City Council - Regular Meeting

We'll be right back.

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Thank you.

Regular meeting number 33 will now come to order. Please stand for the playing of the National Anthem.

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Councilman White, will you lead us in the pledge? I pledge allegiance to the flag of the United States of America and to the republic for which it stands, one nation under God, indivisible, with liberty and justice for all. This evening, Council is grateful to have Pastor Bismarck Akomea here to pray with us. Pastor from Jesus Power Assembly of God. Pastor, welcome.

Thank you very much, Mr. President, and it's a privilege to invite me to be here, and I'm so happy. Let's have a prayer. Almighty God, our Heavenly Father, we welcome you to in the name of our Lord Jesus Christ, the Redeemer, the one who died to save us. We come to you as you believe in people, your representative on earth, the agent of your government on earth. We lift up this nation of yours, United States, this state of yours, state of Ohio, and the city of Columbus, and many, many people in this nation into your hands, as today we gather together for the a meeting for the city council. Lord, we pray for your grace and your hands to be upon our gathering. Lord, we pray for wisdom for our president and the members of the Colombo City Council that our gathering shall be in peace. It shall be very presented. It shall be good and understanding that whatever we gather to discuss shall be successful. Father, we thank you for your blessing over this city. We pray for protection of this city and let your hand be upon this city. We ask you in the name of our Lord, Savior, Jesus Christ. Amen.

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

Thanks, Timber. Ross, 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. Can I get a motion to spend for the reading of the journal?

Move. Please call the roll.

Bankston, Barrosa de Padilla, de Ockhour, Dornsgreen, Remy Ross, Vice President Hardin.

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

Not at this time.

Thank you, Madam Clerk. We'll go around the dais for updates and hopefully no resolutions. Starting with Council Member Banks.

Thank you, Council President. Just one announcement and no resolution this evening. I am proud to announce that next week the city, in partnership with several community partners, are set to launch the idea collection phase of the Our Voice, Our Choice budget. I'm really excited about this effort. For those who may be unfamiliar, the Our Voice Our Choice budget is the city's first participatory budgeting process where community members will directly decide how to spend $1 million of capital improvements in their individual districts. So please keep an eye out on council's social media pages this week for additional details on how to participate in getting involved. This is really a historic moment for our city, and I want to thank, again, the steering committee of residents who really drove this process. This is really a process for Columbus residents, by Columbus residents, and so thank you, thank you, thank you, thank you again to all the residents who have been involved at this point, and really looking forward to the ideas that will come out of this next phase of this participatory budgeting exercise. So again, our voice, our choice budget, is going live next week, and we are really excited about it. Council President Solihalf.

Thank you, Council Member. Council Member Rosadie Padilla.

Thank you, Council President. So I know a number of my colleagues will also talk about the extreme temperatures that we are going to be experiencing in the coming weeks. So I just wanted to give everyone a reminder from a transportation perspective that COTA will suspend fares system-wide, so that is fixed routes, mainstream, and COTA Plus for June 30th, July 1st, and July 2nd due to the heat advisory in Franklin County. But COTA has issued a policy that in extreme weather situations, COTA will be fare-free. So they did this in the winter, and they will do this in the summer. Folks can check the CODA website. They can check social media channels and the transit app. If you don't have it, you should get it to see when CODA might be fare free if that is in question for you. Secondly, I do have a statement that I would like to read today. about the events this past weekend. Over the weekend, TPS was revoked for both our Syrian and Haitian immigrants here in Columbus. The Supreme Court ruled that federal government is legally allowed to end temporary protected status for people from Haiti and Syria. The decision is putting families, their livelihoods, and our local economy here in Columbus at risk. Refugees and immigrants have been the backbone of essential industries across our city and have fueled Ohio's growth. And while we understand that there was always a temporary part of temporary protection status, when you have had folks on temporary protection status for more than a decade without some sort of off ramp or without giving them appropriate time for them to make decisions that are good for them or their families. And when you are essentially sending them back to conflict zones, this is not a policy that is rooted in humanity. This decision places thousands of people nationwide and many families in Columbus under immediate uncertainty. It threatens to destabilize workplaces that rely on TPS holders, threatens to tear families apart, and sends a chilling message to immigrant communities who already navigate fear and vulnerability. Columbus has long prided itself on being a welcoming city and a place where people from every corner of the world can build a future. That commitment does not waver because of a court ruling. We will continue working with local partners, legal advocates, community organizations, and our own commission on immigrant and refugee affairs to ensure that affected families have access to information, resources, and support. To our Haitian and Syrian neighbors, you are not alone. This council will continue to advocate for humane and just immigration policies that reflect the dignity of every person who calls Columbus home. THIS WEEK WE WILL BE MEETING WITH OUR RESETTLEMENT ORGANIZATIONS AND LEADERS IN BOTH COMMUNITIES TO DISCUSS NEXT STEPS AND HOW WE CAN CONTINUE TO SUPPORT COMMUNITIES AND FAMILIES. I WELCOME ANY ADDITIONAL COMMENTS, QUESTIONS, OR CONCERNS THAT COMMUNITY MEMBERS MAY HAVE. THEY CAN DIRECT THEM TO MY OFFICE. I ALSO JUST WANT TO THANK MY COLLEAGUES FOR YOUR CONTINUED SUPPORT OF OUR COMMUNITIES AND FAMILIES. THANK YOU, COUNCIL PRESIDENT. THAT'S ALL FOR ME.

THANK YOU FOR YOUR LEADERSHIP. COUNCILMEMBER DAHLKAUER.

Thank you, Council President. I would like to start this evening by inviting Columbus Recreation Parks Director Bernita Reese up to the podium to present a report from the McCoy Park Workgroup. A couple of months ago, Council passed legislation to fund construction of and and WSL training facility at McCoy Park, an ordinance that I voted against but which was significantly improved thanks to the hard work of my council colleagues. One such improvement was an amendment requiring the director of Rec and Parks to form a working group aimed at replacing the land and programming lost with McCoy Park. This work group has been meeting weekly for the past 60 days And they worked diligently to meet the mandate and put together a report on their work, which the director will now present to council. It is my plan to hold a public meeting to engage with this report further as the finer details get worked out. And I look forward to diving deeper into this report in the coming weeks, along with my council colleagues and community members. With that, director, the floor is yours.

Thank you. Good evening, President Hardin, Chair DeAuca, our members of council. On tonight, we will present the final report from the Southwest Working Group, which each of you have received a copy. This report reinforces our commitment to continue pursuing additional park land opportunities as we continue building an even stronger park system for the Southwest community. The Working Group consists of ownership partners, city council staff, city administration, city departments, and Southwest Area Commission leaders. I'd like to personally thank Liz Reed, the president of the Southwest Area Commission, and Leah Young, the fiscal officer. At this time, I will ask Liz Reed to come and speak as a community leader.

Thank you, Councilmember de Alcaire and Director Reese, Council President Hardin and members of Council. Just over two months ago, the passage of Ordinance 1112-2026, I stood before you in disbelief. I did not want, I did not believe that a working group could find solutions with expedited timelines to fulfill what was envisioned for McCoy Park. Leah Young and I attended each working group. We did so relying on the advisement of dedicated community members, members like Derek Bergman who detailed everything envisioned for McCoy Park and ensured that we addressed tree by tree, acre by acre, amenity by amenity, everything that was envisioned at McCoy Park. Franklinton members who continued to expect new solutions for a stormwater basin. Inspiring stories from Laverne Dodson, Jennifer Craven, Amanda and Iris, and CD Aiden help keep us charged to fulfill the true needs of the community in the Southwest area. Due to the direct efforts of many city staff, including Morgan Wade, Brad Westall, and Craig Murphy, we are pleased to present the Working Group Report. During our first hearing on this topic, I asked the attendees to picture a therapeutic park with specially designed pickleball, softball, soccer space to benefit community members with physical disabilities, mental health conditions, and chronic illnesses. A park where children of all abilities could take part of a splash pad. A park with sheltered picnic tables. and restrooms so families can gather and enjoy outdoor space. Then imagine the same park that allows for fishing and paths for rolling and strolling. The park also that I asked you to envision also included a community center with accessible elevators and restrooms. Then I asked you to imagine this park created in one of the lowest income neighborhoods in Columbus. with the lowest life expectancy in the state of Ohio. Today, I'm excited to report the new path, the new plan fulfills this vision and more. It connects additional park amenities to a nearby elementary, intermediate, and middle school whose students and families currently have no accessible park. The report provides the solutions, the framework, the timelines that will allow the city to complete the park projects along the same timelines as the original plan. The solutions provided are not a listing from which to select, but all are required to be completed to make this community whole. We have commitments from the NWSL Franchise Ownership Group to become invested neighbors in our community and to help ensure that these solutions are realized. We have new commitments from the mayor to follow through in whole. Sixty days ago, we began a journey. The submission of this thoughtful, community-engaged and driven report represents a major milestone on this journey. Meeting this milestone required representatives of the working group and our supporting teams to see both the details and the vision for what's possible. It took honest and frank communication, building of trust, determination, allocation of resources, and resolve. In the end, we landed at this milestone successfully. And with this, it is a celebratory moment for us all. Today is but one of many milestones. We look forward to this continued journey as the city and the ownership group continues to fulfill the solutions arrived at through the working group as detailed in this report. Thank you so much.

