idea to understanding how that idea can become a real housing project. Enterprise brings a proven track record to this work through its faith-based development initiative. It has supported the creation of thousands of affordable homes across the country and helped establish a pipeline of more. Through training, technical assistance, and expert guidance, participants will learn how to evaluate their sites, understand development fundamentals, build project teams, assess financial feasibility, and determine whether affordable housing is the right fit for their mission and their property. And that matters because we know there is no single solution to housing, the housing shortage that the city is facing. Across Columbus, there are faith institutions and nonprofit organizations that have served their community for generations. Many are trusted anchors. In neighborhoods, many possess land that is underutilized and many have a deep commitment to serving people beyond their walls. This legislation is about building that pipeline. It's about ensuring that organizations with a desire to serve their communities are not left on the sidelines because of the development process. It's about making smart use of land, expanding housing affordability, and empowering local institutions to partner. to address one of our city's largest issues. So I want to thank Enterprise for the work that you have done, even before us. There was a pilot that you had on the Near East side that showed real results, and so it's been an honor after we passed our Yigbe legislation that we can come up beside you, support you in this work. I'm hearing that every day you're leveraging our city dollars to bring in corporate dollars to also support this. So thank you so much. I'm going to turn it over to Ayanna.

Thank you so much. Good evening. Council President Hardin and Councilwoman Ross, thank you so much because you took a lot of words right out of my mouth. And to the members of City Council, thank you for the opportunity to testify today in support of Ordinance 1684-2026. Again, I am Ayanna Blue Donald, and I serve as Vice President of the Midwest Region at Enterprise Community Partners. At Enterprise, we do strive to make sure more families have a safe, affordable place to call home. Columbus is facing the same challenge many communities across the country are facing. Housing costs are rising faster than many families can keep up, and the supply of affordable homes is still far too limited. City Council has already shown important leadership by creating the Gig B Framework, to help unlock land owned by mission driven institutions for affordable housing. This ordinance is an important next step in turning that vision into something real. Many faith based organizations, educational institutions and nonprofits care deeply about housing stability in their neighborhoods. Some have land or property that could be part of this solution. But even when the mission is strong, affordable housing development can be complicated. Organizations often need support to understand the process, determine what is feasible, and figure out how to move a project forward. This is what the mission-driven affordable housing initiative is designed to do. Through training, technical assistance, and early stage project support, it will help local organizations understand the development process, evaluate opportunities on their sites, and move promising ideas closer to implementation. Enterprise brings deep experience to this work. We have supported faith-based affordable housing efforts in communities across the country, as referenced by Council President Hardin right here in Columbus on the Near East Side, and we have seen what is possible when mission-aligned institutions have the right tools, guidance, and partners. In fact, this year we are celebrating 20 years of Enterprise's faith-based development initiative work that began in 2006 and continues to grow across the country. Here in Columbus, this initiative can help build a pipeline of local projects by supporting organizations at different stages of readiness, some just beginning to explore a vision and others ready to move a concept closer to funding and development. Over time, what that really means is more valuable, excuse me, viable projects, stronger partnerships, and more affordable homes for Columbus residents. This is a smart and strategic public investment. It does not just support one project, but it helps build the capacity, knowledge, and local infrastructure needed to create more affordable housing opportunities over time. It aligns with the city's broader housing goals, strengthens the impact of the IGV legislation, and helps ensure that community serving institutions can play a meaningful role in addressing the local housing needs. We are also very encouraged by how much community interest there has been, and specifically early interest from PNC Bank to support this work. We are in active discussions with several private sector partners about how their support can strengthen this effort as it continues to move forward. For all of those reasons and more, we are excited to partner with the City of Columbus in this effort. Thank you so much for your leadership in housing and for considering this very, very important investment in mission-driven affordable housing. I appreciate your time and consideration.

Thank you. Are there any comments or questions from our colleagues? Seeing none, I move for passage.

Second. All in favor.

Banks, Denver, Rosa de Padilla, de Alcala, Dorrance, Green, Remy Ross, Vice President Hardin.

Thank you. Thank you. The next committee to come before council is the Finance and Governance Committee. That committee is chaired by Council Member Bankston. Council Member, the floor is yours.

Thank you, Council President. I know we were sidebar. I'm going to go out of order with your permission. We do have some stakeholders in the audience, and there's two pieces of legislation that we want to, I think, get through before break. So with your permission, I'll first go to the Rules and Policy Committee. Thank you, Council President. And we're on page 43 of the agenda to read an ordinance in the Rules and Policy Committee. Ordinance 1953-2026 to amend Section 371.02 of the Columbus City Code to shift the Affordable Housing Trust's hotel, motel, and short-term rental excise tax distribution to Experience Columbus and to declare an emergency. This legislation amends Section 371.02 of the Columbus City Code to shift the Affordable Housing Trust's hotel, motel, and short-term rental excise tax distribution to Experience Columbus. Experience Columbus has expressed concerns regarding their operating budget capacity to continue adequately driving the regional travel and tourism economy for Columbus. And I can say firsthand as a board member, this has been something that's been going on year over year, but we continue to punch above our weight. The city intends to shift the current Affordable Housing Trust bed tax distribution to experience Columbus for the purpose of providing increased revenue for the advancement of the cultural, development of the community, and for promotion and publicizing of the city. This adjustment reflects that Experience Columbus plays a central role in positioning Columbus as an economic powerhouse in the region, leading to the continued growth of local jobs, generating substantial visitor spending, and contributing significantly to the regional tax base. Increasing the share of the bed tax revenue allocated to Experience Columbus will better position the organization to compete with destination marketing efforts in peer metropolis areas where allocations of tourism, promotion, and visitor attraction are typically much higher than in Columbus. And in fact, in our competitive set as a city, we actually rank dead last in our funding of our tourism sector. And just think about that, but yet we continue to get major conferences like ASAE and PCMA and the AME Church Conference, showing that we're punching above our weight. But yet still, we need to continue to fund this sector because it is driving so much of our economy. In return, the city will enter into a separate contribution agreement with the Affordable Housing Trust that contains a five-year funding commitment totaling $12.5 million while the city searches for new funding streams to replace the affordable housing trust bid tax distribution long term. The source of interim funding will be the city's affordable housing bond dollars, which is in alignment with the city's stated affordable housing strategies. This will, this arrangement will provide the affordable housing trust with an actual higher, more consistent funding level to support their expansion and housing efforts. Additionally, there will be increased revenue given to the affordable housing trust for operational costs via a contribution agreement between Experience Columbus totaling $250,000 additional dollars. Both the Affordable Housing Trust and Experience Columbus support this change, and I want to personally thank Brian Ross and his leadership, as well as Ian Lavittu, our leader at the Affordable Housing Trust, for coming together to work collaboratively to come up with a solution for both organizations. An emergency designation is requested since additional delay in this change greatly complicates the execution of an external agreement between the Affordable Housing Trust and Experience Columbus as a result of the monthly distribution schedule of the bed tax proceeds. Are there any questions or comments from my colleagues? Seeing none, I move for passage.

Clerk, please call the roll.

Banks, Timber, Rosa, Depardieu, Day, Ock, Howard, Dorns, Green, Remy, Ross, Vice President, Hardin.

Passed. Thank you, Council President. And still going out of order, could I please move to the Economic Development and Small Minority Business Committee?

Please.

Thank you. Next, we have Ordinance 1508-2026 to authorize the Director of the Department The development to enter into the first amend and restated Norwich Township Compensation Agreement with Norwich Township regarding administrative changes to that agreement due to the repeal of the Sugar Farms 40B TIF and the expansion of the Sugar Farms Incentive District by Ordinance No. 2451-2025 to appropriate and authorize the expenditure of service payments in lieu of taxes generated by the parcels in Sugar Farms INCENTIVE DISTRICT AND RENER SOUTH INCENTIVE DISTRICT THAT ARE TO BE DISPOSITED IN THE SUGAR FARMS INCENTIVE DISTRICT 40C TIF FUND AND THE RENER SOUTH INCENTIVE DISTRICT 40C TIF FUND IN ACCORDANCE WITH THE FIRST AMENDED AND RESTATED NORWICH TOWNSHIP COMPENSATION AGREEMENT. THIS ORDINANCE IS AN ADMINISTRATIVE COMPANION TO ORDINANCE 2451-2025, WHICH COUNCIL APPROVED ON DECEMBER 18, 2025. Ordinance 2451-2025 dissolved one of two TIFs over the sugar farm development and consolidated all related parcels into the remaining TIF. Ordinance 1508-2026 updates the existing compensation agreement so that it references the remaining TIF, not the one that was dissolved. Director Stevens, I'm going to turn it over to you just to talk about this ordinance a little bit. I do know that we have some of our friends here from FIRE and there's I think a broader discussion about the city's growth, but could you just talk about this particular ordinance, what it does and what it doesn't do, and then I think we'll be able to have a broader conversation with my colleagues and also our firefighters who are here with us.

Thank you. Good evening, President Hardin, members of the council. What this ordinance does is it modifies our compensation agreement of Norwich Township. Back in the 2000s, THE CITY PASSED A BIG DARBY REVENUE FUNDING PLAN, AND IN THAT PLAN, WE COMMITTED TO HOLD NORWICH TOWNSHIP HARMLESS ON ANY TIFS WE PUT IN PLACE TO DO PAY AS WE GROW TYPE OF DEVELOPMENT. I EQUATE IT TO WHEN WE DO A NON-SCHOOL TIF, WE MAKE THE SCHOOLS WHOLE. THIS IS REALLY A TIF, this is making the Norwich Township fire levy whole per that agreement. So what this is is a commitment of the TIF dollars that are being generated. What it is not, it is not a provision of any type of mutual aid between the city and Norwich Township. I'd be happy to answer any questions.

Thank you for that, Director, and I'm sure there will be questions. We do have Two speakers on this council presence. I'm going to call those speakers up, and then I think if my colleagues have any questions or comments, we will defer there because I believe maybe some of the questions may be addressed by our two speakers. So with that, first I'm going to call Mark Maddox with our local 67 Firefighters Union. Mark, welcome to council. Yes, sir. Welcome to Council. You have three minutes, and the floor is yours. All right.

First of all, I'd like to thank Council for hearing me. I'd also like to thank President Hardin for being here and Safety Director Ramey. First of all, I'd like to thank the City of Columbus for giving the Westside kid a job 29 years ago. So I appreciate it. 25 years on the Westside. I'm here in opposition for the second phase of the Shutter Farms Ordinance. This is not how we grow. When I got hired in 1997, we had 690,000 people. Now we've got 940,000 people. We built three stations for growth since that time, one of them last week. Just the way simple put it is the city of Toledo's got 260,000 people, and they've got 15 fire stations.

The west side of Columbus hadn't had a new station for growth since 1975.

Stations have 26. There's no new rec centers, no sleep substations, nothing on the west side, that far west side. The city of Columbus, 20 years ago, gave a five-year plan. They wanted to build a station at Alton, 7,000 numbers West Broad Street.

That would remedy this problem right now.

This problem right now, we represent the city of Columbus. We are a local 67, 1,700 strong. We should not have another municipality running the city of Columbus taking our runs. We take 180,000 runs a year. 20% of them are taken by other municipalities. Different SOPs, different radio channels. It's just the way we do things different. It's a safety issue for us. Local 67 met with the Great West Side Commission. We talked about this issue. They informed us that they were against this the first time it went around. They informed us they were still against this. So your own commission's against it. Your local city's 1,700-member fire department's against it. Basically, the gist of it is we're giving our work to another entity. I'm asking council now, do not make this the model. That 20% is going to grow. If you make this the model, what's next? Hamilton, Madison. And then you've got to be... Franklin Township had three stations in 1975. They got one. We're short three stations from the west side, according to your matrix report. I just put it as simple as this. We do a six-and-a-half-month academy. We sit there and look at the mission statement, our value statement, every single day. When you get promoted on this fire department, you've got to memorize the mission statement and value statement. I don't think a township with 2,100 residents with three trustees and a financial director, has the best interest from 1,100 members. They get city trash, they get city police, city water, and now we made a model for them to take the fire department. All due respect, this council voted no for a labor dispute over one fire truck for 61 people.

We got 1,700 against it.

Thank you.

Thank you, Mr. Maddox. Next we have John Goury, who is here with us with Local 67, Firefighters Union as well. John, good to see you again. Welcome to council.

Thank you. Council President Hardin, members of council, my name is John Goury, Secretary-Treasurer, Columbus Firefighters, Local 67. I come before you this evening both disappointed grateful. I'm disappointed that this is even being considered by council, but I'm grateful to the residents of Hilliard and Norwich Township for passing a fire levy to staff the fire station that was built last year in Norwich Township, funded by the City of Columbus, by which this council was a party to. Without the residents of Hilliard and Norwich agreeing to raise their property taxes to staff this firehouse, I the firehouse that was built funding, which the city of Columbus and this council agree, the Columbus neighborhood sugar farms would be without adequate fire and EMS coverage. To be clear, this legislation we consider as adversarial to the Columbus Firefighters Union by furthering the city boundaries for needed development, but contracting out public safety services to serve those new areas of the city should be considered reckless. I know there is not a member on council here tonight that would agree to subbing out policing to any area of the city to where crime data was not trackable. However, that is exactly what takes place when the city of Columbus continues to over rely on other agencies for basic fire and EMS. services. There's no way to track cardiac survivor rates, basic life-saving interventions, and to ensure that these areas of Columbus are receiving the highest care through the protocols of the Columbus Division of Fire. Every day in the city, every day, city code ordinance 3124.23 says 3124.23 is violated. And I read it in part that fire response in all areas of the city be no greater than four minutes, emergency medical services in all parts of the city be no greater than six minutes. It goes on, in part, that services provided by other agencies shall be provided by permanently assigned full-time crews with staffing levels and training comparable to the city to the crews in Columbus. That's not happening. Every neighborhood in the expanding city of Columbus should never, I'm sorry, should experience the best of safety services. I believe that that's achieved by counting on the men and women of the Columbus Division of Fire. Rather than expanding neighborhoods that are serviced by contracting out fire an EMS. As mentioned, I find this to be adversarial, and I respectfully ask for a negative vote.

Thank you. Thank you, John, and again, thank you to our firefighters. Any questions for our speakers at this time? Seeing that, I think we'll have some discussion here with the department as well. Again, I do want to probably point to safety. I'll open it up for my colleagues here, but Director Stephens, I just want to make clear that this particular ordinance is simply around TIFs. It doesn't change anything around mutual aid or any of that. And then, again, I do want to go to the Department of Safety to really talk more about, I think, as we continue to grow, particularly maybe you could be more specific around the west side, what our plans are there in mutual aid, and then have my colleagues ask any questions they may have. Director Stephens.

Thank you, Chair Bankston. This ordinance does not have any impact or effect on mutual aid. There is no agreement. This agreement that we're amending does not have any provision for delivering of safety services through this. These are property tax dollars that due to the TIF are exempted. that if the TIF was not in place, Norwich Township would be receiving these dollars without the TIF.

Got it. And so just again for a layman's term standpoint, there was a new TIF created as it expanded. We dissolved the old TIF and we're just shifting everything so that it's clean and it's under one TIF agreement. Correct? That's correct. Got you. But I do think, to our firefighters' point, this is a point for us to have a discussion around growth and what we do to address service coverage. So I'm looking at our Department of Safety. Can you speak to some of our growth strategy, particularly on the west side, and also kind of the administration's thoughts around mutual aid and your just philosophy there.

Thank you, President Hardin, Chair Bankston. I appreciate the question. As it pertains to mutual aid in general, the overall objective of mutual aid is to get the closest, most appropriate resource to the individual when seconds and minutes counts, regardless of jurisdictions. Most of the jurisdictions or some of the jurisdictions here in central Ohio also practice that as well as throughout the country to ensure that The adequate resources gets the patients the quickest and the individuals, regardless of the circumstance. That's the same on the west side as it is throughout the city of Columbus. And as it pertains to the first part of your question, what are the plans for the west side in particular, last month we added a far west side station to our capital improvement plan to address the growth on that side. So pending funding opportunities. Our goal is to expand on that side, the same as we have with Station 35 and Station 36 in the Northeast.

Thank you for that. I'm going to open the floor up to my colleagues for any questions. President Pro Tem Doran.

Thank you, Chair. So to that point about the mutual aid agreements themselves, so by hearing about how those standards get set up on the front end, but something I've heard from folks from the IFF over the years is just, you know, it's one thing to have those things, those agreements in place. It's another thing to make sure that folks are consistently following them. So when they say, hey, you know, they're not responding with the same type of staffing levels that we think is appropriate that we hold ourselves to, What does the department do to sort of monitor those things to make sure that these mutual aid agreements are not just in writing, that in actual day-to-day that the residents that are being served by them are getting the same level of service between whether or not they have an EMS unit that's got CFD on it versus some other fire department or fire division?

Thank you. Council Member Dorns, if I could, Interim Chief Dave Ball is here. That may be a question that's more appropriate for the day-to-day operations and that I think he could answer. Here, you can come up.

Good evening. Thank you for the opportunity to answer that question. When we have mutual aid or automatic aid agreements with 23 township partners in the Central Ohio area, and we meet regularly with the Frank County Fire Chiefs Association, where one of our members actively participates in those regular meetings. And one of the subcommittees of that greater organization is a best practices committee to make sure that we're operating under the same standards. And for brevity, Columbus drives the bus on that. So our SOPs and our procedures, drive the expectations of our township response partners. And we do our best to make sure that we are working together to address those concerns. And actively as we speak, we are planning and preparing for a joint training session with Norwich Township and Columbus Fire for training fire ground operations on the far west side. Did you have any other questions for operations for me?

President, do you have a follow-up?

Yeah, so I guess to that point, so you're talking about from an administrative standpoint, there's sort of an ongoing sort of regular check-in. Does that focus on, again, that day-to-day staffing level? So is that the kind of information that's shared at those meetings down to that grander level of how many runs, who was staffing those runs, what were the outcomes? Because, again, I know one of the points of pride for our fire division is that we're able to track all that information and being able to really identify, you know, really the exemplary job that our firefighters do on a regular basis and where there is for improvement. I'm just curious, are we getting that level of detail and information back from those folks that are performing you have those services under a mutual aid agreement?

Probably not on every run, but, you know, on major runs that have a large impact, we do have that dialogue between their administrative staff and our administrative staff.

Is there anything that's preventing us from getting that level of information on a regular basis, or is it just not what we currently do?

It would depend on the complexity of the incident. It's something that I can look into and report back later, but right now I think just the complex runs are the ones that are scrutinized and reviewed after an incident.

Thank you. Chair, may I ask a question of Director Stevens?

Yeah, absolutely.

Great. Director Stevens, just try to make this as plain as possible, because when we start getting into 403Bs and TIFs and all these kinds of things, so make it very, very plain. What essentially, and again, I don't want to put the words in anyone's mouth, other folks that testified here tonight, but essentially the legislation here carves out those fire levy dollars for this township, right? So essentially... this legislation prevents those fire levy dollars from going into the TIF, which then can be used for other types of reimbursal purposes, such as roads, utility improvements, those kind of things. And I think if I'm interpreting the comments from our folks from IFF correctly, is that by allowing us to enter into these agreements and carving out those dollars, we're essentially incentivizing more and more mutual aid through that type of carve-out. So don't use comment at the second part. I just want to make sure that you're responding to it just very plainly, like what council is essentially considering here.

You are considering the amendment to the compensation agreement that changes the level of TIF. So before it had a commercial component, now it's all housing. When it goes to all housing, we have policy in place where we are making sure that the fire levy Norwich Township is being made whole, essentially. So no city dollars are being contributed to Norwich Township. Norwich Township is just receiving the dollars that they would have received without the TIF. This is the property tax levy that is in place, and it's how they are, what I'd say, made whole. It's not a, at this point, those, when this, property is annexed, and for the case of Sugar Farm, those are Columbus residents, and when they call 911, they get the same safety service response as all Columbus residents get.

And again, the reason this is necessary is because, again, prior to the annexation, this was a Norwich township. So that property tax would have flowed to that fire levy. They're annexed in. So therefore, by virtue of that annexation, this is no longer Norwich property. So therefore, those dollars would not flow to that fire levy absent this piece of legislation. Correct?

Just put a fine point on it. After the annexation, they are still within Norwich Township. So those levied dollars would still be received by Norwich Township after annexation. It's the tax increment financing that exempts those levied dollars to the TIF fund that is then going back to the township.

I think that the issue with this or the problem is we're having one real conversation here about reality around how we do these TIF agreements, but we're having a much larger 30,000 foot conversation around what the city believes, what are our values as it pertains to mutual aid. And so I can see how that is getting completed is the fact that related to this or not, North built a fire station right on the other side of the city limit. And now, you know, general 20% of our, Uh, calls are for mutual aid. And so this is just kind of a question for, I guess, public safety under our strategy right now is 20% of our calls being answered by other fire departments. Is that too many?

We've had a hard conversation within public safety about how to reduce that number. Some things can be policy driven or procedure driven on how dispatching goes. The other part of that is expansion. So station 35, station 36, and all future stations near annexed areas or within annexed areas will reduce that number. But at the end of the day, I don't think we can, and I wouldn't advocate to put a specific number on the amount of mutual aid because we just don't know what will happen. And to be precise about it station 83 which is Norwich Township station 83 is directly across from the Hayden run neighborhood area So if an individual over there has an emergency that requires seconds or minutes to resolve I don't think that our policy would best serve the residents of Columbus if we made them wait any appreciable time so our goal is to and will be to ensure that the closest, most appropriate unit to mitigate that emergency can respond. Now the one great thing that we have within the Division of Fire is the ability to look at our data and analyze it. So maybe certain emergencies don't need a four minute and 30 second response time. It can wait for five minutes and 15 seconds. So that's the ongoing conversation is how best to deploy the resources moving forward now that we have greater insight with our data.

And I think that part of the issue also is that we're having these conversations in silos because we don't know what our five-year or 10-year plan is for when we're going to build the next fire station and how and where. it allows for these conversations to look like that Norwich fire station was built to serve that community, Sugar Farms. Do we know what percentage of cost from this Norwich Township fire station will serve Sugar Farms?

I don't think I can predict that, but I can say that there's been about 360 mutual aid calls responded by Norwich Township into the City of Columbus so far this year. And overall, over the last three years, it's been between 600 and 700. I don't know the exact amount into the sugar farms area, and I don't believe that I could accurately predict what that could be into the future.

Yeah. I mean, because again, that's the challenge here is that no one, I don't think anyone on this dais, I'm not even sure anyone in any union or anywhere else would say that if someone is in need, someone across the street shouldn't come over and help. The question is, are we creating a ethos here at the city that is over-reliant on these smaller townships and their services? And not saying that our residents aren't getting good service, but we do know that our firefighters are the best, and we want the best for service at times, but also outcomes and performance to be given to Columbus residents. And so This is a difficult question, not based off of this tip in front of us, but the larger conversation that it does and should elicit. It's one of the reasons why we're having the public hearing on Thursday, because there's a conversation on do we have enough apparatuses to go into stations? When is the next station? Again, it's not the fact that... We don't have a fire station out there. It's that we don't know when the next one is coming and where it is going so that it will help instruct council as we make votes every week around more housing. And this is a larger growth conversation that I think we're all struggling with here and trying to make sure that we are not leaning too hard on this fail safe. This should be an emergency usage, not a planned policy.

Well, and Council President, I think to that point, I think does it de-incentivize, thank you, it's hard to be bilingual, for us to then continue to build fire stations? Because if we have that mutual aid and we have that Norwich that is serving our residents, then are we going to deprioritize building the fire stations in an area that because we have that mutual aid. And I think that's, I think to the point of our union members, I think that's part of the fear. Certainly, I think for me and our thinking is if we think, okay, well, we have this fire station there that's going to serve this area, then let's go build a fire station over here instead of over here. How does that square, I guess, into our thinking and the methodology around how we prioritize where those fire stations are going to go?

Thank you for the question. Since I've been at the Department of Public Safety over the last few years, there has not been any conversation that has included reliance on mutual aid partners looking forward into the future as to where stations will be. In other words, we look at Columbus data and we base the location of the station on the guiding principle within 3124.23, the city code, which Secretary-Treasurer Gouroy read, which sets forth a goal for fire response for four minutes within the city and EMS response within six minutes. So we analyze areas where those response times are beyond four and six minutes, and then that's where we look to where the station will be or could be. But the cost of property is quite high. So in a space, we need anywhere between one and a half and four acres of land for a fire station. So our opportunities are pretty limited in some areas of the city.

Thank you, Chair. Director Stephens, I just want to clarify, sorry. So what we're doing right now when we annexed in this property for sugar farms, is it just standard operating procedure? They already had this money that would fund the township fire. I think that's what I'm hearing from you, that it is... We have an obligation to continue paying that because technically they're still township and so is that why these dollars are transferring Or is that an agreement that we made when the when the land was annexed or so part of the Darby revenue plan that was passed in the 2000 was to make sure that

when we put in tax increment financing to help make infrastructure investments as well as new community authorities to help have those developers make their commitment to the public infrastructure that needs to be built. Part of that plan called for taking the fire levy dollars that would typically go to the township that is then being redirected to the tax increment financing fund, giving that back to the township.

So that was a plan that was created in 2000, and essentially we're not voting on that plan tonight. We're essentially just doing the...

that was the late 2000s the Derby revenue plan was adopted as policy this is an agreement that captures what that policy is and the commitment we're making and gives us the way to take those levy dollars and redirect them back to Norwich Township councilmember

Remy? Well, I certainly want to acknowledge what our firefighter, the IAFF, brought up tonight because this is a broader discussion that needs to happen. We need to know what the plan is. And we've had a couple of matrix reports that have been issued. And to my knowledge, they're not being looked at very closely. And so as our population is burgeoning around the community, certain parts we address that up in the far northeast quadrant which is one of the fastest growing segments of the city but so is this and so you know the concern here is real and we take that seriously but obviously as Columbus continues to grow we've got to be clear to both our residents and to this body what is next and i feel like that's where we're missing out right now um you know obviously mutual aid is a tool for cooperation and backup but it is not something that this division of fire should rely on and it's not a replacement for long-term plans And that's what I feel like oftentimes happens. So to the council president's point, when he talks about, you know, well, if somebody brought up, I forget who said it, but, you know, we talk about, you know, when we talk about, you know, where their mutual aid is and where we're building our stations, I don't even know what the answer to that is exactly. And I'm the chair. So, you know, but when it comes to this ordinance tonight, That's a broader conversation that needs to happen and will happen under this committee, but this ordinance obviously is an administrative change that has a much finer point to it that I'm prepared to support, but I just think that we've got a larger issue to tackle that needs to have a broader conversation with all of us, with the administration, and with our partners at the IAFF and our division of fire. Because whether we need additional infrastructure, whether we need, obviously we're gonna have a hearing on Thursday about equipment and the condition of our facilities, but certainly we wanna make sure that we're planning for the future and not getting caught up in these discussions on administrative changes to a TIF. And that's what I wanna see us avoid in the future.

And not really a question related to this, but Council Member Ramey, I think it would be helpful if we have more discussion during your hearing around mutual aid and what that looks like. It does feel like the administration is using this as plan A for parts of the city where they do not intend to build another station. And there is this disincentive where if there is a fire station right across the street in another township, why would we also build the station in the same area? So I think that needs to be discussed broadly. If it is around us designating land specifically for public safety in areas that we're growing, that's what we should be doing as a community. We can do it with park land. We should be doing it with public safety as well so that we know when we are growing in different parts of the city, there is going to be adequate public safety resources available to people. This idea that we should be comfortable saying, well, five minutes to your house is okay when four is preferred. No, I want you there immediately, right? When I call with an emergency, I don't want you to play the game of, What station do we go to? I want the nearest Columbus Fire Department station to react and come to my own. I would think everyone who lives in the city feels that same way. So I do think we need to have additional discussion. I don't think now is the time to kind of get deep into that. This is an agreement that has been in place for a while. And, you know, sadly, I think we are conflating issues that have to have some deeper discussion in the future. So thank you.

I just wanted to – I think, Councilmember, you hit the nail on the head. And I think, you know, even in the Department of Public Service, whether it is because we need to acquire land for retention ponds or we need to do other things, I think that that needs to be part of the thinking, especially for the areas – I will be honest, I just don't trust that if we have a fire station right there, why, and we are looking at other places, right? If you're thinking about a fiscal decision, not always putting, you know, not thinking about people decisions, but thinking about fiscal decisions, which sometimes we gear towards those fiscal and lean into fiscal decisions. I just, it's difficult for me to see that we would make, if we haven't done it yet, why would we now? And I think that's what we're hearing from our firefighters union. I think that's what you're hearing from council here is how do we then start to think differently about acquiring that land? How do we start thinking differently about those plans in the future? And I think To your point, I think that needs to be, Chair, I hope that is part of the conversation as we continue to move forward because this is something that isn't, it's not just a safety issue, it's a housing issue, it's everything. I mean, when we talk about zoning, when folks come in, what do they talk to us about? They talk about infrastructure, they talk about safety, they talk about all of the... I'm going to use amenities which is not amenities because these are basic needs but that people need right and the services and the city services that they need and so I think it is I agree that in this particular TIF we have these opportunities when we talk about something there is a domino effect in everything that it is that we're doing and so This does provide us the opportunity to talk about larger issues. I think in this particular instance, right, we're here to talk about this TIF and what this TIF does, but I do think that this is, and to our union members who are here, I think that this council has shown the support for you and for what it is that you're doing. And I think that you have the continued support, certainly from me, of thinking about how do we resolve the issue that you're bringing before us now. I hope it's not adversarial. That is not the intention as we talk about this particular TIF and our support of it today as we think about what the longer term solve is.

No, and I think, Council Members, that's exactly why we postponed this last week to, I think, get everyone briefed to have this discussion, also knowing that we're having a larger discussion around fire service on Thursday. But more importantly, I think this talks about our... annexation policy it is both always talked about as a blessing and a curse when you think about the annexation policy that was put in place that said if you get sewer or water from Columbus you have to become a part of it the blessing in that is that you see the size of city that we are now to be able to expand and do development or we would be like a lot of other major cities that were landlocked and confined by a lot of suburbs around us. The curse in that is when you do grow, it's not just fire we're talking about, it's parts of the city, right, that still don't have sidewalks, or there's been parts of the city, right, that didn't even have streetlights. That's not necessarily because we don't want to make those investments there, but when it's a township and those things aren't, or a village and those things weren't required, now they come into the city, we got to also have a growth strategy. So this is something that really goes back to 1950s when we came up and adopted that policy. It is both a blessing and a curse, but I think it is a larger conversation about our growth, and that's why this council is advancing the Columbus Forward Package as we think about growth more comprehensively. So we're going to have conversations about not just fire apparatus, and that's the springboard for it, Councilman Remy, I think your conversation may be a little bit more broader on Thursday. But these are fair questions to have. But I think that the piece of legislation before us is an administrative one that is really bound by the decision that this body made back in December. And so I think, for me, I feel comfortable moving it forward, but not necessarily comfortable with not continuing the conversation around the concerns that our firefighters have raised because they are, in fact, real concerns. Are there any final comments or questions from my colleagues? Seeing none, I move for passage by voice.

Bankston?

Yes.

Barbosa-Day-Padilla? Yes. Day-Ochauer? Yes. Dorrance? No. Green? No. Remy? Ross? Yes. White? Yes. President Hardin?

I'm actually going to vote no tonight because what I think we need is the plan. I think Thursday gets us a lot closer to having a plan. Folks need to know as we grow that the city is taking the appropriate steps to make sure that they are covered by the best in service. We are going to have that conversation on Thursday. It is an expectation of mine that we work with the administration to get us there. But I'm going to vote no, but the ordinance does pass.

Thank you, Council President. Do you want me to continue on with the agenda?

Actually, we should probably. Is there a motion to recess for recess? Second. Clerk, please call the roll.

Can we go back? We need to go back.

1508. That's emergency, correct? Emergency? Is it emergency?

It wasn't emergency?

Okay. We're good then. Okay. So this is the motion to recess. Basin, Barossa, De Padilla, De Aca, Dorns, Green, Remy, Ross, Weiss, President, Hardin.

Bye. Bye. . . Thank you. Amen. ¶¶

Thank you. . . .

. . . Thank you. Thank you. Thank you. Thank you. Thank you. Thank you. ¶¶ ¶¶ ¶¶ Thank you.

Get down.

Thank you. . . . Bye. Bye.

Oh, yeah, yeah. Oh, yeah, yeah. Oh, yeah, yeah. The twig and the book. The twig and the book.

All right, yeah. Thank you. ¶¶ . . Thank you.

Clerk, please call the roll.

Can I get a motion to assume for the reading of the journal?

Clerk, please call the roll.

Bang Simber, Rosa De Padilla, De Acar, Dorrance Green, Remy Ross, White, President Hardin.

Are there any additions or corrections to the journal? Hearing none, the journal is approved. We'll now go to the zoning committee. Chair Dorrance chairs this committee and all members start running. Council Member, the floor is yours.

Thank you, Council President. Before we begin tonight's agenda, first a little bit of housekeeping. Will the clerk please read the numbers of legislation in this committee that require a waiver of second reading?

Ordinances 377, 824, 1284, 1716, 1768. 1772, and 1805-2026, variances 378, 1764, 1769, 1800, and 1822-2026. Thank you. I now move to waive second reading on those items. Second. Thank you.

Thank you. As always, I'll briefly explain our rules to speak before council on rezonings and variances. We only hear a staff presentation for ordinance that have a disapproval from a recommending body, or if we have a public speaker assigned to speak against an ordinance. We permit three speakers on each side of an ordinance, three proponents, three opponents. We ask those speakers to limit their remarks to three minutes per the standard rules of the city council. All speakers on the council variants, including city staff, area commissioners, applicants, and members of the public will be sworn in before they give testimony. A representative and area commission are always able to speak in an ordinance. You do not need to fill out a speaker slip, but we do ask the alert city staff for your attendance to speak at this committee hearing. I'm aware that we do have two different area commissions here tonight to speak on two different pieces of legislation. Representatives of the Civic Association do need to fill out a speaker slip because civic associations are not formally recognized under Columbus City Code. This evening, we have six public speakers signed up to speak on legislation in this committee. On the advice of the city attorney's office, I will now swear in the city staff, please stand and raise your right hand and be sworn in. Do you swear or affirm the testimony we have to give shall be the truth, nothing but the truth, as you shall answer under pains of penalty of perjury? If so, please say I do. Thank you. Please let the record reflect that Tim Dietrich and Alyssa Saltzman for the Department of Building and Zoning Services, Louis Taba from the Department of Development's Division of Planning, and Daniel Bleschman for the Division of Traffic Management and the Department of Public Safety have been sworn in. First, we have ordinance number 0377-2026 to rezone 824 Kinnear Road, being 7.7 plus acres located on the north side of Kinnear Road, 900 plus feet west of Olentangy River Road, from our rural district to AR3 and proper residential district. This site was recently annexed in the city of Columbus and consists of two parcels developed with a variety of uses, including office, warehouse, multi-unit residential, consistent with Columbus' growth strategy. The applicant is proposing a multi-unit residential development containing up to four and 35 apartment units. There is no area commission or civic association over this area, but the proposal has approvals from city staff and the development commission. Any questions or comments from my colleagues? Seeing none, I move for passage.

Banks, Timber, Rosa, David, Dia, Day, Alcoward, Dorrance, Green, Remy, Ross, Vice President, Hardin.

Pass. Thank you. Next we have Ordinance 0824-126, Rezone 8032, Kennedy Road, being 15.15 plus acres located on the north side of Kennedy Road, 550 plus feet east of Chaser Street from Arroyo District to LAR1, Lemon Department Residential District. This site was recently annexed into the City of Columbus back in May. It consists of three parcels, each developed currently with a single-unit dwelling, and the requested rezoning will allow a multi-unit residential development with a maximum of 256 dwelling units. Proposed to approve from city staff, the Development Commission, but a disapproval from the Far East Area Commission. Due to the Area Commission's disapproval, we'll now hear from city staff, starting with Mr. Tim Dietrich and Alyssa Saltzman from Department of Building and Zoning Services. The floor is yours.

Good evening, Chair Dorans, President Hardin, members of council. The 15.5 acre site consists of three parcels, each developed with a single unit dwelling in the R rural district as a result of annexation into the city of Columbus. The applicant requests the LAR1 limited apartment residential district to allow a multi-unit residential development with up to 256 dwelling units as shown in the included site plan and building elevations. North of the site are single unit dwellings in the suburban periphery residential district of Jefferson Township. East of the site are single unit dwellings in the countryside residential district of Jefferson Township. South of the site are single unit dwellings in the R2 limited, sorry, residential district. West of the site are single unit dwellings in the LR2 limited residential district. The limitation text includes a maximum dwelling unit count of 256 dwelling units and incorporates supplemental development standards addressing traffic improvements, pedestrian connectivity, landscaping, fencing, entry preservation. Additionally, the text includes commitments to develop the site in accordance with the submitted site plan and building elevations. Although the proposal exceeds the density of the Far East Land Use Plan's recommendation of low density residential, Plan guidelines state that projects proposed at a density higher than the recommended land use may be supported if they include both a high level of site and building design and when significant natural resource preservation occurs. The included site plan and building elevations are consistent with these plan recommendations. Additionally, the request is aligned with the city's objective to provide more housing in all neighborhoods. Therefore, city department's recommendation is for approval.

Thank you. Two questions. So one, what is the height district currently on the property, and would this rezoning make any changes to that?

The current height district is 35 feet, and it will, I believe, stay as 35 feet.

Thank you. And what are some of the examples you mentioned, the department being in support of the application due to the increased sort of site improvements, particularly with some of the environmental concerns? This is something we've heard some things from some residents within that area about the environmental impact of this. And could you walk us through some of those things that, again, were included by this applicant that go above and beyond what would be sort of standard?

So... In the site plan, they included a large area in the northwest corner of specifically trees that are going to be preserved. And then they increased the required perimeter yard, or they went with the exact perimeter yard. So instead of reducing that around the edges, they met what is required. And they even, upon request, moved one of the buildings from three stories to two stories.

Thank you. Any questions of my colleagues in the department at this time? Seeing none, we will move over to Louis Tava from the Division of Planning. Thank you for being with us here tonight, Louis, and pitch in. Sure.

Thank you for having me. Thank you, Chair Dorans, President Hardin, members of council. So planning is supportive of the rezoning at the site. Though the proposal exceeds the Far East Land Use Plan's recommendation of low-density residential at the site, staff notes the Columbus citywide planning policies state that projects proposed at a density higher than the recommended land use may be supported if they include a high level of site and architecture design. Furthermore, C2P2 also states that densities higher than the recommended land use may be appropriate in instances when site design mitigates impacts on adjacent residential uses and significant natural resource preservation is provided. Planning also suggests the applicant consult with the Rec and Parks Department to explore potential opportunities for connectivity between the site and adjacent parkland to the north and west of the site, and that is reflected on their site plan. Thank you, Mr. Deva.

Any questions for my colleagues? Lewis, a sort of similar question I asked Ms. Saltzman just about the sort of enhancements from a site plan that are present here that from a planning standpoint that you would say whether or not those are architectural or otherwise that sort of go above where, you know, the sort of standard project would come in at.

Yeah, I mean, so the proposal shows, reflects high-quality design standards. It has a mixing of materials. It has building articulation and fenestration. It has a variety. It does have the clubhouse as well. And as far as the site design goes, Alyssa indicated that the first floor, the first building, Building 1, will be below the 35-foot height limit that is allowed in the surrounding areas. It will be two stories below. And then the tree preservation in the northwest corner of the property, that was something that they worked with the planning division on, preserving that right there, which provides a nice buffer between the residential to the north and to the west and to this proposed multi-unit development. And as far as the connectivity, it indicates that they'll work with Rec and Parks Department, but we do like to see that kind of connectivity to open spaces.

Thank you. Any questions for my colleagues? Thank you.

We'll move on to Mr. Fleshman from Traffic Management. Thank you, Chair Dorrance, President Hardin, members of council. In regards to our review of this application, please be advised that this site was required to complete a traffic impact study that evaluated traffic operations at the site access point to Kennedy Road and the intersection of Wagoner Road and Kennedy Road. Resulting from this traffic impact study, the developer will be required to perform roadway widening of Kennedy Road to provide an eastbound left turn lane and a westbound left turn lane at the site access point to Kennedy Road, which is planned to be placed to form a fourth north leg of the intersection of Kennedy Road and Cedar Run Drive. Additionally, this developer will be required to construct additional sidewalk beyond the frontage of the site to connect to the existing sidewalk network that is present west of the site. These commitments are incorporated into the limitation text associated with this proposed ordinance. With these comments noted, the Department of Public Service has no further concerns regarding this application, and I'd be happy to answer any questions.

Thank you, Mr. Bushman. Any questions from the council colleagues for traffic? Seeing none, normally we'd hear from Deputy Director for Housing Strategies, Erin Prosser, but unfortunately she's unable to be here with us, so Mr. Tava is going to read her report.