Thank you, Chair Reid. Your leadership has just been so integral to this whole process, and I really appreciate your efforts and that of your colleague, Leah Young. And now back to the director for more details.

Thank you. The solution in this report received unanimous support from the working group. Together, we developed a solution, one that creates three recreation sites across the Southwest community. McCoy Park, a new neighborhood community park featuring therapeutic recreation amenities to include splash pad, playground, pickleball, and other amenities. Green Leaf Park, creating a new neighborhood park for families and residents, which consists of a shelter, walking loop, multipurpose field, and other amenities. Berliner Sports Park with a new adaptive softball field that expands opportunities for athletes for all abilities. Three recreation destinations allow us to bring opportunities closer to residents that improve access and make an even greater investment in the Southwest community than originally envisioned. The working group didn't simply look for a replacement, but we looked for the best possible solution for this community. And I believe that's exactly what we found. As we continue to engage the community, the first phase of work is still on the original timeline, preparing design and construction to begin this year. Thank you for your partnership and your continued commitment to the Southwest community. We're excited to get started and bring these parks and recreation spaces to life. I'd be happy to answer any questions at this time. I also want to make mention, just one other thing, for updates and current events that will take place within that community. Visit columbusrecparks.com slash southwest dot Area, that's spelled out, southwest.area.

Director, could you give us just like a late timeline of what we should be expecting as the next steps?

Within your reports, you do have a timeline that is in there. What will take place is we will start immediately on our design for the parks, all three park sites, and then we'll start construction. As you can look on screen, you see the timelines that are designated out. We will make sure if you don't have this that you have this information. So we had already started design. We will continue with that design to finalize design and move forward.

Thank you, Director. I appreciate the community's participation recently at the meeting where they got to provide their input on amenities that they would like to see. For the public, those of you who have never participated in the creation of PARCC, you have no idea how What an accomplishment it is to, in 60 days, find a new location, start making those plans. This was a huge, heavy lift. And it is to the credit of you, Director Reese, and your amazing staff that so much has been accomplished in such a short period of time. And I want to thank those who worked on the work group because you really did work. And members, we had members from representation from council, from the mayor's administration, from the NWSL team owners group, and of course your incredible staff who worked really hard to do that heavy lift. And so thank you very much. And you'll Mark your calendars for a hold sometime soon. We will be able to provide a public meeting where you can hear details about what more we will be doing as we have those finer details put together. And while you're up here, Director... Um, it's, it's hot. And so could you provide us with information on the cooling centers, um, that people can expect, um, during this heat wave?

Sure. Thank you. Chair Dayock our, um, today was the first meeting County wide to discuss cooling centers, um, and cooling plan. And so right away, Recreation and Parks, we have always been able to serve the community with pools that have been free during this time. We will start tomorrow with free pool admission at all of our pool sites. Our splash pads are free. And then I want to make sure that our cooling centers, Dodge, Driving Park, Glenwood, Linden, Marion, Franklin centers will open from 8 a.m. to 8 p.m. beginning tomorrow. On Tuesday, once again, that's Dodge, Driving Park, Glenwood, Linden, and Marion Franklin. Dodge and Dorian Green will be closed due to the Red, White, and Boom event that will take place on July 3rd and 4th. So that's our plan for our cooling centers, but we want to make sure that we roll this out as soon as possible.

Chair, I do have a quick question. Yes, ma'am. Director, I know pools are free, but do folks still need a leisure card? And if they do, can you just walk them through the process if they don't already have one?

So the process for a leisure card is $1 fee. We try to make sure that we know who's in the pool just for instances that may take place. And so they just need to have their leisure card. Please still bring it. We will scan you in. For free activity and provide you with a cool down within that pool area But if you don't have a leisure card, please just sign up for it when you come But that leisure card can be used at all of our centers as well as pool any of our facilities And they can get them in any rec center right any rec center before you could only get it at some but now you can get it Any correct?

Yes, ma'am. Thank you.

Thank you Thank you so much.

Thank you so much

And Council President, I have one other announcement this evening. I want to remind residents to come celebrate 4th of July downtown at the America 250 Ohio Homecoming and Picnic. This day starts with a bang at 11 a.m. Literally a bang. It's going to be with a cannon. And there are free events and entertainment. The Ohio Theater will have free film screenings and performances at both of these locations. There are events and entertainment from 11 a.m. to 7 p.m. And then the day ends at the Columbus Commons with a free Columbus Symphony Celebrates America concert at 8 p.m. followed by fireworks. And that's all for me this evening, Council President.

Thank you, Council Member. Presbyterian. Council Member Green. Council Member Ramey. Council Member Ross.

Nothing for me.

Council Member Weitsch. Wow, that was good. My only announcement that obviously this is our last meeting before break and council will reconvene after recess starting August 24th and although we will not have council meetings during recess, council members will continue to play an active role in the community working alongside community leaders, constituents and to serve our city so Look forward to seeing you out there, just not in here for the next six weeks. Are there any comments from our elected officials offices? All right. At this time, I request the following ordinance to be removed from the consent action portion of the agenda. In the Housing, Homelessness, and Building Committee, we have Ordinance 0813-2026. Are there any other resolutions by members of council for the removal of an ordinance? May we now have the motion to waive readings of titles of 30-day legislation tonight. Clerk, please call the roll.

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

Thank you, Madam Clerk. Will the clerk now read into the record the ordinance numbers of 30-day legislation on tonight's agenda for first reading?

In Economic Development and Small and Minority Business Committee, we have Ordinance 1957-2026 and Ordinance 2058-2026. Neighborhoods, Recreation, and Parks Committee, Ordinance 1738. 1948 and 1959-2026. In Workforce Education and Labor Committee, we have Ordinance 2034-2026. Public Safety and Criminal Justice Committee, Ordinance 1859-2026. Public Utilities and Sustainability Committee, we have Ordinance 1865-2026. And Rules and Policy Committee, we have Ordinances 1486 and Ordinance 2020-2026.

Thank you, Madam Clerk. The following ordinance appear on our agenda as consent action. Will the clerk now read those into the record?

Resolutions of expression, Resolution 152, 150, 151, and 154X-2026. In Finance and Governance Committee, we have Ordinances 63, 1801, 1850, 1863, 1965, and 2040-2026. Economic Development and Small and Minority Business. We have Resolution 146X-2026 and Ordinances 1648, 1651, 1652, 1694, 1761, 1766, 1815, 1831, 1886, and 2056-2026. Public Service and Transportation Committee, we have Ordinance 1494, 1623, 1709, 1711, 1773, 1837, 1875, and 1985-2026. Neighborhoods, Recreation, and Parks Committee, Ordinances 1725, 1728, 1729, 1730, 1732, 1733, 1735, 1737, 1741, 1749, 1808. 1830 and 1891-2026. Workforce Education and Labor Committee Ordinances 1568, 1941, 1963, 1973, 1984, and 2035-2026. Health, Human Services, and Equity Committee Ordinances 1633, 1848, 1901, 1967, 1979, 1980, and 1981-2026. Public Safety and Criminal Justice Committee, ordinances 1327, 1675, 1828, 1840, 1841, 1844, 1845, 1878, 1898, 1937, and 2009-2026. Housing, Homelessness, and Building Committee, we have ordinances 1698, 1713, 1770, I'm sorry, 1760, 1888, 1934, 1936, 1964, and 2008-2026. Public Utilities and Sustainability Committee Ordinances 1323, 1490, 1546, 1551, 1552, 1580, 1585. 1659, 1669, 1679, 1703, 1827, 1940, 1954, 1961, 1972, and 2006-2026. And Rules and Policy Committee, we have Appointments A132, 133, 134, 135, 136, 137, 138, and 139-2026.

Thank you, Madam Clerk. I actually skipped over. I think we have a speaker on the first reading portion of our agenda, Sarah Lucas, speaking in support of Ordinance 1486-2026. I apologize for that. Welcome to council. Looks like you're representing the organization, if you just tell us, and you have three minutes.