Thank you. Thank you. So the proposed rezoning of 8032 Kennedy Road supports the Columbus housing strategy by expanding housing supply and options in an opportunity-rich area with high access to some of the region's largest job centers. The current housing infrastructure is not meeting the demand. Rents have increased 29%, and home prices have risen 54% just since 2020. Cost-burdened households, those paying more than 30% of their income on their housing expenses, rose from 25% to 33% since 2020. This indicates an increasing demand for new housing, and in particular, more rental options. The current homeownership rate in the census tract is 91%. which is compared to 45% in the city, and only 7.3% of the housing units are attached units, compared to 66% in the city as a whole. This indicates a lack of housing diversity in the area, which limits options for new families and limits the mobility and aging in place options for existing residents. to proposed housing in an area of the city with access to tens of thousands of existing and planned jobs. Within 10 miles, there are 33,000 jobs at John Glenn International Airport and 3,000 new jobs planned at Intel. There are also 86,000 jobs along the East Broad Corridor. Connecting housing with jobs not only supports these workers with reasonable commutes and transportation costs, but also lessens the burdens on the regional transportation network by shortening commutes and lowering the number of vehicle miles traveled on our roadways. In an area with increased home prices and rents, already cost-burdened households, and access to significant job centers, it is critical to add the needed new housing to manage the impacts of housing scarcity on existing families as well as those needing housing in the area. Thank you.

Thank you, Mr. Teva. Any questions for Mr. Teva on that housing report? Seeing none, I will invite the applicant's representative, Ms. Bethany Seedorf, to the podium for presentation. Welcome back to council.

Hello, good evening. Council President Hardin, President Pro Tem Doards, and members of council, thank you for the opportunity to speak with you this evening. I'm Beth Seedorf. I'm an attorney at Boreas, and we represent Metro Development and its rezoning of the property on Kennedy Road to LAR 1. So I'll give you a brief procedural background on the property and then add some additional information on the commitments Metro is making in response to feedback we received from the Far East Area Commission and the community. So we met with the Far East Area Commission for well over five hours between two meetings on January 6th and February 3rd. and Joe Thomas from Metro Development separately met with a group of neighbors from Wagner Chase subdivision in early January. And so we appreciated the neighbors' thoughtful feedback, and we've incorporated many of the pieces of their feedback into our site plan. The biggest concerns neighbors shared were traffic concerns along Kennedy, which we've addressed by adding east and westbound turn lanes. We're also the lack of sidewalks on the property. We're adding a sidewalk that connects down to Chaser Street and then also having school buses back up on Kennedy Road. We've engineered the site to allow school buses to enter the site to pick up and drop off students to avoid backup on Kennedy Road. Additionally, we've made a lot of changes to the property to address concerns about privacy and then mitigating the impact on neighbors. Originally, we proposed 312 units at this site, and through the process, Metro's dropped the unit count down to 256 units, which is a reduction of 56 units that works out to approximately 16.9 units per acre. We've committed, again, to the large tree preservation area that acts as a natural buffer to the Wagner Chase subdivision to the north and west. Committed to Building 1, which fronts Kennedy Road, being two stories instead of three. Committed to a six-foot-tall privacy fence along most of the western and all of the northern property line. Committed to eight-foot-tall evergreen trees along the western property line south of the tree preservation area. Committed to eight-foot-tall pursed trees on the northern property line east of the tree preservation area. Move Building 8 interior to the property to provide more privacy to the neighbor to the east. and also added eight-foot-tall spruce trees along that eastern property line to the neighbor to the east's privacy. Ultimately, the Area Commission voted not to recommend approval because they wanted a lower density for this project than what Metro could provide and also wanted two-story buildings instead of three-story buildings. We did receive support from city staff and unanimous vote for approval from Development Commission, and we share Council's commitment to bringing more housing to the city in all income levels to keep Columbus an affordable place to live for current and future residents. And with that, we ask for your approval of this rezoning to LAR 1, and I'm happy to answer any questions you all have.

Thank you. Any questions for the applicants represented at this time?

Can you tell me what the original request for the Area Commission from a density perspective was? I'm sorry, can you say that one more time? What was the request from the Area Commission regarding density?

Yeah, so I think that they were supportive of a density between 12 and 16 units an acre, and we're at 16.9. We came down from... I think it was 20, originally 20.6.

Other questions of the applicant's representative? Ms. Cedar, I'll invite you back up after public testimony. Thank you. Thank you. As I mentioned, we have a number of folks speak up against this ordinance here this evening. The first is Far East Area Commissioner Jeffrey Chamberlain. Commissioner, welcome back to council.

Good evening, Council President Hardin and Pro Tem Dorrance. I actually wanted the residents to speak first. I wanted to say that it's sad that we feel that you all have an absolute mindset and decision that you're locked in at. And if you truly examine that, and despite what will probably be a half-hearted attempt to convince otherwise, you know there is nothing I can say tonight and no relevance of being here anymore. I only came here to show the community that we supported them and the few small changes we wanted to make. And that's it.

Ms. Chamberlain, what were those small changes you're alluding to?

We asked the density be dropped to 16 or under 16. We asked for a bus to be able to go inside of the development, not hold up traffic for both traffic's sake and safety's sake of kids getting onto the school bus. And They do show on the plans a school bus can go in and out of there. We don't have any confirmation that that actually will happen. And the last one was the frontmost building on the site that faces the road. We commonly ask for this drop from a three-story to a two-story. So it's not such a big... Expanse of a building height wise that you're gonna see on the road.

Okay, that's it Any questions with council members for folks from the Air Commission Well chair we're gonna have a I think some of those conditions were met Well, I think Commissioner Chamberlain acknowledged that at least in the bus situation It was but I think her concern remains about sort of the practicality of it on a continuing basis. Is that fair? I

What? I'm sorry.

So the applicant mentioned that they redesigned the entrance so a school bus could enter and exit. I think, if I heard you correctly, you're just concerned whether or not that will actually occur in the future. The design is one thing. The other is, is it actually implemented in that way? Is that a fair assessment?

Correct. OK. And Commissioner Chamberlain, if those conditions were met, would that change the position of the commission?

If all three of those would have, yes. we would have voted otherwise.

What if most of the conditions were met, but not all of the conditions?

What if, I'm sorry?

Well, I'm just thinking if most of the conditions were met, if you had like three sticking points and two out of the three could be met, would that satisfy some of the concerns or no?

No, because basically at the last meeting when they came, they told us that two of the three were met with the redesign of the bus going into the complex and then with the height being reduced from three-story to two-story. Okay.

Any other questions, council members?

So, Jennifer, I just want to be clear. If there's an ability for us to mandate that the bus be able to enter and exit the complex and that also the front most building be reduced from three stories to two stories? The remainder of the concerns from the community is just the 16.9 density versus 16? Okay.

We just wanted it to match the surrounding. There's not many apartments in the area, but we wanted to maintain where the others all were, which was under the 16. Okay. Okay.

Other questions from council members for the Air Commission? Chair, I just wanted to be able to ask this out loud because, you know, and again, I can sense your frustration and disappointment from your comments here. I guess when I hear an applicant come in at well over 20 units per acre and that's coming down to, you know, close to right around 17, which is, you know, to be fair, above what the Air Commission requested, I'm just curious, from a perspective of how do the area commissioners arrive at 16 as the number that made sense for you all?

The 16 was the apartments that were in the area already. And again, we just wanted to match that. And when they first came to the very first meeting with them, I don't believe they were at the over the 20 at that point. They had already had a recommendation from, I think it was city staff, to reduce it down so that it already had come to a much lower than that. They just reduced it by a little.

Yeah, I just want to... one of the bodies sort of understand because we're talking about many of these things are moving throughout a process in which their applicants are getting guidance from city staff. They're also getting requests from the area commission and those are you know, different, you know, sort of pushes and pulls as they sort of arrived to us. So I think for me anyways, it's just wanting members to sort of digest sort of how do we got to this place in which you are saying 16 is, is our number based upon it from here. And you're right. Hey, this is sort of what has been out there from a multi-unit development within the area and them saying, Hey, we're, we're at 16.9. Um, yeah. So any other council member?

I was just going to say, from what I'm seeing from the briefing document that we got, I believe one of the buildings is down to a two-story.

Yes, we asked, yeah, just for the main one that sits right up against the road, that that be reduced down to two stories so there isn't such a Right, such a height difference.

And then the other thing, so that was one of the conditions, right? And then the other one was the school bus, which I hear you on that, and we hear that often. I mean, you know, I live, as you all know, I live off of Broad Street, and there is a... even on Broad Street in the morning that picks up a student. And it certainly backs up traffic, but I know in some of the areas where I think Broad Street has the ability to have different lanes. But I do believe that when we talked to the applicant and I brought up this concern, I thought, and the applicant will come back up, but I do believe that they talked to the school district about ensuring that the clubhouse could be the drop-off and pick-up for students. So I just want to make sure that we can ask the applicant to confirm that.

they come back up any other questions council members for their commission it's not a question it's a it's a it's a comment i know we have other speakers that will speak to this but i i i do one i would still encourage regardless of how this vote goes down that we acknowledge that the role and the advocacy does change things Right now, what we literally are talking about is one of the three did not totally get met, which means that the things that happened at your meeting, and I know we all have constituencies. You're my constituent who lives in the district that I represent, but your advocacy and the advocacy of the Area Commission changed this deal by a lot. And so I don't want us to devalue your work in front of the community who of course they want every piece of it. But we all know this is democracy. It's never only you get everything or the highway or we're taking our ball and going home. And so we will work through and I'm eager to hear and talk through with the residents who are coming to speak about this. But the reason I was, I got the list of things that we asked for, and it was, I mean, they were checking them off. Specifically on the bus one, they went to the school district, and the school district said yes, that this would work. And so I just, that was, this is just to support you and your work. Don't be demoralized by getting 90% there. if that's the way this council votes. I think I can speak for the council in saying this is a pro-housing council. When we say that there's not that many apartments out there, that actually is the argument for why there probably needs to be some. You and I live out there. I live right on the corner of McNaughton, and we know all those businesses right there. We know that they don't pay that much, so who's going to work over there? Where are they going to live? And so I think having a mixed community, which, and I know why we fight so hard to keep it, because it's an amazing side of town. That's why I love living there. But I just wanted to, that was just for the area commission. We got very specific things that some of your constituents, my constituents will debate, and I will engage that way. But just for your leadership, I'm saying thank you. You work hard. And I just wanted to say that.

Well, Council President, I will continue and we will continue to meet with the community and the developers and work with them. But it just feels like when we come here, the decision's already made.

I appreciate you.

We're done. Thank you.

As I mentioned, we have two other public speakers to speak on this ordinance. I do apologize if I get anyone's names wrong, so please correct me if I do at the podium. The first public speaker is Michael Gunter. Michael Gunter, all right. Rolls off the tongue there. Welcome to council. Welcome to council, sir.

Second cousin, maybe. I know some of you already talked to Phil, the author of this outlet. But he can't be here because his wife had cancer and she finished her chemo. So he promised her a trip to her family in Dominican Republic. So that's why I handed this out. He would be here to do this. If you look through there while I'm talking, you'll see what this property has to offer without departments to put on it. I live, my name is Michael Ginter. I live at A110 Kennedy Road. I'm here to oppose the rezoning. of the 15 acres located on the north side of Kennedy Road for the purpose of building a multi-residential development for metro development. It is a false premise that a need for more apartments exist in this area. I have researched the availability of apartments in the Black Lake area from one site, apartments.com. The number of empty apartments within the small cities around Columbus is 3,713. Black Lake already has 1,096. Gahanna, 1,025. Pataskala, 538. Whitehall, 300. New Albany, 54. Reynoldsburg, 700 apartments. This does not include the new apartments that are being built right now on Taylor Station Road and Morris Road. Those are massive apartments being built. It appears the development in this area right now is more about profit and concessions from the state and the city of Columbus rather than the need for housing. Houses for rent in the same areas is 454. Houses for sale in the same area is 444. So just a small surrounding area around Columbus. I mean, around Black Lake. The 15 acres is not farmland. It is full of life, bats, deer, foxes, birds of all kinds, thousands of trees, some of them 80 years old and older. all of them home and shelter for these animals. They already sent in bulldozers and drills and plowed over the wet areas that Mr. Levitt has found to have the Corps of Engineers come look at. And the bulldozers plowed it over, and the drill rigs got stuck in the same area because it is a wet area. A complaint with the Army Corps of Engineers has been filed. File number LRH2000162 assigned to Lee Arco and his phone number is 304-399-5210. At this time, it is unknown if he has contacted Mr. Levison. The removal of three houses, two brand new pole barns, on 15 acres of long-standing woodlands for more apartments makes no sense at all. Other than that, as you can tell from the handout, Franklin County has already deemed that wetlands unacceptable for buildings because it's underground. Phil has worked his whole life in water and everything, so if you look through that, you'll see he knows what he's talking about. He's contacted the Army Corps of Engineers, and I'm not sure if they contacted him back or not. But I think your vote should be no, or if you need to hear from Phil himself when he gets back from... Dominican Republic to explain more of what you're looking at because this is a there's some wet spots I own the pond that's on the other side then my my pond is completely spring fed and it runs through the 15 acres so in the last council meeting he said well you got it the Developers had to come up with a plan because all of my water, they can't stop my water from leaving my land. There's the springs and all the way down Kennedy Road, all those ponds down Kennedy Road are spring fed ponds. So the whole area is water under the ground and it bubbles up and fills ponds. They dug ponds, it filled back up and then it goes back underground. So when they start digging ponds, all this property off from my ground level. The surveyor was there last week or the week before. They've got to dig down four feet of dirt to make their level level with my level so the water don't flow to my property. So then they're already getting closer to the water table. My house and the other houses east of me are all on septic tanks and spring water. Nobody's on city water. So when they start digging, they're going to affect our water outflow also.

Any questions from my colleagues from Mr. Ginther? Thank you, sir.

Thank you very much.

The next speaker to come for council is Mr. John C. Flessing, Jr. Mr. Lesson, welcome to council. Leeson. Leeson, thank you.

I was the third house built in Jefferson Pond and been there over 20 years. And what this is like, to me, this makes no sense. Because it's a complete wetland area, as Michael said. It would be a dynamic area for affordable housing. You talk about you want to help people. So if you built small houses in there... for affordable housing like first-time buyer, that would be ideal because what's going to happen is, like he said, the water table, okay, if they don't level with the table, They got like 15 acres, four feet. They got to push all that dirt, you know, to level it. If they don't do that, all that water is just going to go flow back in our development. And the first time that water goes into my basement, because I've lived there 20 years, the pond... when it rains and floods in the spring, it's beautiful because it builds a little creek right by the side and actually fish come out and swim around in the actual neighborhood right there because it's all wetland. And then it goes back out in the summer. You know, it's... I mean, it's like... I drive a truck, and I did construction before that. And to me, this is like ridiculous. Not to mention, Kennedy Road is going to be a nightmare once they have those 200 plus units in there. It's going to be, I bet you have road rage out the yin yang. I mean, you're going to have fights. It's going to get insane. Then, go ahead. Oh, I thought you had a question. Well, I'm just telling you, it's the community is, and then I know that you don't care about, I mean, the environment, but the environment is beautiful. I mean, it is, we've got screech owls, we've got families of deer, we've got, and they're all, it's just amazing. We have cranes, we have, because, and then they're talking about they're going to build an opening for, in their apartment area so they can come into Jefferson Pond and have access to the pond, you know. And when I moved there, I never thought that there would be, I mean, like he said, there's trees 80 feet tall that have been there and it's just, and now you're just gonna, it's gonna be a joke. And the water table, the minute that water flies, falls into, you know, then that's going to be a mess. It just makes no sense. It's going to be a nightmare for flooding. It's going to be... The bus route is going to be insane for the kids. And the minute they open that up and the kid goes back there in that pond and drowns because they're going to open that all up and then we'll have kids in the pond drowning. It's not... It just... Single-family houses would be because you could control the water flow a lot better and not mess up all the wells and not mess up the water. I mean, that just... But I'm not a very good presenter. You know, I'm not... I drive a semi, so I work hard for a living, you know? And when I moved there, that was... I'm going to stay there till I die or until I, you know, whatever. I mean, I've been there 20. So it's awesome. And now I'm just like, if I could show you a view on my phone, my bedroom is just, it's, I look out my master window and it's just trees. And like, you hear the owls, you hear the, it's just amazing. And to put apartments back there, it's like, it's, It makes no sense, especially with all the wetland and everything. And where are all the animals going to go? They're going to be, it's going to be a mess. There's a whole family of deer, like 20-some deer. I mean, it's, so what was your question?

Thank you.

I want to see my council colleagues' questions for our public speaker.

John.

Yeah.

Can I call you John?

Yeah, you can call me John. My friends call me Jay, but my legal name is John.

Well, I hope to be your friend one day, John.

OK, hopefully.

We'll see. So you're a great speaker, by the way. You're a great presenter. You did a great job. Question for you is, my wonder is when you talk about, so I live in what was once Dairyland. I live on the east side. I live close to Alum Creek. Our basements flood. I also have deer in my backyard, so I feel like the deer will still come no matter what. But my question for you is, when you talk about single-family homes being there rather than apartments, wouldn't we have the same issues, though? Because you're talking about development. There's one thing to say, don't disturb this because it's wetlands and it's beautiful and whatever. But if we're disturbing it anyways, what's the difference between the apartments and single-family homes? Because if we built all of those, then that means we're building streets. That means we're building access. That means, you know, I'm not sure where the disruption might be different than putting those apartments there. So I'm just wondering what your thought process is.

Well, yeah, because you wouldn't have all that concrete. You wouldn't have all that. There would be a, you know.

Well, you need a city street, though, and then everybody might want a driveway. So I feel like it's still the same concrete going through.

But you'd have grass, and so there would be grass, and there would be. And it would help, I mean, because a lot of people want to live in that area because it's beautiful. And it's... And, like, I sent my daughter to Grace Christian there, you know. And, I mean, so... It's just... Because I just don't think an apartment building is just all that density right there at once is just going to be. I mean, think about it. All those people going to work on Kennedy Road coming out. It's going to be. A mess.

Well, I'm just... And I'm asking just because I think we haven't had an opportunity to have conversations about it because, you know, I think about how beautiful the place is, and if you could only afford a house there, that means that's the only way you would be able to afford that beauty there, right? And so when I think about apartments, I mean, I've shared this story many times. My niece has twins. She lived in my house for two years because she couldn't... Because apartment rates are really expensive, right? And so... she should be able to live anywhere in the city that she wants to live, not in this place or this place because that's where affordable housing is. And so I think apartments are that middle road for people before you can buy a house. I mean, there's going to be some people who may never be able to afford a house and who are going to live in an apartment. And so that's the reason I'm asking is because I think about... People, you know, I mean, I think about our staff here. I think about, you know, other folks who want to live in beautiful places as well and want to have some place that's affordable for them to live.

And then maybe smaller apartments, but we don't need no three-story freaking monsters, you know. I mean, what about... What about little small, little, like, I don't know if you guys were Wyandotte was built in Willis Park area? Something like that.

So it would have been okay. It's just the density, really, at the end of the day. It's the density. Yeah.

I mean, it needs to be broken up. Not like some big frickin' three-story building. Building that, you know, looks like a... It's just... It's stupid. And then all the water, it has nowhere to go because there's not going to be... You know, it's going to be all blacktop concrete and all that. It's going to be a mess. And they have to push all that. It's like... I think what Michael said, like... Four feet, you know, 15 acres. All that dirt's got to be, because the minute it's going to do this and flow right back into Jefferson Pond subdivision, it's going to be, we'll be floating around in boats, you know. I mean, it'll be crazy.

Thank you so much, Frank. Thank you so much for your testimony.

NJ, I take your point about this water table issue. That is to the development team. That is what I'll ask about when they come back up, trying to understand this four-foot thing as well.

It's wetlands. It's not made for big, monstrous apartment buildings. I mean, small little starter homes would be ideal.

I still think you would have the same issue. I think to your point, Council President, I think understanding from the developer what to do with the water because, again, I mean, I live in a neighborhood that has houses and we still have a water issue. So I think just understanding it, what they're going to do. I don't think it matters whether you do apartments or houses.

And I don't want to look out my bedroom window and have this gigantic three-story building that can look right into my house. master bedroom you know i mean let's make it you know smaller you know because like i said they're supposed to the trees are like supposed but they cut down trees they think they've already got it done because they came back there with the bulldozer and cut down a bunch of trees and and did and they weren't supposed to do that so they they think this is already a done deal

Thank you for your testimony. Any other questions from my council colleagues for public speaker? I think we've got lots of questions for the applicants, so thank you very much for coming down. I want to invite the applicant's representative back up to answer some of these questions. Welcome back, Ms. Seedorf. I'm going to go ahead and probably turn this over to, I think, Council President had some questions on water, so I will turn it over to him.

Thank you. So this conversation around water, water, water seepage, leveling off compared to the adjacent properties. Can you just walk us through that part of the conversation?

Yeah, so this property grades from the highest point will be in the north point. It will grade down to the pond. I don't know if you can put the site plan back up. But the intent is, and as you know, as part of the final site compliance plan, there's extensive engineering done on the site from a stormwater management control. We can't have our stormwater leave the property in a way that hurts people downstream. So the site will be designed by engineers to capture its stormwater drainage and whatever it is required to do under the codes. But the grade is from the north to the south. Northwest to Southeast. And there's a stream down at the bottom as well. That's in a stream corridor protection zone.

Ms. Seedorf. So we've had a lot of, we've had several of these cases here recently where stormwater has been, I think one of the primary concerns we've heard from some residents. And I think it's somewhat of a frustrating answer for them to hear that, Oh, that comes later. So, you know, for, I know we don't have someone from the division of our, the department of water and power here right now, but you could just walk us through sort of, you know, we have a zoning before us here tonight. your experience owning an attorney, you just talk about sort of what comes next from a perspective of dealing with that sort of watershed issue. And particularly here, when talking about the public speakers, and I met with Mr. Levinson a couple of weeks ago, who is a neighbor, who is very experienced in this area, and his primary concerns were these environmental ones regarding potentially, you know, What are streams? What are wetlands? And this does seem to be, this is not just some random greenfield, you know, open space. There is a lot here. So you could walk us through a little bit just about sort of the next steps, you know, as you've had many clients go through this process before.

Sure. Yeah, just like any other site in the City of Columbus, we obviously have, this property had to be annexed and it has to be rezoned and then the next step after that is the final site compliance plan. And generally speaking, a lot of clients, this is just general, they kind of do their engineering kind of, sometimes it's with the rezoning or it's after the rezoning, but in this case it's kind of in conjunction and then we'll submit those plans to final site compliance, which is where we get our building permits and things like that. The site has been designed preliminarily with all of those things in mind and with the requirements of the City of Columbus in mind. And we're also working with the Ohio EPA and the Army Corps of Engineers to get all, there's a wetland delineation report that's been completed and submitted to those entities and we're working through to get the proper permits, whatever is required to move forward with development on this site. But we will follow all the rules and regulations, and all of those things will be addressed as part of this process. The rezoning, while it has to deal with the use and the site plan and everything like that, all of these things are kind of happening sometimes at the same time. Sometimes things come later, and we don't know those information. So it's just kind of a dance that we're trying to do as part of the development.

Thank you. Other questions for council members, for the applicants represented?

I have a question.

As for us.

So we're talking about the density and the 16.9 versus the 16, which is what the community was asking for. How does that equate to actual units? So you've already dropped 312 to 256. If you were to drop to a 16 unit per acre density, how many units does that? Oh man, you're asking me to do math.

I don't know the answer to that. I think if I'm doing math right, it's about 14 or 15 because there's 15 acre site, correct? Yeah, somewhere about there.

So about 14 or 15. Okay. Sorry.

Can you answer the question about the, well, I'll start with this question. Can you answer the question about the bus and is there a formal agreement? What does that look like?

Yeah, so our client has spoken with Dr. Miller, who's the superintendent of Lilliking Heights School District, and they are amenable to having the buses come into the site. I don't know if we have like a formal agreement, but they have said that works for them. And I don't know what if we, we don't have any like something written in stone that says yes we will drop the kids off there but that that is that we have worked with them on the routing and the different potential pickup points but it has worked for them and they've seemed happy with that and that and again the the plan would be the clubhouse is where yes yep so yeah there could be other places if it ends up working out the but yes that's the the main point that we would think to pick up

So if I could ask our Director Messer from just a thinking about, let's say we ask the Army Corps of Engineers to come in and they review it and they're like, we cannot do this plan for whatever reason, for the safety reason or something else. Then what is our recourse? Do we... Can you just answer that for the residents?

Sure, I can answer that. Essentially, while that is a state process and isn't our local process, the local process is all dependent on those type of approvals. So there are very specific plans that the applicant would have to apply for, a stormwater plan, That would have to comply with not only state rules, but before it would ever be approved, but have to comply with our local stormwater manual. So essentially it's all connected. I know we've talked about sequential things here, but they're all connected, so you can't get a building permit to build anything until you've got your stormwater and other site plans approved. You can't get those approved until you get the state approval, and none of it gets approved unless they get the zoning approved. So it's all interconnected and will be reviewed by the appropriate people, as has been mentioned.

And then just my last question, Chair, the developer owns that land now, correct? We have not closed on it yet, no. Oh, you have not closed on it? What is happening to the land now?

There have been some, as part of the due diligence on the property, there's been a wetland mitigation study that's been done. So people, contractors who've gone out there, I don't know, I don't have specific knowledge of a bulldozer, but there have been people out there who have done studies on the land. So that's part of our due diligence.

Thank you. There were thoughts that trees had already been removed. If there were trees removed, that wasn't done by your client. I don't know. I don't know the answer to that.

Other, Council Member Green.

So you are doing 200, you're proposing 256 units, and then of those units, how many of them are you committing to be affordable, and what what income levels? Yes.

So we are going to participate in the citywide CRA. So 30% of the units will be reserved for 80% AMI for 15 years. So that's 77 of the 256 units.

Okay.

And so you are, that is the plan not to take the fee in lieu.

Correct. Wonderful. And then just a follow-up question for kind of similar to what Council Member Rosa De Padilla was asking, and I'm not sure if this is a developer question or a department question. When... Oh, Mr. J, I forgot your last name, but I do remember your friends call you J. And so there you go. When you were talking about, he was kind of talking about well water and, you know, potential disruption to the wells. And this is something that I've been thinking a lot lately, just in the conversations we're having also around data centers and environmental impact that caused by those developments and how they're, you know, we have seen suddenly people's well water coming up contaminated. So like, what are the legal steps if something like that were to happen? Like I'm assuming that there would be protections for surrounding property owners, you know, if soil disruption causes then issues related to well water or other type of, you know, challenges.

Councilmember Green I think the best way I can answer that is obviously all of the approvals and all the submissions that are given to our department and apartments across the city are meant to avoid and keep that from happening and that's why we have all the rules and regulations that have to be followed so in the unlikely event that those rules and regulations aren't sufficient then I believe, you know, it would be sort of a civil issue at that point of damages and those type of claims. There are times when sewer backups and things happen in this city, and there are processes to deal with those through the legal system.

Other questions for the applicant from my colleagues? Seeing none, thank you.

Thank you.

I do want to again thank both our folks in the Area Commission and residents that came down. I think as the Council President mentioned, this is actually, I sense the deep disappointment from the folks in the Area Commission. However, when we talk about there being three main points, and two of them from my vantage point I think are resolved. One is pretty close. We're talking about the difference between 16 and 16.9. I think that is certainly not the same number, but we're talking about the difference between 13 or 14 or 15 units. We're not terribly far off with the acknowledgement of that 16 unit per acre number is being set at prior developments with an area that is certainly built before Columbus potentially was growing as quickly as we are today. So to say that this is anything more than trying to see compromise take place between Applicants, our area commissions, I think to Council President's point, this is talking about shaping that process and shaping certainly a project. I think that is certainly something that we expect and certainly I think is alive and well and sort of part of this system that we have in place. You know, this proposal received approval from the Development Commission 5-0. We're seeing traffic improvements, particularly being made here. The amount of housing that is particularly needed within this area that is primarily does not have many rental opportunities that currently are there. You know, and I think at the end of the day, when we're talking about all of the things that we've had on the table, I think with our prior speakers, you know, I know it can ring somewhat hollow, but so many of those things are handled through that stormwater mitigation that's handled outside the council process. That, again, if they can't comply with those development standards, then they can't get their permits and they can't get built. That should not be necessarily a barrier to the zoning itself, which is why I'm in support of this piece of legislation and I move for passage by voice vote.

Clerk, please call the roll by voice.

Bankston? Yes. Barroso de Padilla? Yes.

I just want to echo to, especially to our Far East commissioners who I work with, I am a fellow Eastsider and I certainly live in an area that is very unique, that is, you know, a mix of apartments and a mix of homes and that's certainly the neighborhood that I grew up in and I think that in this particular project, I do believe that the community and the commission made this project better, which is what was a deciding factor for me. It would have not been and I don't These are not decisions. I don't always come here. I don't ever come here with my mind made up. I want to hear what people have to say. I want to hear what things make sense. You all have seen that I have voted no on things that don't make sense. And in this particular area, I think that you... like I said, have made this project better. And I think as it goes through the process, we will find out if it is yet to be seen if there are things that are not going to be suitable for the community. So that's why I'm a yes vote today. But I want to ensure that folks know that these conversations are incredibly important in hearing from the community. hearing from the commission, especially the Far East Commission, who is part of the MAC, you have helped to develop and shape the east side. And so you should know that and know that there are going to be disappointments and we're not always going to see eye to eye, but you consistently make the city better because you push on people to meet the requirements that neighbors want and that you all want. And this is also an interesting one because it's annexed. And I think that this goes back to the original conversation that we were having before. This is a piece of Columbus that is also part of a piece of lots of different other areas. And so it makes it somewhat challenging, I will say for myself, to make these decisions when, you know, we're talking about some of our constituents and we're talking about folks who are not all our constituents. But when I think about where, again, having mixed neighborhoods that allow people a choice on where to live because everyone is not going to be able to afford a house, that is what helps to drive my decision-making, which is why I'm a yes vote today.

Dayak Howard.

Yes.

Dorans. Yes. Green. Yes. Ramey. Yes. Ross. Yes. White. Yes. President Hardin.

Thank you. Next, we have ordinance number 1284-2026 to rezone 1695 Dewey Avenue being 2.29 plus acres located in the south side of Dewey Avenue at the southern terminus of Key West Avenue from M Manufacturing District to R1 Rural, I'm sorry, Residential District to LM Limited Manufacturing District. This site consists of one undeveloped parcel, split-zoned in the M Manufacturing District and R1 Residential District. The request of rezoning will allow the site to be redeveloped with limited office uses and less objectionable manufacturing uses. Proposed with the approval of city staff and the Development Commission, but a disapproval from the North Central Area Commission. Due to that disapproval, we'll now hear a staff report from city staff, starting with Ms. Alyssa Saltzman from the Department of Building and Zoning Services. Or actually, pardon me, it'll actually be Tim Dietrich from the Department of Billings and Owned Services. Thank you.

Thank you, Chair Dorans, President Hart, members of council. The request that LM Limited Manufacturing District will allow the site to be developed with limited office and less objectionable manufacturing uses as allowed with the submitted limitation text. North and west of the site are single unit dwellings and undeveloped parcels in the R3 Residential District. East of the site is an undeveloped portion of a parcel in the M District and the R1 Residential District. and south of the site is a recycling center in the M manufacturing district. The limitation text establishes use restrictions, limits the site to office uses and limited, less objectionable manufacturing uses, and includes supplemental development standards addressing building and parking setbacks, site access, landscaping and screening, and graphics. With the limitation text including appropriate use restrictions and commitments to increase landscaping and screening from adjacent residential properties, staff's recommendation is for approval.

Thank you. Any questions from council colleagues for Mr. Dietrich? Seeing none, we will move to Mr. Louis Taba from the Division of Planning.

Thank you, Chair Dorans, President Hardin, and members of council. Planning is supportive of the requested rezoning. Staff notes the proposed use is consistent with the Columbus Growth Strategy, land use recommendation of industrial and warehouse at the site. Staff recognize that the commitments to landscaping and screening in the updated limitation text are consistent with Columbus Growth Strategy design guidelines. Therefore, planning is supportive of the request. Staff also notes that the land use recommendation was updated under the recent passage of the Columbus Growth Strategy. On February 25th, 2026, it took effect. We note that corresponding zoning as part of zone and economic and housing opportunity is still under consideration.

Thank you, Mr. Tabak. So I mentioned in my comments that the parcel that we're talking about rezoning here tonight is split zoned. Can you explain a little bit about what that exactly means and how that sort of interplays? A portion of that is zoned currently residential, and a portion of it is currently zoned as manufacturing. And sort of the acceptable uses currently that could be done under those zoning districts. And Mr. Tabak, I don't know if that's a better question for Mr. Dietrich, who's, I believe, nodding at me. It's a better question for him. So I'll throw that to you, Tim.

Yes, so it is split-zoned M manufacturing and R1 residential. R1 is a very restricted district. It allows a single-unit dwelling. M allows basically everything under commercial and manufacturing properties. So this would actually be a... This requested LM is much more restrictive in the uses allowed for that portion of the site. Thank you.

Any questions from the council colleagues? Seeing none, we will turn to Mr. Dan Bleschman from the Division of Traffic Management.

Thank you, Chair Dorrance, President Hardin, members of council. In regards to our review of this application, please be advised that with regards to the size of the site and the specific limitations of uses that are present within the proposed limitation text of this ordinance, there are no specific concerns with the proposed traffic volumes anticipated to be generated by this proposed development site. This proposed development site will be required to be limited to one access point to Dewey Avenue that would be anticipated to be in line with the intersection of Key West Avenue. With these comments noted, the Department of Public Service has no further concerns regarding this application. I'd be happy to answer any questions.

Any questions for Mr. Blushman? Seeing none, I'll invite the applicants and Representative Ford for presentation.

Hello, my name is Joe Clace with Plan for Land. I'm the president and members of council. We appreciate your time this evening. I'd also like to have my client and our applicant introduce themselves as well.

Hi, everyone. My name is Ali Behain.

I know we had shared a PowerPoint, I believe you can see. We wanted to kind of just walk through the application. This site is, staff's been great to work with. The neighborhood's been very understanding in our application. We'd like to talk through some of the noted concerns the neighborhood had in relationship to the use, but we'd also like to kind of talk through why we think this use was originally discussed and the nature it is. This site is across the road from residential. One of the benefits we have with this less impactful, low impact use of office warehouses is that we can set the use further back off the road and it can blend in more with the neighborhood. One of the things I want to note before we go to the next slide is this back area. That's Rumpke's recycling facility. It's not sense of scale there. It's a much larger facility. But that's just from the aerial photograph kind of showing the proximity to the footprint of their facility to this planned use. I'll talk through the next slide. So that's where I advance? Okay, got it. So I want to talk a little bit about the heavy manufacturing in the back. My client's got an interest in building on the site what would be considered office warehouse type use. We'd like to make use of the entire property while preserving that greenway corridor in the front. So the low impact flex use seemed to fit the site a lot better and answer questions about what would be built in front of this. Tucking that type of use behind a single-family residence there didn't seem to be too fitting for the overall access. The only access to this property is off of Dewey Avenue. The proposal has two buildings in it, single-story, and we try to propose something that would fit the characteristics of the neighborhood. Ample setback. We're proposing a 50-foot setback off of the Dewey Avenue right-of-way. Part of that would be mound and shrubs, and then the There's a screening proposed fence that's on the west side. The retention basin's on the east side. That would be required to handle stormwater on site, but also be an aesthetic that would provide a little bit more open space for this property. The traditional office warehouse is a flex use. So the way that the manufacturing, we try to indicate here, it's heavy industry manufacturing uses, processing assemblies that will definitely be offensive to the neighborhood. We'd like to propose this flex use, and we've worked with staff through the neighborhood as well, try to identify uses that we feel like would be most appropriate for this site. And as a result of that, we feel like it's a very low intensity use across the spectrum. As well, there'd be no outside storage. So that would be different from what you'd see in the manufacturing district. And it would allow us to preserve an ample amount of green space around the boundary of the property. Within the limited text, we're recommending binding landscaping commitments as well as binding setbacks and heavy use limitations. So we looked at Columbus Zone Inn and we realized that was acknowledged and that in the future this property will be rezoned as part of the Columbus Zone Inn. We feel that this modernizes the lot split and it's a thoughtful reinvestment in the property as it sits today. These types of uses are small businesses. This isn't large industry. This is something that would definitely help provide jobs for the local neighborhood. And while there may be some opposition from the neighborhood today for this type of use, we realize that a lot of these are actually run by local people in the neighborhood. So it's not something that people are driving in from out of town to typically run these type of outfits. And a lot of times they're out of sight, out of mind after built. This isn't a retail type of establishment. This isn't something that you're going to be trying to drive high traffic toward. These type of uses tend to work really good as transitional uses between residential and manufacturing districts. So that's what we're recommending here. We've taken a look through Zone N, and we feel like we're in keeping with the proposed spirit of what's gone through with that planning effort and proposed code amendments. There is built-in screening. This maybe highlights a little bit more the earthen mound at the frontage. We had some questions about access. Single access allows more landscaping across the frontage, allows for controlled access to the property. This will not be attracting heavy truck traffic, so the idea of turn radiuses and those type of things for this type of use is very minimal. At most, it would be a small box truck, typically per use like once a week. that would come in and deliver supplies that would then be taken out by, depending on the use of individual users. And I'm sure you guys are familiar with Office Warehouse. I won't go into too much there, but we did try to take into consideration even the dumpster enclosure and items that would be pushed to the back of the site and the proposed design. I realize you're recommending a rezoning for a district with limitation text, but we are providing your rendering of what's been proposed just so that you have an idea of the character that they'd like to build on the site. We feel like it will serve the local community, low impact, and will create local jobs. Ollie can offer any answers to questions you might have as well, since he's more intimate into the business side of it. But as a site planner, I wanted to give you a little overview of what we had planned there. So the rezoning, one of the things that we would like to say of why we deserve the support, be it's a less intense use, and what the zoning already allows. It advances the zone-in goals that were already set out for the community, and we realized that might bring change in the future. This will blend in well with what's being proposed in the area. Then it's real committed protections for the neighbors as well. We're making specific investment commitments within the text to make sure that those are upheld through the development process. My client's been flexible in trying to understand what Other type of commitments would be requested, and I believe we worked with staff to try to understand exactly what their concerns were. I believe we've addressed 100% of the concerns that were raised. And it's a quiet, local, transitional use, so it's not one that's traditional of noise or traffic impacts or anything like that. So I don't want to continue to reiterate those, but I'm happy to answer any questions you might have. Do you have anything to add?

I just want to touch on two points. I currently have an office space very similar to these spaces, which is a 200 square foot office and a 3,000 square foot warehouse. I'm in the real estate business and I have a lot of material that I use regularly, whether it's ceiling fans or doors or lumber. That's what I use it for, the warehouse side of it for. And talking to my colleagues, I know there's a big demand for realtors that have staging equipment that they want to use. And my experience, I'm in my office maybe once a day, usually maybe two or three times a week. So it's not that I draw a lot of traffic. Sometimes I meet clients for signing leases or agreements, but that's about it. So I think there's a big demand for people like me, business owners that need storage space. The second thing that I want to touch on is from the beginning, we've gone to the community, we went with an open mind and we listened and we took notes. and we went back and revised and revised and revised and revised. There's been zero pushback as far as our end demanding something else. So I was a little bit surprised that they turned us down because ultimately we listened and we implemented some of their concerns.

Any questions for the applicants or his representative this time? Council Member Green.

Thank you, Council President, for your time. What kind of, so you said you're in real estate. I guess I'm just kind of, my question was what other types of businesses would go in a space like this? Like what do you imagine it would be used for? Do you have a prospective tenant in mind already?

I do not. You're a little bit, that's a little bit further down the line. But I know there's some collectors, so I'm talking to other people that have flex spaces that they attract collectors that they like to collect items. and they need a storage space. I know talking to my flooring guy, he needs a similar space to store because he buys pallets of flooring at a time and he needs a place to store it even though he doesn't really sell it as a retail, but he needs a space to. So there's an extension of real estate that everybody, you know, you buy bulk, you save. So having a space like that really is helpful.

I could answer. We have a lot of these developments that we've done over the years as well. What we tend to see happen is small business. It's a lot of times people are out going in their garage. They have a home occupation. They need somewhere because zoning is kicking them out. They need somewhere to run their business that can allow them to expand before they get their own space. In other cases, it's Ohio Health and Cardinal. They use these for their suppliers. to be able to sort and distribute to local hospitals. So a lot of times they'll bring in and try to repackage and serve local business. So just as an example, those type of uses would be kind of fitting the office warehouse type. I've also seen realtors use them. They store their signs in the back. They have their office in the front, and they're low impact. It's usually a One or two trips in per week. They'll go to title offices for their closing, but they need somewhere to store their real estate signs. And an office like this works out really well.

So two questions. So one, how many times do you meet with folks from the immediate neighborhood civic association? And then how many times did you all meet with the area commission?

I believe we had three meetings. I think it was four, but I couldn't tell you the names of them. I collectively went to four.

Right. And I know there's been a lot of concessions made, you mentioned, around sort of limitations. So what are some of the types of businesses that cannot be located based on the limitation text that you've agreed to at this point?

Yeah, I think there was some pushback on some of those that might be working with heavier metals or heavier woods. We went to small wood and metal products, but I think those were some of the limitations that came out.

A lot of dealing with hazardous material was one of the things that came up. Storage in the front or outside the units was one of the concerns. Safety was one of the concerns because they wanted more lighting, security cameras. That was one of the concerns. Setbacks were some of the concerns.

Yeah, setbacks were a larger one. The fence was extended down the west side or the east west side of the property to fully screen the site. We previously just screened the residential component, but it was agreed to screen the entirety of the western border. So that was extended back. But the setbacks off the front were also extended to ensure that Nothing was built within 50 feet Building wise and then yeah, even the mound with area was preserved So I think it was a 30-foot setback for parking in the front.