Hello. Thank you city council members for this opportunity to speak today. My name is Sarah Lucas. I live in the Old North neighborhood and I'm the communications chair for Transit Columbus. I am here today in support of ordinance 1486. As a cyclist and pedestrian, I strongly support the mobility initiatives listed as eligible for the fund. Funding things like tactical urbanism projects, traffic calming measures, Pedestrian and cycling infrastructure will literally save the lives of people like me and contribute to Vision Zero, an important goal. However, more specifically, I'm testifying today as a recipient of the city's e-bike subsidy program. I got my e-bike in August of last year with the city's help, and I initially thought that I would be using it for simple short errands around my neighborhood, library, grocery store. However, I rapidly expanded to visiting friends in German Village, seeing a show downtown, or attending events like ComFest. My bike is not a cargo bike, but I've hauled groceries, a whiteboard, and even a weed whacker. I want to emphasize something. I work from home. I don't have a commute. But despite that, since getting my bike last August, I have biked the equivalent distance between Columbus and Orlando, about 800 miles. That is all from running errands, visiting friends, and generally running around town. I am experiencing Columbus in new ways, whether stopping at local businesses since parking is no longer an issue, shout out Buckeye Donuts, submitting 311 tickets for issues that are more noticeable when I'm on a bike than in a car, and connecting with my community as I ride through neighborhoods. Zooming past standstill traffic, which I did today, while on the bike lane is a new hobby and it feels incredible. Because of this subsidy I have now been able to go car light, a long time goal of mine. I'm only driving around three times a week at most and have saved hundreds if not thousands on gas, car insurance, maintenance, savings that only increase as the cost of living and gas prices skyrocket. I'm positive I have repaid the city my subsidy multiple times over already. I am one less vehicle in traffic. Each mile I bike, Less in my car is not adding to the city's noise pollution, wearing down our already crowded roads, or further choking the air with carbon emissions. We all know that our region is growing rapidly, and with more residents come more cars. E-bikes are a fantastic money-saving tool for both the residents and the city by decreasing traffic and wear on our roads, while simultaneously toting many health benefits and reducing greenhouse emissions. When I ride my e-bike, I feel empowered, joyous, and connected to the world around me. It has been life changing, and I cannot even begin to imagine what a game changer it would be for someone who has limited or no access to public transit or a car. It is because of this that I'm strongly in favor of the ordinance. Thank you.

Thank you so much, Chair.

Good to see you again, Sarah. Thank you for coming out. Thank you for riding out here today. We're very excited about this fund. We'll talk about it in a little bit, so I'm not going to spend a lot of time talking about it now, but I think that as an investor in the city, this is what your investment means. You're getting that back threefold. And so I really appreciate you coming out and talking about how you use your e-bike. We've heard this from many of our e-bike users that you know, they think it might be for recreation or that they're going to use it sometimes, and it becomes their main mode of transportation. So I appreciate you uplifting that and how you use that, and I'm glad that it has worked out for you as it has for the over 600 people we've been able to provide with subsidies. So thank you.

Thank you very much.

Thank you so much. All right. Now, may I have a motion for approval of these items? And we're talking about the consent agenda. designated consent by voice. Clerk, please call the roll by voice.

Bankston. Yes. Barbosa de Padilla. Yes. Dayakower. Yes. Dorans. Yes.

Grayne. I vote yes on all ordinances except for ordinance 1648-2026 for which I'm voting no. Ramey. Yes.

Ross. Yes. White. Yes. President Hardin.

Yes, consent agenda items are passed with the noted exceptions. We'll now proceed with the second reading of 30-day postponed and emergency legislation. We will go out of order this evening and start with Ordinance 2005-2026. in the Rules and Policy Committee, and I chair that committee. And as I start to read this, I would like to welcome Assistant Chief Potts and Dr. Jones up to the podium. Only if you'd like, Dr. Jones, I saw that look that said maybe Chief Potts got it. I have Ordinance 2005-2026 to amend Chapter 2319 of the Columbus City Codes to repeal and replace sections 2319-30 and 2319.31 to provide technical corrections to enact new sections to strengthen the provisions and enforcement of minor curfews laws and parental responsibility and to provide for delayed enforcement of certain penalty provisions until January 1, 2027. Tonight, we are considering legislation to modernize Columbus's juvenile curfew and parental responsibility ordinances. I want to begin by saying that this conversation was not about any recent one-off event that may have made headlines. This work began more than a year ago when leaders across our city and the juvenile justice system came together to ask a broader question, which is how do we support young people while improving public safety for everyone? Over the past year, I've met with the city attorney's office, Franklin County Prosecutor Shayla Faber, juvenile court judges, Columbus Division of Police officers, including Assistant Chief Potts and Chief Bryant, Columbus City School Superintendent Chapman, nonprofit organizations working in youth violence prevention and intervention, parents, and just as importantly, young people themselves, through several roundtable discussions. And one message came through consistently. Our current curfew ordinance is outdated and should be updated to reflect today's realities. The legislation before us makes a straightforward change. It updates curfew hours to 9 p.m. to 6 a.m. for children under 12 years old and 10 p.m. to 6 a.m. for a youth age 13 through 17. It also maintains common sense exemptions for young people who are with a parent or guardian who are traveling to or from work. school, religious service, community activities, entertainment event, or responding to an emergency. Just as important as curfew hours themselves is how this ordinance will be implemented. This is designed to begin with education, engagement, and warnings, not punishment. Officers' first priority will be connecting with young people and connecting them with their parents and guardians when appropriate, referring families to diversion programs. The goal is to establish expectations and strengthen family engagement, not to criminalize. That is why the citation provisions of this ordinance will not take effect for six months until 2027. That gives us time to pilot the approach, work with the Division of Police, evaluate what is working, listen to community feedback, and make adjustments if necessary before next summer. Finally, I want to emphasize that this ordinance is only one piece of a much larger effort to improve youth safety. We are also examining issues like truancy, school safety, and expanding positive opportunities for young people, including working with my colleagues, Councilmember Day-Ochauer, and the work that she is doing leading around youth summer programming. There is no single ordinance that will solve youth violence or keep every child safe. If we are serious about protecting our kids, our babies, we have to be willing to look at every tool available and work together. That means partnering with parents, schools, faith leaders, community organizations, law enforcement, judges, prosecutors, and youth themselves. This legislation is just one step forward, and I look forward to continuing that work together. I'm going to turn it over to Chief Potts to discuss the need for this legislation. I want to thank you for the partnership and the leadership of you and Chief Bryant in helping to craft this legislation. But I want to turn the floor over to you.

Good evening. Thank you, Council President Hardin and all the distinguished council members. I also want to acknowledge the many conversations that the division has had that have taken place in the community. with advocates, parents, stakeholders throughout this entire process. While there may be differing opinions on the ordinance itself, I believe we all share the same goal and that's to keep our youth safe. I want to be very clear about the intent of this ordinance. It is about prevention and not punishment. This ordinance is designed to create opportunities for intervention before a young person becomes involved in violence or someone committing a crime. It is another tool that allows our officers to engage our youth and families during the hours when our data tells us the risk of victimization and criminal activity is the greatest. We also understand the concerns expressed by community regarding how this ordinance will be utilized. We have taken a thoughtful approach to this. We've had many conversations, not just with leadership, but also with our police officers. And we understand that we don't want to create an avenue where criminalization occurs. That is why the pilot program is so important. It will allow us in real time to see how this works. But what we cannot do is to continue to do what we've always done. We understand that looking at 26 major cities, Columbus was dead last in our ordinance. We have to do something. We have to hold our parents accountable, but we also have to make sure that we create policy and procedures that keep our people safe. Additionally, what the division will do to track is create a field interview position in our P1. This will accurately monitor how this ordinance is being used, evaluate trends, and make informed decisions moving forward. That is precisely why we were okay with the ordinance the citation taking effect six months later because we want time for our officers to get familiar with the process, but also to educate the community on what the new laws that take effect will be. I believe that this is just one tool in a tool belt, one of many as we continue to look at how we eradicate juvenile violence and implement this order in a manner that builds trust, promotes accountability, and most importantly, it helps to keep our youth safe.

Thank you so much, Chief. And thank you for your work, Dr. Jones. Thank you. I know that this is, I keep saying that if this were all we were doing to engage youth violence, and of course, I would be open to so much more criticism, but this is part of a much larger conversation and initiatives that we think that in a whole can curb youth violence. And a lot of folks think that this is about protecting the community from young people. It's as much about protecting young people from the streets. And I think that if safety is our city's top priority, then the safety of our young people has to be at the top of that safety list. And so that's why we're bringing this conversation forward, this legislation forward, and I'll open it up for any conversations or questions from my colleagues.