Thank you Any other questions from my council colleagues for the up another? Seen them. Thank you both. I'll invite you up after public testimony The first speaker we have to come for Council is North Central Area Commissioner Christina Harrison Commissioner I Think we have Commissioner Williams Commissioner, welcome to council.

Good evening, everyone. So I'm here this evening to speak in opposition on behalf of my community. To be fair, they did come out to our civic association twice. They had the area commission meeting and then zoning. So those were the accounts of the various meetings that took place because they did not, they came out of order. So that's the reason why there were additional meetings. So I just wanted to clear that point up. But American Mission as a whole was opposed to the proposed rezoning of the 1695 Dewey Avenue property. into a limited manufacturing district. We've been working really hard, very diligently, to maintain and build up our community into a residential space. If you're familiar with the community, it's very close, small, and tight knit. And especially on that end of Dewey, that goes out, to be clear, The fencing that is there was put up by Rumpke. I actually sat on that planning and development board when they built the new Rumpke facility. And so they do not have any operations that is on the side of the property that goes along Dewey so it doesn't disturb the church nor the residents that reside over there. So I wanted to kind of be clear about that as well. We as a neighborhood have been working really close with the city as a whole to kind of advance the vision of being a net zero community. And we've been participating in air quality control studies with an innovation team and working to maintain our neighborhood. As you know, that particular area is surrounded by pollutants and manufacturing that we've been trying to limit and keep residential to build up the community. We're concerned about the impact. They're saying there's not going to be additional, like that much additional traffic. But if your intent is to rent out those various spaces to other businesses, there's definitely going to be traffic increased in that area. And we've been working with Homeport to, again, build up that community. They're on schedule to build 24 additional homes, and they are going to be particularly on Key West and Curenton, which go right up to the proposed site. To be honest, we're all working on affordable housing, but just because it's affordable doesn't mean someone wants to take it. And with it being next to more manufacturing, I think that would be a deterrent. for someone that was wanting to buy a home. So I'm out here just speaking for the behalf of our residents. When they did come to the Civic Association, it was voted down 21, no. There was a person that abstained and then one person that was in support of it. So the neighborhood as a whole, alarmingly, was against the project. But my biggest thing is, again, to fight for our residents, for the health and safety and the well-being of all of our residents. And it was just a clear, resounding no from the neighborhood at large. And again, I mean, I will say we try to work with them in regard to some of the limitations, but we want residential to remain residential and bring homes into this community. We're a family-oriented community. close-knit neighborhood. We want to remain as such. We're not opposed to business as a whole, but when you're having a space that is going to increase the traffic where you're planning on renting out different parts of this property, I just don't think it's a great idea. And in addition to where the property is going to have one in front of the other, And based on the dimension, I don't see how it's honestly going to fit because there's homes directly across the street from this proposed property. But in closing, I'm here to represent for my neighbors and my community and be their voice. And the community as a whole was not for this project.

Thank you, Commissioner Williamson. One, I wanted to ask you a question. I understand it may be difficult to speak on this, whether on behalf of the commission and whether or not you want to give your own opinion. That's certainly up to you, and I don't want to push you on the spot. The way that I sort of view this application coming through, it's somewhat unique, right, in the sense of we've got part of it that's currently zoned residential, and I certainly understand the work that you and so many folks have done about it. wanting to build up more housing opportunities for folks in American Edition, particularly ownership opportunities. That has really been such a great partnership with Homeport and with others. But then the other part of the property is zoned manufacturing right now, and that part of the property could be developed in a way that would make that other portion that is currently zoned residential be developed in a manner that, without this body taking a vote one way or the other, because that's just the way it's zoned right now, that that would make it particularly unattractive for folks to want to build residential on the portion of that property and would potentially have an even bigger impact on the folks across the street or down the street. So for me, I sort of view this, and again, I'm speaking for myself, and whether or not you want to speak to this at all is certainly up to you, you know, it does seem like a good transition away from that sort of heavier manufacturing. Now, I understand your point about Rumkey not having as much on that property line, and that was sort of intentional with you all working with them over the years, and a very sort of intentional choice made, but this does strike me as a way to sort of bring that transition with the limitations that you all work with them on, considering that part of the property right now, you know, if we were to vote this down today, you know, someone could buy that parcel and put lots of things there that I think the neighborhood would say that's not good for attracting new residents to our community. So, you know, that is just sort of the framework that I'm using when I evaluate this, and I just wanted to give you, as an opportunity, there's been a lot of meetings about this, just to respond to that.

No, I totally agree. wholeheartedly understand where you're coming from and that was part of the conversation because like you said, part of it is own manufacturing and they can pretty much, what manufacturing can pretty much do anything, right? And we are kind of directly experiencing that because directly across the street on Joyce Avenue, there is a monstrosity of a project that's getting built and it's technically South Linden And it was zoned appropriately, so they didn't have to come to any commission. Even the people in South London are not aware of what is actually being built, and it's affecting the American Addition community. So I totally get that aspect. And as a community, we are concerned about it. I will say we did work out with some of the limitations. And questions to you guys. If it was approved, and they put forth these limitations, Will these limitations carry over to when this property is sold?

It will. Okay. Any limitations with the tax bind over from the zoning. So if they were to sell that tomorrow or a year from now or 10 years from now, anything that has been limited in sort of this discussion, no one could operate, you know, a business or anything that would violate those restrictions. If they did, that would then be a zoning violation, and our good folks at the Department of Building and Zoning Services would issue them, you know, a violation, and they either have to clean it up or we go shut them down.

Oh, I know. Danielle and I, we're like this. I put all in the 311, so... But, yes, we have considered this, but, again, I am... You know, the community wanted me to voice their concerns, and that's what I'm here to do. And it was, unfortunately, it was a resounding no. We only had one in favor and one individual opposed. I mean, excuse me, abstain.

And I appreciate that, I guess. And I certainly understand folks' interest in, again, putting their energies into what they want to see more from a residential standpoint develop in that area because that has been so much of the focus um so i just want to give you an opportunity to sort of speak to um that other aspect of from somebody from the outside looking in about what else could happen if if this body chose to say no to this and then something else would come up down the line but i did want to pause and see if any of my council colleagues had any other questions or questions they have for miss williams you're going to bring the applicant back up right or no we have a couple more public speakers and then i will bring the applicant back up back on up at the night

I just have a point of clarification because it's not often that I will agree with the residential zoning being taken away in favor of less housing for manufacturing. But I heard that the growth strategy, which presumably was opined on by the community, is going to change this to... all light use manufacturing at some point? This entire, both parcels, both the residential parcel and the manufacturing parcel?

Correct. And I can certainly defer to Mr. Teva about what that would look like. So again, the land use recommendation from the growth strategy changed. Again, just to make sure that everyone's following what the recommendation changed, but the zoning did not change. So the zoning would potentially change in a future phase of zone in, which has not happened yet. Okay. So, again, that recommendation would be as part of what would go into that future phase, but not necessarily at this point. To do this now, you still need a rezoning from this potty. Mr. Tabo?

Yeah, that is correct. So we did community outreach engagement as part of the Columbus Growth Strategy. This was adopted as part of the Columbus Growth Strategy as industrial and warehouse. We have not crafted or determined what will be the proposed zoning district for this area. It will be some form of industrial, at which point in time we will be coming out to the community to do engagement, community education engagement, meet with the community have our gallery to determine what is the appropriate zoning district for this parcel but the growth strategy does recommend industrial warehouse for both the northern portion and the southern portion of the parcel so they want to propose an

industrial in an area that we're investing a lot of money in to be in a net zero community and we're surrounded by terrible air quality as we're doing an air quality study right now. Our community has been plagued for years with manufacturing industrial issues and just the health, safety, and well-being of the community as a whole between North Central and Linden. As you see, we're surrounded by whether it's used car places, junkyards, salvage yards, we're surrounded by it all and we're trying to up-build a community and that's millions of dollars and then it's still affecting the health of individuals as, you know, a lot of the residents in American Addition, Lindale community, unfortunately, who have lived their lives and spent their lives in that community, a lot of those older residents have passed away from cancers and things, a lot of health issues. So we're just trying to do what is best for the residents at Hull.

Mr. Chair, just a point of clarification there, and I will give you all credit, Madam Commissioner, because when we talk about that zoning distinction of manufacturing, what this is is limited manufacturing. So I know it sounds... like weird because it's still manufacturing, but it's really going to be more of an office type of use. And that's because of the limitations that you all negotiated to put in there. So I just want to clarify those limitations that you all oppose upon them that they came to the table and agreed to will stay with this property in perpetuity, right? Unless someone comes and we're not here to vote that, but. What's before us, I think, is the limitation that you all put on it as a use. So am I getting that clear, Mr. Chair? I just wanted to give you credit for stepping up for your community to put in those limitations.

Thank you. Any other questions for Commissioner Williams? Thank you so much for being here. Great to see you. We do have a number of other public speakers. The first is Yvette Kelson. Welcome to Council.

I'm a little nervous. Good evening everyone and I just want to thank you all for being here and giving us your time and for the awesome work that you do for the neighborhood. I wrote something up because that's a little bit easier for me so I'll just go through that briefly. So March 2026 our community came together to provide input on this proposed variance and the message was clear. All but one participant voted against the proposal. This is a residential neighborhood and residents do not want another manufacturing facility, additional warehouses, or industrial uses placed within our community. We have worked hard to build and maintain a neighborhood where families can live, children can play, and residents can enjoy their peace and stability. Manufacturing and industrial expansion does not belong in our backyards. Please vote no. Our concerns are heightened by the fact that there are two extremely large warehouses that are currently being built on Joyce Avenue. One is over 200,000 square feet, and the second one is 300,000 square feet over that. Just outside of our neighborhood, these developments will bring increased traffic, congestion, noise, and environmental impacts to an area that is already heavily burdened. Our neighborhood is surrounded by industrial businesses, and residents are already dealing with the air pollution and the negative effects that come with the industrial activity. Now, mind you, when most of us moved there, Rumpke was not there. These two extremely large warehouses were not there. The junkyards were already there. Pulaski Light down the street was already there. So all of this extra industrial was definitely, we didn't know it was coming. Adding these manufacturing uses closer to our homes will only worsen these existing challenges while creating additional concerns about safety, quality of life, and increased activity from non-residents entering our community. So please vote no. To piggyback on what Ms. Council Member Greene has spoke about, about the businesses that are going to be there, there's two warehouses, and each of them can hold five businesses, so that's a total of ten. He plans to take over one or two of them, so the others will be rented out. We're not sure what businesses are going to be there. We're only talking hypotheticals, so we don't know. We don't know how long those terms are going to be, so additional people will be coming in and out of our neighborhood. Now we are aware that we have Rumpke and the other Warehouses, but they're on Joyce and they're on the outskirts of our neighborhood. This is coming directly into it So that's a little bit different, you know, you kind of bypass it going down Joyce, but now they're going into the neighborhood This issue is more than one project or one property It's about the future direction of our community the American Edition neighborhood was built on a foundation of history resilience and prosperity our homes are not storage spaces and warehouses, or locations for future industrial ventures. Manufacturing facilities do not fit into the character and the aesthetics or purpose of our neighborhood. Our community deserves thoughtful planning that supports families, seniors, children, homeowners, and renters. We need development that enhances the quality of life, not development that adds more burdens to neighborhoods that are already carrying the consequences of heavy industrial growth. Stand with us to protect our community, preserve our residential character, and safeguard the future of our neighborhood. Please vote no.

Thank you. Any questions for my colleagues for the public speaker? Council Member Roach?

Thank you for being here and for your advocacy. I know it feels nerve-wracking to get up and speak, but we're good. You did great. Just talking through the potential options of what could be there, right?

Yes.

could be an office, right? It could be a real estate office that someone is storing their things or meeting with clients. Do you think that is detrimental to the neighborhood or does that give residents who may live in the area the opportunity to have office space nearby?

Well, if you look at the drawings that he had, those were not office spaces. It's more warehouse. There's going to be large garage doors in the back so they can bring trucks to unload and load what we don't know. All of this is hypothetical businesses. They may build it and decide to sell it, so then we don't know what the future... owner is going to do so no one really knows what's going to be there but what we do know that it can be up to 10 businesses random businesses which will increase the traffic we like the fact that we're kind of tucked away even though we aren't there's kind of trees that divide us from the main street of Joyce but nonetheless they'll be coming into the neighborhood and so We can't predict what will come with that. So that's what really concerns me. We don't know what's coming. Yeah, we know a building is coming, but we don't know what's going to be in the building, who's going to be there. They'll be in the neighborhood as opposed to the outskirts of it. So that's really a concern.

Do the limitations that are being placed on the property make any difference to you at all in terms of knowing that at a minimum it won't be heavy industrial or heavy manufacturing happening at that site?

Not really. And I say that only because, again, the safety of the neighborhood, the people that will be coming in, and it's already, we have enough industrial. You know, once those two warehouses get going, the traffic is going to increase. There's literally only two lanes. So there's no middle lane to bypass anything. We do have accidents that are on 5th and 12th, and there's been accidents that have been on Woodford and Joyce, Joyce, yes. And so with that being said, it's just going to be increased traffic. We don't know what his hours are going to be. It's not gated. If it was gated, that would be nice. You know, after 10 o'clock, there won't be any additional traffic. That's just a safety measure that can be proposed. I don't know. But it's just going to be more traffic coming in and out. Once those warehouses get built, it's going to be crazy on Joyce. And it's already kind of crazy now, but it's just going to get worse.

I appreciate it.

Thank you.

Other questions, my colleagues? Thank you. We do have a couple other speakers. Mr. Frank Brown. Mr. Brown, welcome to council.

President Harding, members of the city council, good evening. My name is Frank Brown, living in American Edition. I'm here today to express my opposition to the approval of any new manufacturing facilities, warehouse, storage facilities within the community, the Dewey Project, and I also ask you to vote no. Our neighborhood has already absorbed a significant amount of industrial and junkyard-related development, as mentioned earlier. Additional facilities will increase truck traffic, congestion, noise, air emissions, which we already have, and where our local infrastructure. These impacts directly affect residents' quality of life and can diminish the character of our great community. Again, vote no. While economic development is important, growth should be balanced on the alignment of the needs of the residents and the community. Continued expansion of manufacturing and storage facilities risk concentrating industrial activity in areas that should be prioritized for housing, parks, small businesses, and community service. Other issues are enhanced to, other uses is to enhance neighborhood liabilities. We know that it's zone manufacturing has been like for many years. Matter of fact, over several years. We also know why red lining. and by the way, still exists in our community. My wife, my niece are fourth and fifth generational residents, homeowners in the American nation. I respectfully ask the city council to consider the long-term impact of additional industrial and warehouse development to be placed in greater emphasis on protecting public's health, safety, environmental quality, and property values. Residents deserve meaningful input Decision in fact in our future in our neighborhoods Please again vote. No.

Thank you for your time any questions Any question from mr. Brown my colleagues Thank you, sir. Thank you The next speaker come for counsel is miss Laura comek. Let's come back. Welcome back to Council. I

Good evening, Chairman Dorans, President Hardin, members of council. It's nice to see everyone this evening. I have the distinct pleasure this evening of appearing on behalf of the property owner, Mr. Wallace McLean. He sends his regards and apologies for not being able to be here this evening. Many of you know him. He is a pillar of our community and of this neighborhood, North Central Area Commission. Mr. McLean is the kind of who would rent one of these spaces, right? As a small businessman who had lawn mowers and small equipment and machinery in small spaces, he's the kind of business on a small scale that would use these businesses, that would use these new warehouse facilities. You can still be community friendly and still be business friendly. We talk about scope, scale, and context of where uses and developments go. I did some math. 2.2 acres next door to Rumke, which is 25 acres. These are smaller individual spaces. Rumke is 185,000 square feet. It's awesome. It's good for the neighborhood. What's the balance? The context is this use with no manufacturing serves as a buffer between the residential and the significantly more intense Rumke use.

And

Let's understand. I think you can ask Councilwoman Ross what happens in this particular neighborhood in areas that are left vacant and are unattended. They're not serving an economic development purpose. They serves as area for crime and significant dumping. All of that happens. The counter to that is private investment. There's no incentive. There's no subsidy for somebody who wants to come in and put a reasonable small business right. A series of small businesses in this area. They have met every request for screening and buffering. And so then you add tax base and you add jobs and you add small contractors who can use the space. Folks like Mr. McLean, who picked up the jobs, who picked up the yards, who mowed the yards all these years, right? Who's done that for his neighborhood, his community, the nonprofits. This is small scale. It's about scope, right? It's about scope and context. And so we'd encourage you, to consider those. All the other points that have been made are well taken. There's not manufacturing. This isn't heavy emissions, right? This isn't, quite frankly, even the Rumpke, the level of activity that would come from that. So there's a different way to look at it. A little bit of investment and a little bit of traffic signals vitality, right? We all put up with a little more traffic as we grow, but this could signal vitality for a neighborhood. This neighborhood actually deserves something like this, for people to come in and privately put in money It's an opportunity for small businesses in this community. Happy to answer any questions.

Thank you, Ms. Gummack. Any questions, my colleagues? Customer agreement.

Ms. Gummack, do you have a sense of what price range the individual units are going to be rented out to for the small business owners? I'm just thinking about if there's any neighborhood-based small business owners, too, in that area that would benefit from having a shop or a workout.

On this one, I'm not the applicant, so I don't know that answer.

Okay.

I defer to Cleese.

Any other questions? Seeing none. Thank you, Ms. Gumbach. We do have one final speaker before I bring the applicant back up. Ms. Stephanie Morris. Ms. Morris, welcome to council.

Good evening, Council. Again, my name is Stephanie Morris. I did write something down, but I'm not even going to look at it. I'm going to speak from the heart. Both my parents lived out in American Edition. My mother was brought out there when she was two years old. She lived on Zixby Avenue. My grandfather built the house that me and my family were raised in 95 years ago. My dad met my mom from Zixby and got married on Lee Avenue, which is where I built my house at as well. So it's not just about manufacturing. It's all families. It's all families out there, predominantly black, 95%, that have worked hard to build their homes, to live in their homes, to try to be healthy. And as Myra did indicate, that Some cancer. My mom died of lung cancer. We didn't even know she had it. Stage four. She lived to be 93. My grandmother, Zigsbee Avenue, lived to be 95. So it's a lot of generations out there. That is two, three, four, five. Five years that's been out there. So no, I don't think we need a manufacturing plant inside of our communities. I don't think so. There's no need for it. If he has places now to store his stuff, then he already has a place. If realtors need more places to store their stuff, they can buy those bins. They can use those bins next to their offices and put their stuff there. There's no need to have a manufacturing plant inside of our community. We have three streets. We have Dewey, we have Woodford, and we have 12th Avenue. They run east and west. They are not through streets. So you have to go in one way and come out the same. We have six streets that make up the community from Joyce Avenue, which is Zixby, Lee Avenue, Sampson Avenue, Key West, and Puritan. So those are our five streets, I'm sorry, well, including Joyce. So that is our community. We are five streets with three streets that run east and west and the rest run north and south. So there are other places within Columbus, Ohio that these people can build their offices. We already know that the back end of it is manufacturing, but the front end is residential. I have a home built out there from Homeport. And I know they're supposed to be building some more. So we want a single-family home. That's what we are now, and that's what we want to remain to be. We are redlined. I mean, I didn't know the understanding of redline, but I do now. So, like I said, there's no reason for him to actually build inside of our neighborhood. There's other places. And I did want to make the fact that when we had our voting, Mr. McClain voted no He did not want the manufacturing on that property. I'm done.

That's it. Any questions from my colleagues from Ms. Morris? Thank you very much for being here. Thank you.

Have a good night.

I did want to invite the applicant and his representative back up to respond to anything with regard to public comment.