I have a couple questions. Please. Chief Potts, you talked about tracking the officer's experience during this pilot, this six-month pilot phase. And you mentioned adding a field interview to P1. Now I know what P1 is. Can you explain what P1 is to folks?

It's our reporting system that we currently use. We do field interviews for adults. We're just simply adding a column for juveniles. So when that officer encounters a juvenile, as going to be instructed by us, that first contact, as long as there are no other mitigating factors, The goal is to educate not only the juvenile but also the parents.

Within that six, so the way I understand the legislation, six months until it's implemented, until it will be enforced. If you are going through the pilot process between now and the six months and you have a contact with a young person between now and those six months, will that contact be held against that young person or are we talking clean slate at six months?

So for us, if we have multiple violations for us, the law would kick in for citation. But we're hoping that because the moratorium for the judges is six months, that we use this for time to education. But what we can't do is continue to pick up our juveniles over and over again, even during the six months period. Sure. And let me just explain. So the way the ordinance is written, the first citation wouldn't count until like the third or fourth contact with us. And so I want to be clear that they get at least three bites before we even issue a citation, which we would normally do on the first contact if they're a juvenile curfew violator.

A.C. Potts, appreciate you being here and walking through this. Obviously, I've shared my concerns with the legislation. One of the pieces that I was somewhat concerned with is in order for us to give multiple chances, we have to track those youth. What happens to their data? Is it in your system forever? Does it go away at any point in time, assuming nothing else ever occurs with that young person?

That's a really great question. So we have policies that dictate when we get rid of data, and so we will follow the same policies and procedures that we normally do when we collect data. In order for us to pilot it correctly, though, we would have to keep that information at least for the duration of the time that we're looking to evaluate the data.

So as we are trying to keep kids out of the system, we're going to put them in the system?

Well, they're in our system. They're not in the juvenile system.

Correct. Go ahead, unless you're done.

No, I wasn't. Thank you. Okay. We talked a lot about in conversations when you were presenting potential pilots for this legislation, the importance of who is enforcing curfew law and how they are trained to engage with our young people. Can you talk a little bit about the work that you are currently doing, have been doing with the officers to ensure that folks who are engaging with our young people, particularly as it relates to this curfew law, are trained to do it appropriately?

Absolutely. So our officers over the last five years have been really involved in community engagement. It has been led by Chief Bryant from the top down. And so I believe the agency that you have now is not the same agency that you had five years ago. And so these officers are committed to engagement. We see it every day on social media. This is just another tool for them. I can assure you the officers of this division will not abuse this. And we have a tracking mechanism to ensure in real time if we do see abuses, we will handle them accordingly like we do every other abuse.

Just to follow up, can you talk a little bit about specific training as it relates to engagement with young people?

So there really is no specific training as it relates to juvenile curfew. What it is is training on bystanderism. It's training on professionalism. These are the things and interactions during traffic stops. These are the training our officers receive during police academy and then during in-service training. And so when we talk about training for curfew ordinance, it really is just another. It's almost like if an ordinance came for writing a traffic ticket. What our expectations are and what we've said very openly and honestly is that we want that first contact to be educational. That is a mandate coming down from Chief Bryant, something that we will uphold, something that our officers don't seem to have a problem with. I brought Officer Lutz here. who has been instrumental in building our juvenile database. And he does it with intentionality, professionalism, and he's very empathetic. And so he's been sitting at these roundtables. We've had conversations with him about input. This is not something that we did in a vacuum. We've talked to our community stakeholders, and we understand that the reasons why there are concern, I get it. I understand it, which is why that we have these checks and balances in place for us to look at it in real time.

One more question. I'm going to lead you into this answer just a little bit. I do understand, and I know officers get training a ton. There is specific training as it relates to juveniles.

Correct. Yes, for their brain. Can we talk about that? So there is training in how you interact with juveniles as far as their brain development. However, it's not specifically geared towards curfew. It's just how you interact with a juvenile in any circumstances. And we also, our officers are well trained in that as well. Awesome.

And then talk a little bit about trauma-informed training. Is every officer receiving trauma-informed training that comes through the division?

Yes. They also have received what we consider the bystander, that if an officer is getting, you know, overworked, overwhelmed, that officers are mandated by policy to interact and tell that officer, take a breather, let me handle. And so we've been intentional with our trainings as well as our policies to ensure that that we are creating a well-rounded police agency. And I'm very confident standing here that the policies and procedures that we have in place will ensure that we don't have the issues that I know community is concerned about. And if we do, we will address them like we've addressed every other issue.

Um... AC Potts, can you talk a little bit about what the program evaluation looks like? Like, you know, we've had questions around the effectiveness of a curfew. Also, I just want to preface this by saying, as a kid who grew up in Columbus, I mean, I remember when I was a kid, we talked about curfew. This is not new. We have a curfew in place now. I think... I'm a little, I think as a youth worker, I'm a little, I have some concerns about how this program works, and I think knowing that we have some trusted sources that have been part of a coalition of how we think about, I mean, at the curfew hearing, we talked a little bit about this, and I know that I've talked to some of our community partners about what their concerns are, and I think their buy-in has helped me feel a little bit more comfortable about the direction that we're moving in, understanding that we have to take some sort of action, but what that looks like. But I want to understand a little bit about how do we evaluate it? How do we say, is this working? Is it not working? How do we make changes? And what does that look like? Aside from just if someone is not doing what they're supposed to be doing or not fit to be part of this, we remove them. But how do we know that this is even being effective?

So we'll look at our data. Just to give you an example of the crime that's occurring for juveniles, just looking from May of last year to this year, juvenile offenses remain heavily concentrated between 7 p.m. and 1 a.m. in the morning. What we found is Tuesday through Thursday continues to be the highest offense value, and then Friday remains the lowest. What it tells us is that our youth, more often than not, are getting in trouble on those late night hours. And not just in trouble, but becoming victims as well. And I want to make this point. The juvenile curfew ordinance is one piece of a larger puzzle. We are actually building out a juvenile violence reduction plan. And this is not intended, the juvenile curfew is not intended to solve every challenge. Nor have Chief Bryan nor myself have said that it would. What this will do is help us tie data to what we're seeing in the streets. It'll help us to tie parenting to having parental responsibility. We cannot hold parents accountable if we don't educate them on what the law is and then be able to say that we've spoken to you several times before an ordinance is issued. If you look across the country, we are not the only city facing this issue. And I will tell you, we've been very intentional with making sure that even on the punishment side of things, we have been thoughtful as it relates to the finances of our families, the fact that we had exemptions that other cities don't have, and the fact that we're looking at what ways can we educate before we enforce. And so I think that we've been intentional with the leadership of this team to make sure that this ordinance has been thoughtful, that it's going to be proactive, and that we'll save more lives and not it be punitive.

No, and I appreciate that. And I think the one thing that I want to elevate is And we talked about this during the hearing is just that family support because I think that we're seeing that more and more and hearing more and more from, you know, parents who are tapped out, you know, they're working second shift there. I mean, you know, full disclosure, I was a kid who broke curfew, who snuck out of the house because my mom was working second shift, third shift. And I got driven home and put into a scared straight program from my parents. But... Calm down here, calm down council member. But so I think that I understand, I think it's important for folks to understand what all the interventions are that were really helping a family unit and understanding like how do we provide that support not just for young people but also especially when you look at what the data is and we're talking about a certain subset of young people. Absolutely. I think, you know, and I know that Councilmember Weitsch and I have talked about this around some of the concerns. I think that we had some shared concerns. I think, you know, the continued evaluation of what we're doing and how we're doing it and how we're caring for people and intentionality around that is what I'm most concerned about because I do understand that we're at a tipping point and we have to do something. but ensuring that we are thinking about this as a collective, that we are providing support for young people, that we are providing support for families and for communities. Just, you know, I think in continued work with young people when they are given options. good options and not so good choices, right? We're putting them in a driver's seat where they can really change the trajectory of their lives. And this is every young person. It doesn't matter what family, what community, what income you come from. One bad decision can change the course of your life. And so I appreciate that we're thinking of the whole picture and look forward to our continued conversations about how this rolls out and how we're continuing that care for community.

Absolutely. I just want to say this conversation started with council about a year ago, but it actually started within the division about two and a half years ago as we start really looking at the trends of our juveniles. And so we've been intentional with slow rolling this and making sure that as a division, we're proactive in making sure that our community feels first that we have police legitimacy before we introduce any new But also that our officers understand their role in community is not just enforcement. And I believe over the last five years, we've proven that. There's no perfect system. There's no perfect ordinance that will solve everything that's going on in the country. This is one piece of a puzzle. The bigger, larger picture, when it's unveiled, we'll talk about holistically how we're trying to heal families, but also educate them on their responsibilities. Because what I can tell you is our officers cannot police parenting. We cannot. And we're doing our parts. We need parents to do their parts. And we need our children to understand that sometimes we're saving them from themselves. I would rather you be mad at me about a curfew violation than me knocking on your parents' door to tell them you didn't make it. And so that's where my heart posture is.

Thank you so much, Chief. And just earlier today, someone said this, I think it's a stupid phrase, soft on crime. And we were about to know this is smart on safety. One of the reasons why I trust your leadership in the division to manage this is because you were so thoughtful. It was the division who pushed back and said we should, it was the division and the county prosecutor that said we should have an education period on this. Would you just hit that one more time? Why the six months? Why not the citation starting immediately like the enforcement will?

Absolutely. So what we wanted this ordinance to do is to reduce opportunity. Opportunity to be a victim and opportunity to commit a crime that you can't walk away from. We thought it was important that our community has a grace period. And so we want to do PSAs. We want to make sure that every family knows exactly what the ordinance entails, what the ramifications if you violate it, but also the responsibility is still on parents to be parents. And I take into account the multiple jobs. As a mother, my mom was a single parent raising two young kids, and we violated curfew as well. But I will tell you, we also had horror stories that we would not have had had our butts been in the house at a reasonable time. And so I understand the fear, but I also understand what it's like to have to tell a parent that their child was at a party that they didn't know they were at and they were shot unjustly. And so I also know what it's like because I visit prisons too on a regular and talk to young men who tell me that they wished at seventh grade, eighth grade, ninth grade, that they were held accountable and they wouldn't be sitting in prison for the rest of their lives. And so we took all of that information into account. And I have to thank Dr. Jones and I think Melissa Thomas St. Clair is here. We've been spearheading this in prisons using data to affect how the division crafts some of our messaging. And I will tell you that young men, especially young men of color, wish they would have had some ordinances and some ramifications for their decision making that they wouldn't be sitting in prison now at 16 and 17 years old for 40 plus years. And so as a black woman first, because I think people forget that I'm a woman of color as well, I don't ever want my name to attach to something that disparagingly treats people of color, which is why we were so intentional and methodical about how we rolled this out.

Thank you so much, Chief. With that, I want to bring up, we have three speakers on this ordinance, the first being someone who is... No stranger to all the issues keeping our young people safe, Ms. Melissa St. Clair. Ms. Melissa, would you come forward? Thank you so much, Chief. Thank you. Officer Lutz and Dr. Jones.

Good evening, President Hardin, members of council, and members of our community. My name is Melissa Thomas-Sinclair, and I'm the founder and CEO of Mothers of Murdered Columbus Children, a Columbus City School educator for nearly 30 years, and a mother whose 22-year-old son, along with my husband, Michael Sinclair, Anthony Sinclair, was murdered after being stabbed. I stand before you today with mothers who have turned their pain to purpose every single day. Together, we have chosen advocacy over anger and prevention over silence. I also want to acknowledge my husband, Michael St. Clair, his Lodge brothers, our co-founder, Carla Harris, and the dedicated leadership of Mothers that Murder Columbus Children. We are here because we are a community that cares, a community that shows up, and a community that believes Every child deserves to come home safely. Mothers of Murdered Columbus Children has publicly supported the enforcement of Columbus's youth curfew since May of 2021, following the tragic violence at Bicentennial Park, where Olivia Kurtz, who was 16 years old, lost her life. Our position hasn't changed. We have consistently called on our city to use every reasonable tool available to prevent violence before another family receives the phone call that changes their life forever. Today's proposal does not create a youth curfew. It updates the one we already have. I won't go through the ordinance because it was already stated, but clearly stating exact times provides clear language that we all can speak. It allows the community to speak the same language across their households. Now you've heard, and I concur, this ordinance is not the fix. It is another tool in our toolbox. That's our theme of this ordinance. Across our country, cities have updated their youth curfew laws as community needs have changed. Columbus should continue evaluating what works, making improvements, and using everyday available strategies to protect our children, and which are your children. One thing this discussion has revealed is that many residents didn't even know Columbus has a curfew ordinance. That tells us that awareness must improve. If this ordinance passes, if the updates in this ordinance passes, it should be followed by citywide education campaign so that parents, youth, schools, recreation centers, faith communities, and neighborhoods understand the law before accountability is expected, which you've heard so clearly stated. I've heard concerns that the ordinance won't be enforced by the community. Well, if enforcement has been inconsistent, the answer is not to abandon the law. We enforce fairly and consistently. But enforcement can't just be law enforcement. The first line of defense should be us, the community. I've heard concerns that these consequences won't stop young people. Consequences alone rarely change behavior. Trust me, I'm a seventh grade teacher. I know this very well. Relationships change behavior. Mentorship changes behavior. Opportunity changes behavior and accountability. This ordinance creates another opportunity to intervene before a young person becomes the next victim or another family becomes the lifelong journey that we all face. Our first line of defense will always be parents and guardians. At the same time, we recognize many families face real challenges. Parents working second shift, as we've heard, third shift, grandparents raising grandchildren, or caregivers doing the best they can. Now, those realities do exist, but it doesn't mean abandon the law. I love the fact that you said we are going to modernize it. That's exactly what we're doing. We're going to become innovative parents and innovative caregivers in a stronger community partnerships. Before I close, I want to remind us that we all have a role to play. City officials cannot parent our children. Parents and guardians must do that. Law enforcement cannot determine guilt or impose sentences. The judicial system does that. Elected officials cannot personally enforce the ordinance. Law enforcement, we the community, and parents do that. Schools cannot raise children alone. Community organizations cannot replace families. Churches cannot reach every child by themselves. If we want this city, we all deserve. We must move from complaining about problems to creating solutions. then each of us must do our part to ensure those solutions work. I will not give you the countless ways Mothers of Murder Columbus children does that. You see for yourself. Last year, Columbus remained under 100 homicides. We should celebrate that progress while continuing to strive to become the safest big city in Ohio for our children. The best part about this ordinance is that it can continue to evolve as our city evolves and as the needs of our youth changes. Good public policy grows with community that it serves. Five years ago, Mothers Who Murdered Columbus Children asked Columbus to enforce the youth curfew law that was already on the books. Today, we respectfully ask you to modernize them, pass the ordinance. For those reasons, we respectfully urge City Council to vote yes on the proposed changes. Thank you.

Thank you, Ms. Melissa, and thank you to all the moms. Thank you for your advocacy. Ms. Melissa, you, I think, were at almost all of our community meetings on this ordinance and I think helped to shape it as well. And it changed from what we started talking about last year to what we'll be voting on tonight. So thank you so much. Are there any questions or comments? Council Member.

Yeah, I would just like to thank you for coming down today and highlighting a lot of the things that are so important to your organization. Of course, all parents around the city. You said something that I think is really worth highlighting, and that's the fact that we all need to be speaking the same language. And I think we agreed on that in the meetings that the importance of making sure that our teachers, our faith leaders, our neighborhood leaders, our parents are All of us are saying the right things and the same thing so that it is a consistent message that this is a value that this community has and demands. And this is what we're going to do as part of the entire toolkit to make sure that our youth stay safe. So I thank you for that. And for the people that had no idea we had a curfew, I didn't know we had a curfew because 12 to 430 is not a curfew. So I'm excited to be able to support this. And thank you for coming.

Thank you so much, Mrs. Mothers.

Thank you.

The next speaker to come before council is Avis Skinner. Mm-hmm. Welcome to Councilman Skinner.

First, I want to say thank you to the mom and acknowledge the work that they do in the community.

And the police representative, like, we appreciate what they do.

Sure. I am a little bit concerned about extra police stops. As Ohio celebrates America's 250th, I'd like to remind the council of an African proverb. A child who is not embraced by the village will burn it down to fill its warmth. And can I tell you what that means to me? Communal care is non-negotiable. We have to be diligent in protecting and nurturing our youth. And I hear everybody when we say the curfew enforcement will be informative. And I want to believe that. But the reality is the collective black experience is that police interactions are not safe for our community. In Donald Trump's America, the officers who identify as white are hypervigilant when policing black communities. At Kroger's, I work with kids from 16 to 22. And the ones that are over 18 still look like teenagers to me. I'm afraid that officers will be actively looking for hidden dangers even when no real threat exists. I worry about the young people in my family. That's what hypervigilance is. It's Casey Goodson Jr., Tamir Rice, and Tyree King. It's racial trauma reminiscent of the black codes during the reconstruction and Jim Crow eras. Respectfully, The curfew enforcement sounds like just another reason to stop and search young black people. And now we're witnessing another generation bearing the burden of being constantly viewed as a threat thanks to social engineering by unscrupulous tech billionaires. We will not lose another generation to the prison industrial complex. As the city prepares to set its budget for 2027, I urge the council to remember the young people of Columbus. It is your responsibility to invest in the future of our city, and that means investing in creative ways to engage, educate, inspire, and uplift the next generation of leaders and entrepreneurs. And to the council member, you're a prime example. And we're going to inspire those leaders. One day, one of those youngsters could be right here on council. Thanks.