Thank you, Mr. Chair. Thank you, Council. Thank you to Area Commissioner and those that spoke. I briefly addressed some of the comments. Just to clarify, this is not a manufacturing plant that's being proposed. The typical use is an eight to five office with warehouse in the back. These type of uses aren't, they have to satisfy a landlord, so you're not seeing people that are running 24-hour type of operations here. Some of the comments that were mentioned were good ones. The discussion of gating a DEVELOPMENT LIKE THIS. OBVIOUSLY THAT'S SOMETHING THAT IF ADDRESSED, WE COULD HAVE ADDRESSED THAT IN THE LIMITATION TEXT AS WELL. THE NET ZERO, I THINK THERE'S THINGS WITHIN THIS DEVELOPMENT THAT COULD ADDRESS NET ZERO AS WELL. SO IF THERE'S OPPORTUNITIES TO TRY TO INTEGRATE THOSE, IT'S NOT LIKELY THAT THIS SITE IS GOING TO GET DOWN ZONED. IT WAS PREVIOUSLY PROPOSED FOR A LANDSCAPE BUSINESS FOR OUTSIDE STORAGE OF CONSTRUCTION OR FOR LANDSCAPE MATERIALS. And we feel like this site's going to be a lot more conducive for this. It's not outside storage. It's not heavy equipment. This type of use is integrated into the community. It's jobs for the community. It fills an immediate need in the community. That's why we don't know what uses are going to be in there today. The idea is it's an investment in the community to try to provide an opportunity. I think as far as rent, I'll let my client discuss the rent perspective. There's costs that go into development. Obviously, that needs to get addressed in the discussion as far as what rent gets set at. But all uses generate traffic. We looked at the front of this site suitably being used for residential, whether it's eight or ten lots to match in with the fabric of the existing neighborhood. That's going to generate traffic as well. All uses generate traffic. We feel like this is a low impact. Typically this is one, two, three employees that show up for work in a use. They come and go. They usually eat lunch in the neighborhood. They try, if not at their desk, but they're usually local trips. This isn't people come and living and then moving or going to other places for work. So We do feel like the hypothetical fears of what could come in there is maybe hard to contend with, but it's a two-way street. Businesses, when they look at site selection, they pick where to locate their business, just like the neighborhoods pick and what they can do with the site. These office warehouses are going to be interviewed by potential tenants, and we hope that people in the neighborhood actually find it appealing to work there, to operate businesses there. If approved, we'd love to work with the neighborhood. I think that's been the message that they've sent the entire time as well. We understand general opposition, and it's hard to overcome that in a negotiation sense. But if approved, I feel like a lot of the concerns of the neighborhood can be addressed. The applicant's definitely wanting to make an investment in the community, and we're hoping that we find this site to be a suitable place for that investment in the neighborhood as well. If you want to address rent, I think that was the biggest question I couldn't address.

Just to answer your question about pricing and square footage, these are going to be different size warehouses based on need. The industry standard is between 10 and 20. I know this is a big margin per square foot for that kind of space. But depending on development cost, that's where we're at. If I was going to throw a number on there, I would say probably $15 a square foot is the going rate.

Any other? Council Member Weitsch.

One, thank you for being here and working through this and working with the neighbors. One of the things that we did here was around air quality issues, and although I don't believe your site is going to generate additional air quality issues, would you be open to adding more trees to your site to help mitigate some of the air quality issues that do exist in the area?

Um, absolutely. I'm a little bit of a tree hugger. So yes, the more trees, the better. And, and just to touch on that as well is I completely understand the community's concerns. And I think that's part of, uh, uh, they should be an advocate for what we are doing because ours is as has as low of a footprint as, as you could do on that site. Council president.

And that's kind of where I was wanting to pick up. I, To the commissioner's point, the city is underway with a pilot project to lower emissions in the neighborhood. There's a whole office, there's a whole group that is working on that. Has, and this might be even more of a question for the administration, have those conversations come together? Is this one of those projects where, how does this go into our city stated plan for American Edition? As it pertains to reducing emissions, is this, do we see this as additive to moving the ball in that way? I just thought it was a, that was the fairest of the points that I heard that there is a whole, we have people on the staff specifically for American Edition around emissions.

I apologize. What was the question? I'm sorry.

Has there been any conversation with the team at utilities who's working, or I guess now they're at ODI around impacts, like does this go against or is it supportive? It's a broader question, but...

So thank you for the question. I'm sorry, I do not know the answer to that question.

So, Council President, I think to that point, if I can sort of wrap things up here for a moment, you know, I think as I was chatting with Commissioner Williams, like I actually view what is being before the body as a way to prevent additional heavy manufacturing uses that I think the community fears, rightly so. given their experiences and air quality concerns within this area. I think to your point, Council President, it's actually an extremely fair question to be asked out loud if this city has assigned staff specifically to American Addition related to these issues. I think we should postpone this a week to get that specific question answered. in order to make sure the residents have a better connection to, you know, they've been working very closely with folks at the City of Columbus. And I think it would be, without having someone here to speak, I think, directly to that, I think I would be more comfortable waiting a week for this body to take up this vote on this. So I want to just open it up to my colleagues to see if they had anything that they would like to say on that before I move to postpone.

I agree. I think that there are multiple places where additional conversation could happen to allow for the community to be more comfortable if they're going to get more comfortable. And it sounds like the applicant is agreeable to that. I would like to see some more engagement on that front in addition to some answers to the question about net zero before I am comfortable moving forward with a vote.

At this point, I move to postpone.

Banks, Timber, Rosa, De Padilla, De Ock, Howard, Dorrance, Green, Remy, Ross, Vice President Hardin.

Thank you. Next, we have Ordinance Number 1716-2026 to rezone 181 Business Center Drive, being 2.76 plus acres located in the northwest corner of Business Central Drive and North Bryce Road from N Manufacturing District to CPD Commercial Plan Development District. Second, this is the one undeveloped parcel the Request Council for Rezoning will allow with limited commercial development, including fuel sales. The proposal has approved from C-Staff, the Development Commission, and the Far East Area Commission. Unless there's any questions or comments from my colleagues, I move for passage.

Banks, Denver, Rosa de Padilla, Day, Ock, Howard, Dorrance, Green, Remy, Ross, Weiss, President, Hardin.

Pass. Thank you. Next, I have ordinance number 1768-2026 to rezone 1700 Long Road, being 2.25-plus acres located on the north side of Long Road, 150-plus feet east of Widing Path, drawing from our rural district to LARLD, limited part residential district. Second, this is two parcels, one developed in 2020, other... On develop, the request of rezoning will allow a 32-unit townhouse-style development. The proposal is approved by the city staff, the Development Commission, and the Greater Southeast Area Commission. Do my colleagues have any questions or comments? Seeing none, I move for passage.

Banks, Timber, Ross, De Padilla, De Alcala, Doris Green, Remy Ross, Vice President Hardin.

Pass. Thank you. Next, we have ordinance 1772-2026 to rezone 2500 Airport Drive, being 5.5-plus acres located on the north side of Airport Drive down here. plus feet east of North Nelson Road from R1 Residential District to CPD Commercial Plan Development District. Site consists of two parcels with a retail and nursery. Requested rezoning will allow an extended stay hotel of one building of up to 130 suites. Proposed by the Suburban City Staff Development Commission and the Northeast Area Commission. Unless there's any questions or comments, I move for passage. Clerk, please call the roll.

Banks, Timber, Rosa, De Padilla, Day, Ock, Howard, Dorrance, Green, Remy, Ross, Weiss, President, Hardin.

Pass. Thank you. Next I have ordinance 1805-2026 to rezone 274 East 1st Avenue being 6.94 plus acres located on northeast corner of East 1st Avenue and North 16th Street from N Manufacturing District to UCT Urban Center District. The site consists of one parcel to both the warehouse and the request for rezoning will allow a high-intensity mixed-use development. The final building design will be subject to a certificate of appropriateness issued by the Italian Village Commission. The parole is approved by the City Staff, Development Commission, and the Italian Village Commission. Unless there's any questions or comments, I move for passage. Clerk, please call the roll.

Banks, Timber, Rosa de Padilla, de Acar, Dorns, Green, Remy, Ross, Weiss, President, Hardin.

Passed. Thank you. Next, we move from the Council of Variances. First, we have ordinance number 0376-2026, the grant of variance provisions section 3312.21B, landscaping and screening 3312.271, parking setback line 3312.49C, required parking. and 3333.15 basic computing area, and 3333.18 building lines, and 3332.24 rear yard, and 3332.55 permitted yard at the Columbus City Coast property located at 824 Kinnear Road to allow reduced development standards for a multi-unit residential development in the AR3 apartment residential district. This is the concurrent variance for rezoning we heard earlier on our agenda for a residential development contained up to four and 35 apartment units. Variances reduce landscaping, screening, building, and parking setback lines, require parking in rear yard and perimeter yard, and increased lot coverage are included in the request. There's no area commission or civic association, but the proposal is approved from city staff. There's a proposed amendment to this ordinance as the applicant's attorney submitted updated site plans with the only revisions being the title of the plans and the applicant listed. The updated site plans are included in legislation in Section 3, and the language ordinance has been revised. There are no other changes to the development proposed. I first move to accept the entire staff report into evidence as an exhibit. Clerk, please call the roll.

Bankston, Barossa, De Padilla, De Alcow, Dorrance, Green, Remy, Ross, Weiss, President, Hardin.

Accept it. Make a move to adopt the fine for staff as the fine for counsel. Clerk, please call the roll.

Bankston, Barossa, De Padilla, De Alcow, Dorrance, Green, Remy, Ross, Weiss, President, Hardin.

Adopt it. Again, move to Amanda Smith, the clerk. Clerk, please call the roll.

Banks, Timber, Rosa, De Padilla, Day, Ock, Howard, Dorns, Green, Remy, Ross, Weiss, President, Hardin.

Amended. And final move for passage as amended. Clerk, please call the roll.

Banks, Timber, Rosa, De Padilla, Day, Ock, Howard, Dorns, Green, Remy, Ross, Weiss, President, Hardin. Passed.

Thank you. Next, we have ordinance 1764-2026, a grant of variance, provisions section 3332.039R4. Residential District of the Columbus City closed for the property located in West Park Avenue to allow a non-profit organization with associated retail office and assembly space in the R4 Residential District. This site consists of two parcels developed with a former religious facility and the request accounts of variance will allow a non-profit organization. and associated retail, office, and assembly uses. Accounts of variance is required because the current zoning district only allows limited accessory commercial uses, such as daycares, food pantries, if they're associated with a religious facility. Proposal is approved from city staff and the Frankincense Area Commission. I first move to accept the entire staff report and do evidence as an exhibit. Clerk, please call the roll.

Banks, Simper, Rosa, De Padilla, De Alcow, Dorans, Green, Remy, Ross, Vice President, Hardin.

Accepted. Thank you. I next move to adopt the final staff as the final counsel. Clerk, please call the roll.

Banks, Simba, Rosa, De Padilla, De Acao, Doris Green, Remy Ross, Vice President Hardin.

Adopt it. Finally move for passage. Let's call the roll.

Banks, Timber, Rosa, De Padilla, De Alcow, Dorrance, Green, Remy, Ross, Weiss, President, Hardin.

Pass. Thank you. Next, we have ordinance 1769-2026, the grant of variance provisions section 3333.18, building lines in 3333.255, Premier Yard of the Columbus City Goats, a property located at 1700 Long Drive to reduce the required building setback, and Premier Yard for a multi-unit residential development in the LARLD, Limit Department Residential District. This is another concurrent variance for rezoning we considered earlier in tonight's agenda for the 32-unit townhouse-style development. The request to come to variance will allow reduced building setback lines along Long Road from 40 to 30 feet and reduce perimeter yard from 25 feet to 9 on the eastern boundary of the site. A variance is required because the proposal development cannot meet all development standards of the zoning district, but results in a better site design and centralized open space and preservation of trees. The proposal is approved by the city staff and the Greater Southeast Area Commission. I first move to accept the entire staff report into evidence as an exhibit. Clerk, please call the roll.

Banks, Timber, Rosa, De Padilla, De Ock, Howard, Doris, Green, Remy, Ross, Weiss, President, Hardin.

Postponed. Thank you. Accepted.

Accepted. I'm like, huh?

Thank you, Council President. That has been accepted. I now move to adopt the fines of staff as the fines of council. Clerk, please call the roll.

Banks, Timber, Rosa, De Padilla, De Ock, Howard, Doris, Green, Remy, Ross, Weiss, President, Hardin.

Adopted. And finally, I move for passage. Clerk, please call the roll.

Bankston, Barrosa, De Padilla, De Ock, Howard, Dorrance, Green, Remy, Ross, Weiss, President, Hardin. Pass.

Thank you. Next, we have Ordinance 1800-2026, Grand Variance, Provisions of Section 3332.039, R4 Residential District 3312.21D, Landscape and Screening. The Columbus City Council is properly located at 128-130 North Hampton Avenue to allow a rooming house with no parking lot screening in the R4 Residential District. The site consists of a two-unit dwelling. The request of Council Variance will allow the existing dwelling to be converted into a rooming house with up to eight total occupants. A council variance is required because the current zoning district does not allow rooming houses. A variance to not provide parking lot screening is also included in the request. Proposal will provide a short-term housing option for individuals utilizing the airport airport or for working at job centers in the surrounding area. Proposal is approved from city staff and the Mideast Area Commission. I first move to accept the entire step report and do evidence as an exhibit.

Thanks, Timber. Rosa de Padilla de Alcázar, Doris Green, Remy Ross, Vice President Hardin.

Next, we move to adopt the fine of staff, the fine of council.

Banks, Timber, Rosa, De Padilla, De Alcar, Dorrance, Green, Remy, Ross, Weiss, President, Hardin.

Finally, move for passage.

Banks, Timber, Rosa, De Padilla, De Alcar, Dorrance, Green, Remy, Ross, Weiss, President, Hardin.

And finally, we have ordinance 1822-2026, again, inbearance provisions section 3363.01, and manufacturing district 3370.05, permitted uses in 3309.14, height districts in 3312.21D1B, landscaping and screening, 3312.49 required parking and 3363.24 building lines and manufacturing district at the Columbus City Coast for property located at 2150 Innis Road. Mixing units development with reduced development standards. The LM Limited Manufacturing District to revoke ordinance number 3060-24 passed on November 18, 2024. Site consists of one parcel developed with two monopole telecommunications antennas. Cited subject to Council variance, CV24-100 passed on February 18, 2024, which allowed a multi-unit residential development containing up to 173 units. They requested updates to the previously approved project and allows three apartment buildings totaling 138 dwelling units, 15 detached single-unit dwellings, and maintains the two telecommunications antennas. Additionally, the proposed residential development will be subject to competitive funding by the Ohio Housing and Finance Agency, which requires certain land attributes, including compliant zoning. The proposal is approved by some city staff and the North Linden Area Commission. I first move to accept the entire staff report and do evidence as an exhibit.

Thanks, Tim. Next move to adopt the five staffs of the Finance Council. Banks, Timber, Rosa, De Padilla, De Alcala, Dorrance, Green, Remy, Ross, Vice President, Hardin. Finally, move for passage. Second. Call the roll. Banks, Timber, Rosa, De Padilla, De Alcala, Dorrance, Green, Remy, Ross, Vice President, Hardin.

And, Council President, that's all we have this week in the zoning agenda.

Thank you, Mr. Chair. If there's any further business, there's a motion to adjourn. Clerk, please call the roll.

Banks, Timber, Rosa, De Padilla, De Alcala, Dorrance, Green, Remy, Ross, Vice President, Hardin.

Bye. Thank you. Thank you. Bye. Thank you. Thank you. Thank you. ¶¶ So, Thank you.

Please call the roll.

We will go back to the Finance Committee where Councilmember Banks and Chair, Councilmember Flores is yours.

Thank you, Council President. First up in the Finance and Governance Committee for Second Read, we have Resolution 0128X-2026 to adopt the 2027 tax budget and to authorize and direct the city auditor to submit said budget to the county and to declare an emergency. The county tax budget is a state-mandated process that we and our city auditor follow to receive our city portion of local government funds. Statute requires that the tax budget legislation appear on two council agendas and that we hold a hearing to discuss. As we've done in previous years, I will postpone this resolution to the June 29th council meeting, where we will conduct a public hearing prior to the vote for passage. Seeing no questions or comments from my colleagues, I move for passage. I move, I'm sorry, to postpone resolution 0128X-2026 to June 29th council meeting.

Second.

Clerk, please call the roll.

Bank Semper Rosa de Padilla de Acar Dorns Green Remy.

Next, we have Ordinance 1274-2026 to authorize the Director of Finance and Management to associate all general budget reservations resulting from this ordinance with the appropriate universal term contract purchase agreement and to establish related purchase orders for automated repair services for the fleet management division to authorize the expenditure of $1 million from the fleet management operating fund and to declare an emergency. This legislation authorizes the fleet management division to establish various purchase orders for the purchase of services to aid in the repair and upkeep of city-owned vehicles. This will keep the city's fleet of approximately 6,000 vehicles in operation. The Department of Finance and Management fleet division has been steadily dealing with an increased number of city vehicles to service as well as the rising cost of services. materials, and repairs. Seeing no questions or comments from my colleagues, I move for passage.

Clerk, please call the roll.

Next, we have Ordinance 1382-2026 to authorize the Director of Finance and Management to associate all general budget reservation resulting from this ordinance with the appropriate universal term contract purchase agreements and to establish related purchase orders for automotive parts for the Fleet Management Division to authorize expenditure of $3.2 million from the Fleet Management Operating Fund, and to declare an emergency. This legislation authorizes the Fleet Management Division to establish various purchase orders for the acquisition of vehicles parts from previously established universal term contracts. These parts are used by the Fleet Management Division to service and repair the city's fleet of over 6,000 vehicles. The fleet management processes over 30,000 work orders annually for the city's vehicles and equipment and requires purchase orders with over 400 vendors to help meet this need. SEEING NO QUESTIONS OR COMMENTS FROM MY COLLEAGUES, I MOVE FOR PASSAGE.

SECOND.

ALL RIGHT. PLEASE CALL THE ROW.

NEXT, WE HAVE ORDINANCE 1461-2026 TO AMEND THE 2025 CAPITAL IMPROVEMENTS BUDGET TO AUTHORIZE THE TRANSFER OF FUNDS WITHIN THE INFORMATION SERVICES G.O. BONDS FUND TO WAIVE THE COMPETITIVE BIDDING PROVISIONS OF CHAPTER 329 OF COLUMBUS CITY COATS TO AUTHORIZE THE DIRECTOR OF DEPARTMENT OF TECHNOLOGY TO ENTER INTO CONTRACT FOR A GOVERNANCE risk and compliance tool with the option to renew for four additional one-year terms to authorize expenditure from the information services geo bonds fund and to declare an emergency the governance risk and compliance tool represents a strategic technology investment that will establish a foundational cyber security and compliance management platform for the city this solution is necessary to comply with requirements in ohio revised code 9.64 an emergency designation is necessary to avoid immediate operational disruption And a waiver of competitive bid is requested since the solution was recommended as the best fit for the city's needs by its cybersecurity consultant. Seeing no questions or comments from my colleagues, I move for passage.

Please call the roll.

Next, we have Ordinance 1496-2026 to authorize the Director of the Department of Technology on behalf of Columbus Water and Power to enter in

contract with rsm usllp for the purchase of professional services to authorize an expenditure from the department of technology information services operating fund to waive the competitive bidding provisions of columbus city codes and to declare an emergency cwp is enhancing its foundational operational protocols and reliance strategies to implement recommendations from previous PREVIOUS STRATEGIC ASSESSMENTS. RSM USLLP WILL DELIVER TAILORED SPECIALIZED PROFESSIONAL SERVICES TO IMPLEMENT THESE PROCESSES ACROSS THE DIVISION OF WATER AND POWER AND WATER RECLAMATION. THIS ORDINANCE WAVES THE COMPETITIVE BIDDING PROVISIONS AS CITY'S BEST INTEREST IS SERVED BY BYPASSING THE STANDARD FORMAL BID PROCESS TO IMMEDIATELY ADDRESS THESE CRITICAL TIME SENSITIVE NEEDS. EMERGENCY ACTION IS REQUESTED TO ALLOW FOR THE STANDARDIZED PROCEDURAL DOCUMENTATION ALIGN DIVISIONAL ACTIVITIES MAINTAIN LONG-TERM CONSISTENCY AND ENHANCE OVERALL READINESS FOR COLUMBUS WATER AND POWER AT THIS TIME I MOVE FOR PASSAGE PLEASE CALL THE ROLL ON ORDINANCE 1469-26 NEXT WE HAVE ORDINANCE 1503-2026 TO AUTHORIZE THE FINANCE AND MANAGEMENT DIRECTOR TO ENTER INTO A UNIVERSAL TERM CONTRACT FOR THE OPTION TO PURCHASE ENTERPRISE STORAGE with CWG Government LLC to authorize expenditure of $1 to waive the competitive bidding provisions of Columbus City Coals and to declare an emergency. Enterprise Storage is a centralized high-performance IT infrastructure designed to manage, protect, and scale large volumes of business critical data. This ordinance establishes a universal term contract for the option to purchase Enterprise Storage with CWG Government LLC. The Department of Technology performed vendor outreach to five certified resellers, Four of the vendors responded, and the lowest pricing was submitted by CWG Government LLC. Enterprise Storage, UTC, will provide the option to purchase cloud storage and maintenance thereof for all citywide departments. Seeing no questions or comments from my colleagues, I move for passage.

Second.

Clerk, please call the roll.

Banks, Temporosa, De Padilla, De Alcar, Dorrance, Green, Remy, Ross, Vice President, Hardin.