Thank you, Ms. Kennedy. And don't, don't walk away. Cause I think that you hit on a lot of the underlying sentiments of a lot of folks in this conversation. I never wanted to rush this conversation or afraid of any parts of it. And so I appreciate you being here. I have friends and family and truthfully, if this was the, Division of Police of 2020, I would not be bringing this ordinance forward. We have different leadership. We've had different changes that have happened within this department over the last five, six years that give me trust that, one, we can hold them accountable, that there is a built-in evaluation period to track and see how this is being implemented. Those underlying historical concerns are not lost, I think, on anyone in this. And I appreciate you giving voice to it as we still move forward. And I will say this last. Councilmember Bruss, Deputy, and I were talking about this. This is a yes and. This was a yes and we need to invest more in youth programming. And so I see it in your face. You're not coming down here to grandstand or to have a political conversation. There are concerns. And I see that. I hear that. And that is the expectation that we have for this division as they learn and enforce this over the next six months. Thank you so much for being here. The last speaker to come before council was Aaron Hathaway in Epic Youth.

Good evening, Council President Hardin and council members. My name is Erin Hathaway. I'm the executive director and co-founder of Epic Youth. Joining me this evening are the members of the Epic Youth Student Council, with me as Lennox, Chelsea, Claire, Sloan, Jasmine, RJ, Anthony, Riley, and Jayla. There are a few others who are not with us this evening who are part of council. Their responsibility is to serve our organization and be a youth voice for our organization to make sure that we are in the right direction as far as building our programs to make sure that it is directly impacting them. And they are also representing just the city and youth in general. I will say I had some remarks, but I think the conversations that's come before me has kind of raised an emotion in me and has kind of changed what I've wanted to say. But on Friday, Councilmember Ross got a chance to visit our retreat. And we got a chance to share the proposed curfew ordinance with the members of our EPIC student council. And we sat together with Councilmember Ross and all of her. knowledge of law and she was able to read, we were able to read the amendment line by line and what followed was one of the most thoughtful conversations I've had with young people about public policy. What I will say is after hearing some of the sentiments that's come before me, there were concerns and this conversation that we had, the questions that they brought up about this ordinance let me know that there was a gap of understanding. and knowledge. And though I support the curfew, they were concerned about the policing. What does this mean for their day-to-day life and their activities and how do they live? There was also concerns about their interaction with law enforcement and how it determined whether their concerns weren't, whether it determined whether they were in violation or not. And their concerns were about avoiding accountability. They just wanted clarity, fairness, and understanding. And so as a founder and a leader in this community of youth, I wear a lot of weight of what's happening with our youth in our city. And I will say that this ordinance, I feel, is the responsibility of the community and our village to have a communication and message and a policy so we can be unified. And I think that this curfew will allow us to be on the same page. And I've said this over and over, we need to be like a two-parent household that has the same expectation of our youth. Because when you have a two-parent household that is divided, the children are divided, and they can play the card of where they want to go. And I think that this gives us language to withhold a standard so that our youth can be safe in our community. So it's our nonprofits, our police department, our schools, our community leaders. If we all have the same tools under our belts, we can have a safer community. And so I do support this ordinance. And I do, with their agreement, I told them that I would support it. But we voted there as well. And so they did not agree on the hours. But they all agreed that there was a need for something to be safe. in place. And so I do, let me go back to my notes, because I had to go off for a second, but we all know that with collective efforts, this is not a loan, this is just one tool. And so we must also continue to invest in our nonprofits and the organizations serving We can have policies, but it does require relationships. Oh, is that for me?

You're good.

Okay. I hadn't seen that. I've been here a couple times and hadn't seen that. But we know that it's the investment in our organizations and prevention and programs. along with tools like the curfew that supports. And so I hope that we can minimize interaction with police by building this message and this communication so that this policy is bringing enough that the nonprofits and the educators and the people who work with youth can install what is right in them before there is too many interactions with the police. So I'm hoping and I'm looking forward to receiving communication on how this is going to roll out and the strategy so that I can install what the city expects in them to them before the interaction. And I'll say, a lot of our youth, they participate in these activities. They've gone to FunFest. They said it on Friday they were at FunFest and didn't know it was a teen takeover. So it's the awareness that needs to accompany this strategy. And so I'm glad to support this ordinance. And I know that the strategy will come with it so we can unroll it into our communities. Thank you.

Thank you so much, Aaron. And I will say the advocacy that you gave at both of the engagements that we sat down with you on this piece of ordinance was very clear around using the city's engagement with youth-serving providers to educate. And so I would ask the administration, both Rec and Parks and neighborhoods that fund numerous youth service programs to help us come up with a communication that can be delivered to those providers who are receiving city dollars to work with our young people, that we would give them this information to share down that pipeline so that we are all working through the same information. And that was a clear advocacy from you, so thank you. Sure.

I just wanted to say, in full transparency, Erin is one of my partners in good. We do the Day of the Girl conference every year. And one of the reasons that we chose Epic Youth was because of the proximity that you have to young people and because how you uplift the voices of young people and ensure that they are heard. and that they're brought in their understanding what's happening in their community. And so I would be remiss if we did not acknowledge all of you who are here today and the work that you do with Epic Youth because it is so important. I think in this council chambers repeatedly we make decisions for people that don't always get to show up here. young, old, black, white, Haitian, whatever you may be, right, we're making those decisions on behalf of people every day. And so it's important that you all feel like you're part of the conversation always because we can't just make decisions for you without you being part of the decision. And so I just want to applaud you for being part of Epic Youth, for being here today, for taking time out and standing here today, for pushing back on us so we do better for you. and create a better city where you feel safe, you feel a sense of belonging, and you feel seen and you feel heard. And I think you can judge the health of a community by its young people. And so if we're not doing right by you, if our young people are hurting, we're not doing our jobs. And so I just wanted to acknowledge that, and thank you for continuing to push. And this is what I was talking about earlier, like having you here, having your young people here, having Melissa here, that's the thing that makes me feel better about the work that we're doing here, because I can't negate the voices that I'm hearing from our community. And again, just wait to see what this looks like, because we're talking about one small piece of a much larger puzzle. And You are, I mean, I have teenagers at home, you know, they don't have a place to go that they always feel safe. And I feel like if we do not as a community continue to invest in safe places for our young people to go and for them to feel like they can be full citizens in their own city, then, you know, again, I think we're failing them. And I think that we're at a critical time where we all need to take a hard look. And as we make tough choices about resources and policies and other things, it has to be rooted in the young people that are here today.

This is what happens when you talk after Council Member Rosa De Padilla. She takes all your talking points and you don't have nothing to say. But I just spent some time with each and every one of you and certainly thank you. And you did not call me to speak to them about the curfew law. We organically got into talking about that. But I thank you for giving me things to consider. a ton about making sure that we are not creating policy and creating laws about people without the people that we are creating the laws that, right? I see some, period, exactly. Talked a ton about that. I wanna make sure that the top concerns that you all brought to me are brought to this council as a whole, so Erin, if we could just go through kind of the specifics of what were brought to the forefront by this group of young people just so that the entire council can hear it. So one, we were we were in agreement that there should be a curfew. We were not necessarily in agreement on the times. Right. There was like, can I get one more hour? Right. Right. Right. OK. Right. Can I get one more hour? What if this? What if that? And we talked a little bit about the exceptions. The other thing was, where do we go? Right. So like in the event that we are out after curfew and we do not fit within any of these rules, exceptions. Where is it that we can go? And right now, I think we were talking about very little resources for young people, particularly available to the public that are free and accessible for those times in which the curfew hours are applicable. Is that, am I, I got that right too? Okay. And then also, like, I want to make sure we're not missing anything else. If we, if we're talking about establishing a curfew, we need to also clearly be talking about programmatic efforts to make sure there are places and spaces for these young people to go that are safe spaces that are open to the public so that if I am an officer and I am trying to enforce this law I have a place that is safe for this young person to stay until we have contacted their parent or their legal guardian is that is that right and I'm not looking at your hitch I'm gonna look at you but I'm also gonna look at you up right okay is there anything else that we are missing

I think you hit it. It was the spaces to be because remember the conversation was about my life, my lifestyle, what do I do, my activities I'm involved in. I need time to do this. Can I not be here? Where can I be? So it was about the spaces and where they choose to hang out. And if the curfew law had a certain time, can I be in this safe space? That was their concern. Was there any other concerns? It was the interaction. with the police. That was a concern. And then the last one was, do you all remember? How it's communicated. They were concerned with how this information will be communicated to their peers.

Well, we look forward actually to probably using youth voices to help communicate this. I think that you probably are the most credible messengers in this conversation. And so as we work with the division, and our community partners to message this over the next six months. I really hope that we're able to center youth voices in this conversation as we go forward.

Can I add one more thing? It was also the marketing as well. They express how they, with our communication and our conversations being so public on social media, these are conversations that they're privy to as well. when adults are having conversation online. And so that's a concern for me as well, is how these things are communicated, the words that are being used about youth and their safety, and then how it's communicated online and the debates that are happening online. They see that, and they have access to it. And so they're forming their judgment and their place in our community as well because of how we are talking. And so I just think the language is important as well.

And to that point, we talked a lot about data, like what data was being used to determine what times these curfews were being established. And I think it was the young lady right directly behind you that said, I don't know, like we're not seeing, and you also, we are not seeing that data on the platforms and the spaces that we use to get our news, correct? And so when we talk about PSAs, and I know we mentioned, the division mentioned wanting to do PSAs and wanting to have this robust communication plan, which we all agree with. We want to make sure that communication plan is in spaces that you all are in. And you all are getting your news from TikTok. And I told you TikTok stresses me out. So I'm not on it. But we need to make sure it gets to TikTok, correct? Because that's how you figure out your news. OK.

The last thing I just want to say is something that you just said, Erin. And for those people who are watching, we have a responsibility to use social media responsibly as well. And so we are not being role models for our children. I think we need to think about that because young people see things and that's how they feel as a whole. And so the way that we talk about our young people is a responsibility we all have. And so these are not just words. So for all the folks who are being keyboard warriors about whatever, just know and understand that young people feel like you were talking about them. You were talking about every young person. And if that's what you're putting down, for the world to see, that means that that's how you're going to show up in the world. And so I just, I think when we talk about responsibility and community responsibility, we have to talk about that because we say one thing to our kids and then we act totally different and they do see that and that's what I mean by a sense of belonging. They're not gonna feel like they belong at red, white, and boom, they're not gonna feel like they belong at the arts festival. They're not gonna feel like they belong wherever they go because people are literally telling them that. And so I just wanna say when we think about responsibility for folks to think about that as well.

Thank you so much. Thank you, Erin.

Thank you all.

With that, if there is no further conversation, yes, please.

I'm sorry. I agree with the concept, right? The baby should be in the bed. My own kids, they follow a similar nighttime routine every day, regardless of if it is during the school year or in the summertime. This has the potential to go left almost immediately. And it does. I mean, I'm happy to hear that they are going to be doing internal tracking. They're going to be holding folks accountable. If Chief Potts and Chief Bryant could be in leadership at CPD for the next 20 to 40 years, okay, then let's get on board. But the reality is there may be new leadership and other people will want to see this enforced differently. There's concerns here. It's hard for us to say, yes, we're adding a tool. It's hard for us to say, yes, and, when an easy circumstance could be opening up safe third spaces for our teens. It is absurd that our rec centers close at 8 o'clock in the summertime. It's not even dark outside. You're not giving these kids a chance to even congregate in a safe space to do something productive. In D.C., they hold late night events for teens from 7 to 11 o'clock. Come have a pool party. Come to the local rec center. These are things that we could be doing. If it was a holistic approach, I could see getting behind this. But this is just a punitive approach only, and it has the potential to go left.

So I'm assuming that's enough. So we'll call the... Do you have final comments?

Yeah, I just want to open the dialogue a little bit and just say that I agree with you wholeheartedly. Leadership matters, and when that leadership changes, that could potentially be a problem. But on the other hand, it's our responsibility, this body's responsibility, to be watching and making sure that when those things change, that we're ready to act. And the further thing is you are spot on about these rec centers. This city should be investing in keeping those things open late. And that should be a top priority for the administration and for us as a city. The fact that they're not is a problem. The fact that we don't use our shelters for cooling centers and warming centers is a problem. And until we get that all taken care of, I can't agree with you more.

With that, is there a motion to approve? Clerk, please call the roll by voice.

Bankston. Yes. Barbosa de Padilla. Yes. Dayakower. Yes. Dormans. Yes. Green.

I just want to say, Councilmember Weitsch, I share your concerns. I'm going to vote in favor of this, but I'm really going to be focused on the next year when we come back to sort of evaluate implementation and just, you know, as we're putting together the standard operating procedures for how this is going to be, you know, disseminated and trained across the police force. You know, interested in better understanding that process and how we can, you know, you know, also be in tune and in step with putting good guardrails in place to prevent some of those future issues. But for now, yes, absolutely yes.

Ramey? Yes.

Ross? I will also say that I agree with your sentiments, Councilmember Weish, and I think that, you know, any law has the ability to go left, and it is important for us to remain in in this oversight function to ensure that the laws that we pass are laws that are actually working and that if there is a need to repeal and replace, just as we are doing today, we are going to do that. I think to your point, we create laws and we create guardrails in laws to be able to withstand leadership changes, right? And so we have done, I think we have done that. And I am supportive of this law because of because of the promises made with regard to an uplift in programming, an uplift in infrastructure, and ensuring that we have better safe spaces and places for our young people to be, so that we don't have to lean on a curfew law, so that we don't have to come out and enforce something that feels, right, that feels hard to digest and to accept. And I will say this too, to the division, it is important that we are training our officers to be able to engage with young people appropriately. I'm going to say this to the department as well. It is important that Officer Lutz is not the only person who understands how to build rapport with young people in the relationship appropriate to be able to make this work. We will continue to have oversight. We will continue to ensure that this is a law that is actually meeting the need of our young people in this community.

And if it is not, we have that same ability that we have today to change it.

And I'm committed to working with all of our safety partners and our community partners, and our Department of Neighborhoods, and our Department of Rec and Parks, right? And in addition, our Department of Development, because safety is comprehensive. People need to have access to housing, to food, to all of these things in order for this to work out. And so I am supportive of this particular piece of legislation with the caveat that we will continue to have oversight, ensuring that it is working as we intend it to do. Yes?

And honestly, I hope we do not lose any young people in the process of figuring out what this looks like. No.

That was a motion to amend.

No, this is, yes, we're still, yes, from the first vote.

Yes, amended. Is there a motion to approve? Second. Clerk, please call the roll. By voice. By voice.

Bankston. Yes. Perosa de Padilla. Yes. Dayakower. Yes. Dorrance. Yes. Green. Ramey? Yes. Ross? Yes. White? No. President Hardin?

Yes. Motion is approved. We're going to do stay in rules and reference ordinance 2020-2026 is to enact the new chapter 236 of the Columbus City Codes defining the membership organization and duties of the community crisis response advisory board into request to waive second reading. Just two months ago, nearly 77% of Columbus voters approved Issue 5, making clear that they support building a community crises response system that ensures people experiencing a behavioral health crisis, substance use emergency, homelessness, or other nonviolent crises receive the right response from the right professional. That charter amendment called for a community advisory board to help guide and advise the city in that work. This ordinance sets up that board and fleshes out how it will operate, who will serve on it, how members will be appointed, and what responsibilities they will have as they help guide the implementation of this historic initiative. The board will have a total of 15 members, nine community members in their personal capacities and six professional in their official capacities. The next step is that council will work with the administration to launch an open application process. We'd like to have this board meet for the first time by or in October. I want to thank the Columbus Safety Collective, the administration, our community partners, and advocates who helped shape THIS INITIATIVE. THE VOTERS SPOKE AND NOW IT IS OUR RESPONSIBILITY TO FAITHFULLY IMPLEMENT WHAT THEY HAVE APPROVED. ARE THERE ANY QUESTIONS OR COMMENTS FROM MY COLLEAGUES? I MOVE FOR APPROVAL. IS THERE A SECOND? SECOND. FIRST I MOVE TO WAVE SECOND READING.

SECOND.

CLERK, PLEASE CALL THE ROLL.

BANKS, TIMBER, ROSA, DEPADIA, DORAN, GREEN, REMI, ROSS, PRESIDENT HARDIN.

WAVE AND NOW MOVE FOR PROSECUTOR. CLERK, PLEASE CALL THE ROLL.