Passed. Next, we have Ordinance 1522-2026. AUTHORIZE THE DIRECTOR OF THE DEPARTMENT OF TECHNOLOGY TO ENTER INTO A CONTRACT WITH CWG GOVERNMENT LLC FOR THE PURCHASE OF OMNISA WORKFORCE ONE HORIZON VDI AND AIR WATCH LICENSING TO WAIVE THE COMPETITIVE BIDDING PROVISIONS OF COLUMBUS CITY CODES AND TO AUTHORIZE THE EXPENDITURE OF $100,000 FROM THE DEPARTMENT OF TECHNOLOGY INFORMATION SERVICES DIVISION INFORMATION SERVICES OPERATING FUND. workspace one uh horizon and horizon vdi and air watch licensing are used to provide city workers with secure remote access to essential systems and applications it enables employees to perform their duties efficiently from various locations outside the office ensuring continuity of services and streamlined communication this platform allows the city TO MAINTAIN OPERATIONAL FLEXIBILITY WHILE UPHOLDING DATA SECURITY AND COMPLIANCE STANDARDS. THE OHIO ACADEMIC RESOURCE NETWORK CONTRACTS PRICING WITH WORKSPACE ONE AND HORIZON VDI AND AIR WATCH AND USES PARTNERS TO DISTRIBUTE ITS SERVICES. A WAIVER OF BID ALLOWS THE CITY TO RECEIVE OAR IN NETS CONTRACTED PRICING. SEEING NO QUESTIONS OR COMMENTS FROM MY COLLEAGUES, I MOVE FOR PASSAGE. Next, we have Ordinance 1572-2026 to authorize the expenditure of $139,150 from the Community Development Block Grant Fund to authorize the Director of the Department of Finance and Management to modify the CDBG Subrecipient Agreement with Habitat for Humanity of Ohio, Inc. to add $139,150 and to allow for reimbursement of expenditures incurred between january 1 and february 27 2026 and to declare an emergency habitat for humanity is a non-profit housing and human service provider in central ohio that has been performing roof repair and replacement for income qualified homeowners using community development broad grants funds since 2023 ordinance 0239-2026 which was approved in february authorized the director of department of finance and management to enter into a sub-recipient agreement with Habitat for Humanity to complete additional roof repair and replacement projects that could not be completed under the city's expired 2025 subrecipient agreement with the nonprofit. A small number of roof repair projects had been started, but due to inclement weather, could not be completed prior to the expiration of the agreement on December 31st, 2025. Out of a necessity to protect the homes under repair, Those projects were completed and additional construction costs were incurred by Habitat for Humanity before the execution of the new agreement on February 27, 2026. An additional $139,150 is needed to cover those costs incurred during the lapse period between agreements as well as to complete additional roof repair and replacement projects for properties on the wait list. Additional HUD environmental review requirements required radon testing and mitigation have also added costs. An emerging designation is requested in order for the project to comply with HUD timelines test requirements. Are there any questions or comments from my colleagues? Seeing none, I first move to amend as submitted to the clerk.

Clerk, please call the roll.

Banks, Timber, Rosa, DeFedea, DeAcao, Dorans, Green, Remy, Ross, Weiss, President, Hardin.

Amended. Now I move for passage as amended. Clerk, please call the roll.

Bankston, Barroso de Padilla de Alcala, Doris Green, Remy Ross, Weiss, President Hardin.

Pass. Next, we have Ordinance 1588-2026 to authorize the Director of Finance and Management on behalf of the Office of Construction Management to modify and increase the Professional Construction Manager at Risk Service Agreement with Elford, Inc. for the Department of Public Services South Outpost Project to authorize an expenditure up to $7,569,101.50 within the Streets and Highways Voted Capital Fund to authorize an amendment to the 2025 capital improvements budget and to declare an emergency. This ordinance establishes a pre-planned modification to a construction manager at risk services agreement with Elford Inc. Construction manager at risk projects are phase construction projects that require routine and pre-planned modifications to the phase contract. This modification will provide funding for the guaranteed maximum price of construction set out in the original agreement. Are there any questions or comments from my colleagues? Seeing none, I move for passage.

Second.

Clerk, please call the roll.

Next is Ordinance 1643-2026 to authorize the Director of the Department of Finance and Management to establish various purchase orders and to associate all general budget reservations resulting from this ordinance with previously established universal term contract for fuel and fueling services on behalf of the fleet management division per the terms and conditions of various previously established universal term contracts to authorize expenditure of $3 million from the fleet management operating fund and to declare an emergency. This ordinance established purchase orders via an existing universal term contract with WEX Bank for vehicle fuel and fueling services on behalf of the Fleet Management Division. These services are critical to the continued operations of the city's vehicle fleet. Seeing no questions or comments from my colleagues, I move for passage.

Second.

Clerk, please call the roll.

Banks, Simber, Rosa de Padilla, de Acar, Doris Green, Remy Ross, Weitz, President Hardin. Passed.

Next is Ordinance 1654-2026 to adopt the draft fiscal year 2026 annual action plan for the CDBG home, HOPWA and ESG programs to authorize the acceptance of 2026 HUD community planning and development grant awards to authorize the filing of the final fiscal year 2026 annual action plan with the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development and to declare an emergency. The City of Columbus received annual grants from the U.S. Department housing, and urban development. Each year, the city's grant management section is responsible for completing and submitting an annual action plan to HUD. Annual action plans identify projects and establish budgets for the city's HUD grant programs and summarize annual efforts for consultation, citizen participation, and anticipated outcomes. This year, due to the changing landscape of federal guidelines related to the use of federal funds, The city is opting to adopt the draft fiscal year 2026 annual action plan to meet HUD deadlines and will execute the grants associated with the plan once additional clarity on federal requirements is received in the fall. City departments managing these awards will submit future legislation to authorize both the appropriation and expenditure of those funds. EMERGENCY DESIGNATION IS REQUESTED TO MEET THE DEADLINES PREVIOUSLY MENTIONED TO MEET HUD'S STANDARDS. ANY QUESTIONS OR COMMENTS FROM MY COLLEAGUES? SEEING NONE, I MOVE FOR PASSAGE.

SECOND.

CLERK, PLEASE CALL THE ROLL.

NEXT, WE HAVE ORDINANCE 1700-2026 TO WAIVE THE PROVISIONS OF SECTION 329.18A1, 329.18A2, 329.18A2.

A5, 329.18B1, 329.18B2, 329.18B5, 329.18D2, 329.18D4, 329.18D5, 329.22A, 329.23AA, 329.23AB, 329.23AC, 329.23BA, 329.23BB, 329.23BC, 329.27B2, 329.27C, 329.28B2, and 329.28C of Columbus City Codes that are in conflict with ORC Section 9.64 to allow for a controlled disclosure procurement process for qualifying technology-related procurements and to declare an emergency. At some point, City Attorney, we'll have to talk about a more efficient way to address those. That's wild. Councilmembers, this ordinance temporarily waives various provisions of Section 329 of City Code to provide the Department of Technology necessary latitude to procure cybersecurity-related services, equipment, and software in alignment with the Ohio Revised Code Section 9.64 through December 31st of this year. The Department of Finance and Management, the Department of Technology, and the City Attorney's Office are working together on amendments of Chapter 329 of the Columbus City codes to present to council later this year with the goal of permanently addressing the need to allow for a different solicitation process for certain products and services that are necessary to the operations of the Department of Technology in response to the recent cybersecurity requirements for public entities found in Ohio Revised Code Section 9.64. Are there any questions or comments from my colleagues? Seeing none, I move for passage.

Please call the roll.

Next, we have Ordinance 1795-2026 to amend the 2025 Capital Improvement Budget to authorize the Director of Finance and Management on behalf of the Department of Technology to associate all general budget reservations resulting from this ordinance with the appropriate universal term contract slash purchase agreement with CDW Government LLC for the procurement DATA STORAGE EQUIPMENT TO AUTHORIZE THE EXPENDITURE FROM THE INFORMATION SERVICES GEO BONDS FUND AND TO DECLARE AN EMERGENCY. DEPARTMENT OF TECHNOLOGY MANAGES THE CITY'S DATA CENTERS AND REQUIRES ELECTRONIC STORAGE TO BE AVAILABLE TO ENSURE SMOOTH OPERATING OF THE CITY'S INFRASTRUCTURE. WITHOUT SUFFICIENT ELECTRONIC STORAGE, THE CITY'S COMPUTER SYSTEMS WILL NOT BE ABLE TO FUNCTION PROPERLY. THE DEPARTMENT OF FINANCE IS ESTABLISHING A PURCHASE AGREEMENT WITH CDW GOVERNMENT LLC for the acquisition of the necessary equipment. This ordinance is a companion piece to Ordinance 1503-2026. Emergency action is requested in order to place the order by the quote deadline of July 7th, 2026. Due to increased industry demand for electronic data storage products, the received quote for the equipment is only guaranteed until July 7th, 2026. After July 7th, the manufacturer price are set to increase. Seeing no questions or comments from my colleagues, I move for passage.

Rick, please call the roll. Thanks, Tim.

And finally, in the Finance and Governance Committee, we have Ordinance 1866-2026 to authorize the Finance and Management Director to enter into contract for the option to purchase water testing supplies with Environmental Resources Associates to authorize the expenditure of $1 to waive the provisions of competitive bidding. and to declare an emergency. This ordinance establishes a universal term contract for the option to purchase water testing supplies with environmental resource associates. The Division of Water is the primary user of water testing supplies. Water testing supplies are to be used for municipal drinking water and wastewater testing as required by the Ohio Environmental Protection Agency. The purchasing office opened formal bids in April and May for these supplies, but zero bids were received. As a result, the Division of Water desires to continue contracting with the current vendor environmental resource associates for the supplies so a waiver of competitive bid is requested. Emergency designation is requested to avoid a prolonged lapse between the now expired contract and the resulting of a new contract. Are there any questions or comments from my colleagues? Seeing none, I move for passage.

Second.

Please call the roll.

Banks, Denver, Rosa de Padilla, de Alcala, Dorrance, Green, Remy, Ross, Weiss, President Hardin.

Passed. Thank you, Council President. So, I have in the Finance Committee, may I move to the Economic Development and Small Minority Business Committee? Sure. Thank you. We are going to pick it up at Ordinance 1511-2026 to authorize the Director of the Department of Development to execute an amendment to the Economic Development Agreement dated April 19, 2024, between the City and West Bend QOZB LLC to remove the developer's obligations related to the construction and delivery of office space in association with the West Bend project, provided that the developer assumes the new obligation to deliver the apartments by a certain deadline to more quickly address the city's housing supply shortage. This ordinance amends a 2024 economic development agreement with West Bend QOZB related to The redevelopment of a former Buckeye auto parts property at 2474 McKinley Avenue previously adopted by council. The EDA authorized by this body in 2023 via ordinance 1866-2023 is a commitment from the department to the developer to bring forward subsequent legislation to council. While the EDA includes a commitment for the department to pursue a tax increment financing district at West Bend and a new or expanded new community authority there, these steps have not yet been taken. No enterprise zone agreement will be pursued due to the commercial office space being removed from the project. The project will already qualify for the community reinvestment area agreement. This will not require further legislation. More specifically, the original agreement committed to construction of 20,000 square feet of office space where 10,000 square feet out of the 20,000 square feet would be devoted to either a music industry-based incubator space in partnership with Music Columbus or a minority business incubator space with a 2B identified partner. Since the establishment of the EDA, the market conditions for the financing and construction of office space has continued to deteriorate to a point where it may, in many cases, it is no longer financially feasible to build and lease up the new office space. Maintaining 20,000 square feet of office space for this project would destabilize the financial viability of the project, so the developer had to pull that plan out. Additionally, conversations with Music Columbus about the incubator fizzled out before the amendment was put forward. The commitments that still remain in the project are brownfield remediation of the site, so bringing a brownfield site into a productive use, 700 apartments units where they will again utilize that CRA, so 10% of the units are at 60% AMI, 10% are at 80% AMI, or the option of 30% at 80% AMI. This is in alignment with our CRA so that the affordability would last at least 15 years. 8,000 square feet of retail space, a 12 to 17-acre public park with a lagoon, dog park, public kayak launch, and trails, bikes, paths that will be conveyed to the city. In sum, this project cleans up an environmentally polluted site along the Scioto River that has 750 apartment units with affordability included and creates a public park with water recreation activities. Are there any questions or comments from my colleagues on this one? Seeing none, I move for passage by voice. Second.

Clerk, please call the roll by voice.

Bankston? Yes. Barbosa de Padilla? Yes. Dayakower? Yes. Dorrance? Yes. Green? Yes. Ramey? Yes. Ross? Yes. White? Yes. President Hardin?

Yes.

Thank you. Next, we have Ordinance 1702-2026 to amend the 2025 Capital Improvement Budget to authorize the city auditor to transfer appropriations of cash between projects and divisions within the development taxable bond funds to authorize the Director of Development to enter into a grant agreement with Columbus Next Generation Corporation to purchase, renovate, or construct real property assets in targeted central city areas to advance economic and community development initiatives to authorize the expenditure OF $2.5 MILLION FROM THE DEVELOPMENT TAXABLE BOND FUND TO ADVANCE FUNDING PER PREDETERMINED SCHEDULE AND TO DECLARE AN EMERGENCY. THIS ORDINANCE PROVIDES CAPITAL DOLLARS TO SUPPORT THE ONGOING UNDER URBAN REDEVELOPMENT EFFORTS OF COLUMBUS NEXT GENERATION CORPORATION, THE CITY'S PRIMARY PROPERTY ACQUISITION AND URBAN REDEVELOPMENT VEHICLE. ARE THERE ANY QUESTIONS OR COMMENTS FROM MY COLLEAGUES? SEEING NONE, I MOVE FOR PASSAGE.

SECOND. SECOND. SECOND. SECOND. SECOND. SECOND. SECOND. SECOND. SECOND. SECOND. SECOND. SECOND. SECOND.

THANK YOU. AND LAST, WE HAVE ORDINANCE 1861-2026 TO AUTHORIZE AN AMENDMENT TO THE 2025 CAPITAL IMPROVEMENTS BUDGET TO AUTHORIZE THE TRANSFER BETWEEN PROJECTS AND DEPARTMENTS WITHIN THE DEVELOPMENT TAXABLE BOND FUND TO AUTHORIZE THE DIRECTOR AND DEPARTMENT OF DEVELOPMENT TO ENTER INTO A GRANT AGREEMENT WITH COLUMBUS FRANKLIN COUNTY FINANCE AUTHORITY TO PROVIDE FUNDING FOR URBAN REDEVELOPMENT PROJECTS AND TO AUTHORIZE THE EXPENDITURE OF $4 MILLION FROM THE DEVELOPMENT TAXABLE BOND FUND AND TO DECLARE AN EMERGENCY. This ordinance provides funds to the Columbus-Franklin County Finance Authority for their continued partnership in providing gap funding for projects within cities, urban core, and adjacent neighborhoods in order to facilitate projects that will assist in the revitalization of properties. This partnership helps fill funding gaps for the redevelopment of smaller-scale projects in traditional neighborhood corridors since urban redevelopment projects often encounter issues not experienced by new-build projects or projects not built on underdeveloped land. Are there any questions or comments from my colleagues? Seeing none, I move for passage.

Second. Mr. Stoller, over. Thank you, Council President.

That's all I have in my committees this evening.

Thank you, Mr. Chair. Next committee to come before council is the Public Service and Transportation Committee. That committee is chaired by Councilman Rosa De Padilla. Councilman, the floor is yours.

Good job, Councilman Bankston.

That was impressive.

I have four items on second reading public service and transportation first is ordinance 1497 2026 to amend the 2025 capital improvement budget to authorize the city auditor to transfer funds between projects within the streets and highways bond fund to authorize the city auditor to appropriate $324,460 within the Federal Transportation Grants Fund to authorize the City Attorney's Office Real Estate Division to contract for professional services relative to the acquisition of the simple title and lesser interest in and to prop... Lesser interest in and to property needed for the bikeway state route 161 sawmill to Thompson project to authorize the city attorney's office real estate division to negotiate with property owners to acquire the additional rights of way necessary to complete this project to authorize the expenditure of $1,324,456 from the streets and highways bond fund for the federal transportation grant fund and to declare an emergency. This project is located on the Vision Zero high injury network due to the number of serious or fatal crashes and or crashes involving vulnerable roadway users like people walking, biking, or on motorcycles. The bikeway 161 sawmill to Thompson in Districts 1 and 2 project consists of a new shared use path along the north side of State Route 161 from Sawmill Road to Brookdown Drive and along the south side from Brookdown Drive to Thompson Street with sidewalk along the south side of 161 from Sawmill Road to Federated Boulevard and the north side from McVeigh Boulevard to Thompson Street. This also includes two pedestrian hybrid beacons or push button pedestrian signals are proposed at Brookdown and McVeigh. A person who wants to cross the street can push the button to activate the solid red light that alerts motorists that the crosswalk is active so that pedestrians can cross. The Department of Public Service is currently finalizing construction plans and is prepared to authorize rights-of-way acquisition pending the passage of this funding legislation. Do my colleagues have any questions or comments? Seeing none, I move for passage.

Thanks, Tim. Rosa de Padilla de Alcaldorans, Green, Remy Ross, Vice President Hardin.

Thank you. Next is 1538-2026. To amend the 2025 capital improvement budget to appropriate funds within the Federal Transportation Grants Fund to authorize the Director of Public Service to enter into contract with Dechter Construction Company for the resurfacing downtown concrete pad bus pad upgrades project to authorize the expenditure of $1,250,087.45 from the Streets and Highways Bond Fund and the Federal Transportation Grants Fund for the project to repay any unused grant funds at the end of the project and to declare an emergency. So this contract includes upgrading COTA bus stops by adding concrete bus pads in 31 locations where they do not exist within the Columbus downtown business district. This is actually to fortify the infrastructure on the streets to support the weight of the buses at these bus stops. This is a project that we are partnering with ODOT with, and the notice to proceed date is June 24, 2026. Do my colleagues have any questions or comments? Seeing none, I move for passage.

Thank you.

Thank you. Next is Ordinance 1685-2026 to authorize the Director of the Department of Finance and Management to enter in a contract with William Scottman Incorporated doing business as Will Scott for the purchase of one mobile office unit to waive the competitive bidding provisions of Columbus City Code to authorize the expenditure of $31,312 from the Street Construction Maintenance and Repair Fund and to declare an emergency. The mobile office unit houses... city CDL training program that is utilized by multiple departments. The CDL training program ensures appropriate staffing is available to perform the vital functions needed to maintain city streets. Their mobile office has been on a rental service contract since June 2025. The ordinance will allow the city to purchase the mobile office unit trailer directly at a discounted rate offered by the vendor instead of continuing to rent, which will help to preserve budgeted funds. Do my colleagues have any questions or comments? Seeing none, move for passage. Okay.

Bankston Barossa de Padilla de Alcázar, Doris Green, Remy Ross, White, President. I'm sorry.

Thank you.

I'm sorry. Let me go back because I missed a couple names. Bankston Barossa de Padilla de Alcázar, Doris Green, Remy Ross, White, President Hart.

Thank you. Next, we have ordinance 1689-2026 to appropriate funds within the Ohio Public Works Commission Grants and Loans Fund to authorize the Director of Public Service to enter into contract with Complete General Construction Company for the Signals North 4th Street Phase 1 project to authorize the expenditure of up to $4 million $5,758.62 from the Street Construction Maintenance and Repair Fund and the OPWC Grants Loans Fund for the project and to repay any unused grant funds at the end of the grant period and to declare an emergency. This contract includes replacing and upgrading signals along North 4th Street at five intersections, North 4th Street, East 1st Avenue, East 2nd Avenue, East 5th Avenue, East 7th Avenue, East 17th Avenue, in District 7 and 4. This includes new signal poles, controllers, wiring, radar detection poles, incidental lighting, power distribution, storm water, storm sewer, water, and other works as may be necessary. Do my colleagues have any questions or comments? Seeing none, I move for passage.

Thank you. That's all for me.

This is the Neighborhood Recreation and Parks Committee, chaired by Council Member Dayakar. Council Member, the floor is yours.

Thank you, Council President. First, we have Ordinance 1731-2026 to authorize the Director of Recreation and Parks to enter into a grant agreement with the Ohio Department of Transportation to support the Big Walnut Trail Little Turtle to Cherry Bottom Park project and accept a grant in the amount of $7,092,344. to authorize the appropriation of $7,092,344 in the Recreation and Parks Grant Fund and to declare an emergency. This grant that the department has received from MORPC will pay for 70% of the total cost to construct a new portion of the Big Walnut Trail connecting Little Turtle and Cherry Bottom Park in the northeast area of the city. This trail includes an underpass beneath State Highway 161, a direct connection to Blended Woods Metropark, a stream crossing to connect the Northland neighborhood on the west side of the river, and a section of trail along Sunbury Road linking to the Alum Creek Trail. Over 15,000 Columbus residents live in neighborhoods served by this new trail section. Once completed, the trail will connect residents to retail, healthcare, and over 40,000 jobs at major destinations, including Easton and the North Hamilton Road mixed-use corridor. Construction is expected to begin in fall of this year. Are there any questions or comments from my colleagues? Seeing none, I move for passage. For the next ordinance in my committee, I would like to turn the floor over to Councilmember to read and call the vote, as she has been a leader in supporting the initiative being funded. Councilmember, the floor is yours.

Thank you, Chair. And I'm back. Next, Ordinance 1797-2026 to authorize and direct the city clerk to enter a grant agreement with Epic Youth to provide upfront financial support for the organization's event, the Girls Will Summit, commemorating the International Day of the Girl to authorize an expenditure from the neighborhood sub fund. I am very proud to be a sponsor of this ordinance and want to thank the Women's Caucus for their support. This is the fourth year that we will work with Epic Youth to provide a free conference to girls in Columbus City Schools. The conference helps to increase leadership confidence, career awareness, STEM exposure, and more to help students view themselves as capable leaders and professionals for academic, personal, and professional success. We've done amazing things. We've had a group of students from Spelman that have actually come to show We've had 400 to 500 girls to expose them to STEM. They've learned everything from making their own makeup to perfume to creating beats and more and how STEM can be part of their lives. So we're very proud of the work that we've been able to do. And I just want to thank my colleagues for continuing to support girls in STEM, especially black and brown girls. Do my colleagues have any questions or comments? Seeing none, I move for passage.

Thank you.

Thank you, Council President. Our last ordinance in this committee tonight is Ordinance 1835-2026 to authorize the City Clerk to enter into a grant agreement with the National Veterans Memorial and Museum Operating Corporation to provide upfront financial support for the September 11th Day of Service to authorize an appropriation and expenditure agreement from the Neighborhood Initiative Sub Fund and to declare an emergency. This is the ordinance that I referenced at the top of our meeting for which Colonel Butler provided remarks. So I will be brief and just reiterate that the Memorial Museum is looking to evolve their traditional September 11th remembrance efforts into a citywide call to service and civic engagement. The 9-11 Day of Service will mobilize volunteers and community organizations, activate neighborhood-based service projects, and deliver high impact service outcomes directly benefiting those in need. The cornerstone event will be a meal packing service project hosted at NVMM, inviting hundreds of volunteers across the city to help support our food insecure neighbors. I want to thank my colleagues, council members Remy and Ross for supporting this impactful new initiative. And I look forward to honoring 9-11 in an exciting new way this year in Columbus. Are there any questions or comments from my colleagues? Seeing none, I move for passage.

Thank you. That's all for me, Council President.

Thank you, Madam Chair. Next committee to come before Council is the Workforce Education and Labor Committee, chaired by President Tim. President Tim, the floor is yours.

Thank you. First, we have Orders No. 1704-2026 to approve a Memorandum of Understanding No. 2026-01, Executed and Represented in the City of Columbus and the Communication Workers of America, Local 4502, to amend Appendix B of the Collective Barred Agreement stated April 24, 2023 through April 23, 2026. by creating and assigning pay to the Watershed Operations Manager and Watershed Maintenance Supervisor classification of Columbus Water and Power in a declared emergency. This legislation updates the state bargaining agreements between CBUA Local 4502 to accept an MOU creating the job classification Watershed Operations Manager and Watershed Maintenance Supervisor. Unless there's any questions or comments, I move for passage.

Dr. Palo Alto.

Thanks, Tim. Barbosa de Padilla de Alcardo on screen. Remy Ross, Vice President Hardin.

Pass.

Thank you. Next, we have ordinance number 1897-226 to authorize the Director of the Office of Education to enter a not-for-profit service agreement contract with that NOAA can support a Columbus Promise Program to authorize reimbursement and qualified expense shares incurred prior to the creation of this purchase order to authorize expense share within the general fund of $1,333,053 and declare an emergency. This legislation and service contracts support the great work of Columbus Promise, a council initiative led by Council President Hardin. I'd love to turn the floor over to him, and he's shaking his head because it's late at night. I want to thank him for his leadership on this matter, and unless anyone else has any questions or comments, I will move for passage. Clerk, please call the roll.

Banks, Timber, Rosa, DeFedea, DeAcar, Dorrance, Green, Remy, Ross, Weiss, President Hardin.

Pass. That's all I have on my committee, sir. Here we go. Thank you, Mr. Chair. Next committee to come before council is the Health and Human Services Committee and Equity Committee. That committee is chaired by Council Member Green. Council Member Flores.

Thank you so much, Council President Tainter. Health, Human Services, and Equity Committee. We have one ordinance on second reading. It's Ordinance 1952-2026 to authorize the city clerk to enter into an advanced payment grant agreement with Columbus Coalition for the Homeless in support of trash removal, safe storage, and hygiene initiatives for the city's unsheltered population. to authorize the appropriation of $107,500 and expenditure of $125,000 within the Neighborhood Initiative sub fund. If there are no comments or questions for my colleagues, I move to postpone this ordinance to Council's June 29th agenda. Second.

Clerk, please call the roll.

Thanks. Tim Barroso, de Padilla, de Alcar, Doris Green, Remy Ross, Vice President Hardin.

Postpone to June 29th.

Thank you so much, Council President.

That's all for me.

Thank you, Madam Chair. Next committee to come before council is the Public Safety and Criminal Justice Committee. That committee is chaired by Council Member Remy. Council Member, the floor is yours.

Thank you very much, Council President. Tonight in the Public Safety and Criminal Justice Committee, I have seven ordinances for second read. First is 1563-2026 to authorize and direct the city attorney to settle the lawsuit captioned Raquan Freeman v. City of Columbus et al. Franklin County Common Police Court Case No. 25CVE-5292 to authorize the expenditure of some of $75,000 in settlement of this lawsuit to authorize the payment, or excuse me, the transfer of $75,000 from the general fund and to declare an emergency. I would like to turn it over to Brian Shin, the deputy chief of staff at the city attorney's office, to give us a little bit more details on this.

Chair Remy, council president, members of council, Mr. Freeman was a passenger in a vehicle that was involved in an automobile accident with a city employee driving a city-owned vehicle during the course of his employment. A lawsuit was filed in Common Pleas Court seeking damages for bodily injury requiring medical treatment and physical therapy. Plaintiff also asserted claims for lost wages. After discovery, the city attorney's office determined that there was a likelihood that the city could be held liable and ordered to pay an award of damages to the plaintiff. Therefore, it is in the best interest of the city to settle this lawsuit. And we respectfully request council's approval. I would be happy to answer any questions.

Thank you very much, Mr. Shin. I'm going to turn it over to Deputy Director Holleran. Can you speak to whether or not there were any disciplines issued in this case and in general, how we're trying to avoid these types of situations in the future?

President Hardin, Chair Rieme, thank you. Yes.

There was a discipline issued, a written reprimand to the individual driver of the vehicle. Since over the last six to eight months, the Division of Fire has made several changes to its policy and driving operations. First thing they've done is updated the driving policy. They've issued video training. They've required driving credential to be renewed when firefighter credential is renewed, which includes reviewing the driving policy and taking driving related classes. They've also issued a job performance skill sheets related to driving and training new and existing firefighters, including those in need of remedial training on those specific job performance skill sheets. And they've also, the Division of Fire has also updated the division's crash accountability procedures to ensure that there's a consistent review of the cause of the crash and if there's any training or policy changes that could be made systematically.

Thank you very much, Deputy Director. Do any of my colleagues have any questions or comments? Seeing none, I move for passage.

Director, please call the roll.

Thanks, Senator Ross. Deputy Director, I call the door on screen. Remy Ross, Vice President Hardin. Passed.

Next, F-1603-2026, to authorize the expenditure of $210,000 from the general fund for the third year of a three-year contract with Sound Thinking, Inc., formerly ShotSpotter, Inc., for use of a gun detection alert and analysis program in the Phase 2 coverage area, to waive the competitive bidding provisions of the Columbus City Code, and to declare an emergency. This ordinance authorizes the funding for the third year of the subscription-based service, which will run from June 30, 2026, through June 29, 2027. A bid waiver is requested due to the established relationship with the existing technology in place. Emergency action is requested to continue sound thinking services without interruption. Are there any questions or comments from my colleagues? Seeing none, I move for passage. Second.

Clerk, please call the roll. Next is 1637-2026 to authorize and direct the city auditor to transfer $5,010,576.00

within various projects of the Safety Voted Bond Fund to amend the 2025 Capital Improvement Budget to waive the competitive bidding provisions of the Columbus City Code, Chapter 329, to authorize the Finance and Management Director to enter into a contract with and issue a purchase order to Atlantic Emergency Solutions, Inc. for the purchase of four Pierce Enforcer pumpers to authorize the expenditure of $5,010,976 from the Safety Voted Bond Fund and to declare an emergency. I want to announce that we are going to postpone this ordinance until the June 29th hearing. Sorry, council meeting, because we have a hearing this week and we'd like to consider this during that hearing. It will allow us to take additional time to understand the needs of our fire department. So with that, I move to postpone until the June 29th council meeting.

Clerk, please call the roll.

Bank Semper Rosa de Padilla de Alcoward, Dorrance Green, Remy Ross, Vice President Hardin. Postpone.

Next is 1759-2026 to authorize the Finance and Management Director to associate all general budget reservations resulting from this ordinance with the appropriate universal term contract purchase agreement established with Axon Enterprise Inc. for the lease and maintenance of body-worn cameras, CEWs, interview room cameras, and accessory software license maintenance in support of the Division of Police to authorize the expenditure of $4,470,018 from the general fund and to declare an emergency agreement. This ordinance sets aside funding for body-worn cameras, tasers, interview room cameras, and the associated software licensing and support for the Division of Police. Emergency action is requested to maintain daily operations and ensure timely development of this equipment. Are there any questions or comments from my colleagues? Seeing none, I move for passage.

President Hardin.

Passed. Next is 1854-2026 to authorize the Director of the Department of Public Safety to enter into a contract with Carasoft Technology Corporation to renew Celebrite software licenses used to extract digital evidence from cellular devices to waive the competitive bidding provisions of the Columbus City Code to authorize the expenditure of $330,687.75 for the Law Enforcement Seizure Fund and to declare an emergency. This ordinance authorizes the renewal of a software that It allows the digital forensics unit to unlock and decrypt phones in order to extract digital evidence linking suspects to crime. A bid waiver is requested because Celebrite is the only software compatible with the unit's existing equipment. Emergency action is requested to renew the license before the deadline and avoid disruption to ongoing investigations. Are there any questions or comments from my colleagues? Seeing none, I move for passage.

Clerk, please call the roll.

Thanks, Senator Ross. De Padilla de Alcar, Doris Green, Remy Ross, Vice President Hart. Passed.

Next is 1857-2026 to authorize the Director of Public Safety to enter into a contract for maintenance and repair services for the Division of Police Crime Lab Instruments with Life Technologies Corporation to waive the competitive bidding provisions of the Columbus City Code to authorize the expenditure of $72,089.32 from the general fund and to declare an emergency. This ordinance authorizes maintenance and repair of equipment used to process and present evidence for criminal prosecution. A bid waiver is requested because Life Technologies Corporation is the sole manufacturer and provider of maintenance services for the equipment. Emergency action is requested to renew the service agreement before it expires. Are there any questions or comments from my colleagues? Seeing none, I move for passage.

And finally, I have 1841-2026 to authorize the Director of the Office of Violence Prevention to enter into contract with the Center of Child

Child and family advocacy at Nationwide Children's Hospital for domestic violence support services related to the advocacy crisis team program in partnership with the Columbus Division of Police to authorize the expenditure of $300,000 from the general fund and to declare an emergency. I move to postpone to the June 29th agenda. Second.

Please call the roll.

Thanks, Tim.

And with that, thank you. That is all I have for today.

Thank you, Mr. Chair. The final committee to come for council is the Public Utilities and Sustainability Committee, chaired by Council Member Berger. White, Councilmember, the floor is yours.

Thank you, Council President. Tonight in Public Utilities and Sustainability Committee, I have Ordinance 1425-2026 to authorize the Director of Public Utilities to enter into a construction contract with Driven Excavating LLC for the Velma Avenue Area Water Line Improvements Project to amend the 2025 Capital Improvement Budget to authorize the Director of Public Utilities to apply for and accept a loan from the Ohio Water Development Authority direct loan program for the Young's Drive Area Water Line Improvements Project to appropriate funds within the Water Fresh Water Market Rate Fund to authorize the appropriation expenditure of up to $5,914,118.01 from the Water Fresh Water Market Rate Fund for the contract to make this ordinance contingent upon Ohio Water Development Authority approving a loan for the project and to authorize the expenditure of up to $2,000 from the Water Bond Fund to pay for prevailing rate services. This project consists of the installation of approximately 10,000 plus linear feet of new water mains, as well as the replacement of privately owned lead service lines. This project will improve water service, reduce burden on water maintenance operations, and minimize water loss. Let me stop there, see if any questions or comments from my colleagues. Seeing none, I move for passage.

Sir, please call the roll.

Thanks, Timber Rosa, De Padilla, De Alcow, Dorrance Green, Remy Ross, Weiss, President Hardin.

Thank you. The next two ordinances procure construction administration and inspection services for two specified division of water reclamation projects. These services will ensure that the projects remain on track and adhere to contract specifications. So first I have ordinance 1459-2026 to authorize the director OF PUBLIC UTILITIES TO ENTER INTO A CONTRACT MODIFICATION FOR CONSTRUCTION AND ADMINISTRATION AND INSPECTION SERVICES WITH DLZ OHIO INCORPORATED FOR THE BLUEPRINT ONE PALMETTO WEST GATE PERMEABLE PAVERS AND WATER LINE IMPROVEMENTS PROJECT AND FOR THE CONSTRUCTION ADMINISTRATION SERVICES 2026 TO 2028 TO AMEND THE 2025 CAPITAL IMPROVEMENT BUDGET TO AUTHORIZE THE APPROPRIATION AND EXPENDITURE OF UP TO $1,250,410.83 from the Water Pollution Control Loan Fund and an appropriation and expenditure of up to $453,143.47 from the Water Fresh Water Market Rate Fund for the contract modification to authorize the Director of Public Utilities to apply for and accept a loan from the Water Fresh Water Market for the Palmetto Westgate Water Line Improvements Project, and to make this ordinance contingent upon the Ohio Water Development Authority approving a loan for the project. Let me stop there, see if any questions or comments from my colleagues. Seeing none, I move for passage. Clerk, please call the roll. Thank you. And next I have 1475-2026 to authorize the Director of Public Utilities to enter into a contract modification for the Construction Administration and Inspection Services 2026-2028 contract with Hatch Associates Consultants Incorporated for the Velma Avenue Area Water Line Improvements Project and for the Construction Administration Services 2026-2028 contract. Project to add additional funding to authorize the director of public utilities to apply for and accept a loan from the Ohio Water Development Authority direct loan program for the Young's Drive area water line improvements project to appropriate funds within the water fresh water market rate fund to amend the 2025 capital improvement budget to authorize a transfer of cash and appropriation between projects within the water bond fund. to authorize the appropriation and expenditure of up to $1,300,000 from the Water Fresh Water Market Rate Fund and an expenditure of up to $75,000 from the Water Bond Fund for the contract, and to make this ordinance contingent upon the Ohio Water Development Authority approving a loan for the project. Let me stop there and see if any questions or comments from my colleagues. Seeing none, I move for passage.

Clerk, please call the roll.

Thanks, Tim. Thank you. Next, I have 1533-2026.

TO AUTHORIZE THE DIRECTOR OF PUBLIC UTILITIES TO ENTER INTO A CONSTRUCTION CONTRACT WITH DAMBERT INC. FOR THE BLUEPRINT ONE PALMETTO SLASH WESTGATE PERMEABLE PAVERS AND WATER LINE IMPROVEMENTS PROJECTS TO AUTHORIZE AMENDMENTS TO THE 2025 CAPITAL IMPROVEMENT BUDGET TO AUTHORIZE THE APPROPRIATION EXPENDITURE OF UP TO $11,678,518.48 FROM THE WATER POLLUTION CONTROL LOAN FUND. and the Water Fresh Water Market Rate Fund for the contract. To make this ordinance contingent upon the Ohio Water Development Authority approving loans for the project to authorize the Director of Public Utilities to apply for and accept a loan from the Water Fresh Water Market Rate for the Palmetto-Westgate Water Line Improvements Project and to authorize an expenditure up to $2,000 from the Sanitary Bond Fund to pay for prevailing wage services. This project consists of the installation of multiple street sections of permeable pavers, as well as other stormwater system improvements in the greater Hilltop community. This work will improve stormwater drainage and runoff. Let me stop there, see if there are any questions or comments from my colleagues. Seeing none, I move for passage.

Clerk, please call the roll.

Banks, Timber, Rosa, De Padilla, De Alcow, Dorrance, Green, Remy, Ross, Weiss, and President Hardin.

Passed. Thank you. Next, I have 1559-2026 to authorize the Director of Public Utilities to renew an existing agreement with Azteca Systems LLC for software licenses associated with the CityWorks AMS system and to authorize the expenditure of $1,019,234.74 split between the electricity, water, sanitary sewer, and stormwater operating funds. Excuse me. This software enables Columbus Water and Power to utilize GIS to better track, maintain, and manage assets across the entire department. We'll stop there, see if any questions or comments from my colleagues. Seeing none, I move for passage.

Clerk, please call the roll.

Thank you. Next, I have 1573-2026 to authorize and direct the city auditor to appropriate and transfer funds from this special purpose PFAS settlement fund to Columbus Water and Power Water Operating Fund. This ordinance authorizes funds received by the city in a product liability case to be utilized by the Division of Water for the purpose of improving water quality. Can we stop there, see if there are any questions or comments from my colleagues? Seeing none, I move for passage.

Clerk, please call the roll.

Thanks.

Thank you. Next, I have 1645-2026 to authorize the Director of Public Utilities to modify the power purchase agreements with DG Columbus Jackson Pike LLC and DG Harvest 2023 LLC to provide funding for the purchase of energy environmental attributes generated at the photovoltaic PV solar engineering facilities at the Jackson Pike Water Reclamation Plant and the Parsons Avenue Water Plan to authorize an expenditure of $2,800,000 from the Electricity Operating Fund and to declare an emergency. This ordinance enables Columbus Water and Power to procure renewable energy from solar power installations at various department sites, helping the city achieve its goals set forth in the Columbus Climate Action Plan. Emergency designation is requested due to previous delays with invoice renewal and projections for fiscal year 2026. I'm going to stop there, see if any questions or comments from my colleagues. Seeing none, I move for passage.

Clerk, please call the roll.

Passed.

Y'all knew what I was talking about. Next, I have 1666-2026, to authorize the Director of Public Utilities to enter into a construction contract with General, I'm sorry, Complete General Construction Company, Resource International Incorporated, and Corda Nemeth Engineering Incorporated, per the Mayor's emergency dated May 26, 2026, for the emergency repair of a 78-inch diameter brick sewer located at the intersections of Pearl Street and Brewer's Avenue. I'm sorry, Brewer's Alley to authorize the appropriation of the unappropriated balance of the sewer operating fund and to declare an emergency. Heavy rainfall during the month of May led to the collapse and failure of a sewer located in the German Village neighborhood. Immediate repair was necessary so that services could be restored as quickly as possible. Emergency designation is requested in order to prevent further disruption to the city's daily utility operations. Let me stop there and see if there are any questions or comments from my colleagues. Seeing none, I move for passage.

Please call the roll.

Banks, Samper, Rosa, De Padilla, De Ock, Howard, Dorrance, Green, Remy, Ross, Weitz, President Hardin.

FAST. THANK YOU. AND LAST, I HAVE 1681-2026, TO AUTHORIZE THE DIRECTOR OF PUBLIC UTILITIES TO ENTER INTO A GUARANTEED MAXIMUM REIMBURSEMENT AGREEMENT WITH PREMIER DESIGN PLUS BUILDING GROUP LLC FOR THE INTERMODAL SANITARY SUBTRUNK EXTENSION PHASE 2 PROJECT TO AMEND THE 2025 CAPITAL IMPROVEMENT BUDGET TO AUTHORIZE A TRANSFER OF CASH AND APPROPRIATION WITHIN THE SANITARY BOND FUND TO AUTHORIZE AN EXPENDITURE OF UP TO $2,560,356. from the Sanitary Bond Fund and to declare an emergency. This project will provide sanitary sewer service to a rapidly developing section of the city by constructing a new sewer further into the Rickenbacker service area. Emergency designation is requested so that construction can begin as soon as possible and to avoid interfering with or delaying other construction projects in the area. May I stop there, see if any questions or comments from my colleagues? Seeing none, I move for passage. Clerk, please call the roll.

Thank you.

That is all I have for my committee this evening.

Thank you, Mr. Chair. Seeing no further business coming for council, is there a motion to adjourn? Second. Clerk, please call the roll.

Meeting is adjourned.