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

Pass. Can I get a motion to recess for Zoni?

So moved.

So moved.

I can't.

Clerk, please call the roll.

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

Me in recess. Thank you. ¶¶

Thank you.

. .

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Thank you. Thank you.

. . . . . ¶¶

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Thank you. Thank you. Thank you. Thank you. Thank you. Thank you. Thank you. ¶¶ Woo, woo, woo, woo! ¦ ¦ so THE END Thank you. Thank you. Thank you. Thank you. Thank you. Thank you. Thank you. Thank you. Thank you. Bye-bye. Thank you. you

Bankston, Barroso, de Padilla, de Alcarra, Dorrance, Green, Remy, Ross, Weitsch, President Hardin.

Can I get a motion to submit for the reading of the journal? If not, please call the roll.

Bankston, Barroso, de Padilla, de Alcarra, Dorrance, Green, Remy, Ross, Weitsch, 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. All members serve.

Council Member, the floor is yours. Thank you, Council President. As always, I'll briefly explain our rules. Speaking before a council on rezonings and variances, we only hear a staff presentation for ordinances that have a disapproval from a recommending body or if we have a public speaker to sign to speak against an ordinance. We permit three speakers on each side, three proponents, three opponents. We ask those speakers limit their remarks to three minutes for the standard rules to the council. ALL SPEAKERS IN THE COUNCIL VARIANCE, INCLUDING CITY STAFF, AREA COMMISSIONERS, APPLICANTS, AND MEMBERS OF THE PUBLIC WILL BE SWORN IN BEFORE THEY GIVE TESTIMONY. A REPRESENTATIVE OF AN AREA COMMISSION IS ALWAYS ABLE TO SPEAK IN ORDINANCE AND DO NOT NEED TO FILL OUT A SPEAKER SLIP, BUT WE DO ASK YOU TO ALERT CITY STAFF OF YOUR INTENTION TO SPEAK AT THIS COMMITTEE HEARING. REPRESENTATIVES OF A CIVIC ASSOCIATION DO NEED TO FILL OUT A SPEAKER SLIP BECAUSE CIVIC ASSOCIATIONS ARE NOT FORMALLY RECOGNIZED UNDER COLUMBUS CITY CODE. This evening, we do have eight public speakers signed up to speak on legislation, and I'm aware of at least two area commissioners that will be representing the organizations here this evening. 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 in the testimony about to give up the truth, nothing but the truth, as you shall answer under pains of penalty of perjury? If so, please say I do. I do. Thank you. Please let the record reflect that Tim Dietrich from the Department of Building and Zoning Services, Mark Trevillis from the Division of Planning, Daniel Blushman from the Division of Traffic Management in the Department of Public Service, and Deputy Director for Housing Strategies Aaron Prosser of the Department of Development have been sworn in. First, we have Ordinance Number 1284-2026 to rezone 1695 Dewey Avenue, being 2.29 plus acres located on the south side of Dewey Avenue at the southern terminus of Key West Avenue from M Manufacturing District and R1 Residential District. to LM Limited Manufacturing District. This ordinance was postponed last week. So I'm going to ask for staff presentations again from city staff for any updates from them and we'll allow the applicant to provide additional updates. And then again, we will get to our speakers who signed up to speak on this ordinance as well. Just as a reminder, this site consists of one undeveloped parcel, which is split zoned. A portion of it is zoned in Manufacturing District and another portion of it is zoned as R1 Residential District. The request for rezoning will allow the site to be developed with limited office use and less objectionable manufacturing uses. The proposal has approved some city staff, the Development Commission, but a disapproval from the North Central Area Commission. Due to that disapproval, we'll now hear a staff report, starting with Mr. Tim Dietrich. Mr. Dietrich, the floor is yours.

Chair Dorns, President Hardin, members of council, the 2.29 acre site consists of one undeveloped parcel split zoned in the M manufacturing district and R1 residential district. The requested LM limited manufacturing district will allow the site to be developed with office type uses and limited less objectionable manufacturing uses as listed in the permitted uses section of the submitted limitation text. North and west of the site are single unit dwellings and undeveloped parcels in the R3 residential district. South and east of the site is a recycling center in the M Manufacturing District. The submitted limitation text establishes appropriate use restrictions limiting the subject site to office uses and limited, less objectionable manufacturing uses. Additionally, the limitation text includes supplemental development standards addressing building and parking setbacks, site access, mounding, screening, graphics, and specific landscaping commitments, both regarding the perimeter of the site and the proposed parking area. With the limited proposed uses and commitments to increase landscaping, mounding, and screening from adjacent residential uses, City Department's recommendation is for approval.

Thank you, Mr. Dutrick. You mentioned that there has been some change to the plan since we heard this last. So there was an amendment that was submitted in response to some of the concerns we heard last week. Can you just briefly, again, I think you touched on them in your testimony, but just again, highlight those changes that have been made based upon the, I think, discussion we had at council last week.

Yeah, they did include specific commitments regarding the number of new trees. I believe the number was more than 40. They had some mounding outlined on the site to screen them from residential uses. I think they also had some maintenance commitment in there to make sure that the landscaping was all taken care of and healthy. So they did submit about six items today.

And I know we had up on the screen earlier, so there's a limited, less objectionable usage from a manufacturing standpoint. So we had on the screen what is allowed within those, and I know that folks from our zoning office here at council were able to provide those to folks at the Air Commission and residents just to make sure that everyone was very clear about what is allowed at that site and what is not allowed at the site. the other question i have for mr dutrick and this is similar when i asked you last week so again this parcel in particular split zone between a portion of is currently zoned for residential use and another portion of it is zoned for for manufacturing so our m district um generally what can go in that m manufacturing district correct so the northern half of the site is r1 which is a very restrictive district allowing a single unit dwelling

The southern half of the parcel is M, which allows pretty much anything except residential. So any type of commercial, any type of manufacturing, industrial use is currently allowed on that southern half of the property.

And currently, when you mentioned that, residential zoning. So that would literally only allow for one dwelling unit to be built on that property.

On the front half, correct.

So if we're thinking about a map here, we've got one portion of this parcel that is zoned in manufacturing that could have all kinds of manufacturing, commercial, industrial uses, many of which would have a heavy impact on the neighborhood. And then Right next to it the the residential zoning it's for literally basically one house to be built on it But that's the situation as we sort of you know, compare and contrast the two different zoning districts in the same Yeah, that's a fair assessment. Thank you Any questions to my council colleagues for mr. Dietrich at this time? Seeing none. We will move on to mr. De Villis. I'm in division planning Mr. De Villis floor is yours

Chair Dorans, President Hardin, members of Council, Mark Gervils with the Planning Division. Planning is supportive of this request. We know the proposed use is consistent with the Columbus Growth Strategy's land use recommendation of industrial and warehouse at this site. This is pretty fresh land use recommendation. As you know, the Columbus Growth Strategy was adopted earlier this year. And as noted, the back end of the site, this land use recommendation is at least partially if not primarily based in the existing zoning that exists in the back of the site. It's also adjacent to a rump key facility that sort of touches the southwest corner. of the site so it's sort of a transition from an industrial area to the residential and what was really important for planning was the commitments to the limitation on the uses um as well as the landscaping and screening so that the front we we had asked for uh looks at the building elevations and the landscaping plan itself initially our our ask was for more information we saw that information and our review was that the building And the proposed landscaping is consistent with the design guidelines from the growth strategy and will provide a reasonable face to the development. I'm happy to answer any questions.

Any questions for Mr. DeVos? So one question I have, and we talked a little bit about this last week. So again, we're sort of in a unique situation where, again, this proposal is overlapping both an end manufacturing district and an R1. So two extremes. We've got one extreme on the end manufacturing side that will allow you to do everything, a junkyard, a dump, basically all kinds of different commercial or industrial development within that. And then right next to it, we have the most limited residential district, which allows you basically to build one house on it. We've heard a lot from the neighbors around wanting to see more residential development within American Edition. I think a lot of the opposition that we've heard from folks, to be fair, is to say, hey, we don't really want to have additional sites be turned over to things that aren't residential. Now, again, I think my view of this is similar to yours when you talk about from that transitional standpoint of there are existing manufacturing uses that are nearby. If we were here, sort of saying we were actually going to look at sort of expanding the residential aspect of this, you know, how would sort of the folks that look at this from a planning standpoint sort of approach that kind of situation, considering, you know, we have a lot of industrial uses that are right there, and, you know, the approach of adding more residential up to them, like from a, you know, city planning standpoint, how do you approach that?

Yeah, Chair Dorans, I mean, it's It's a challenging situation, and it's not unique in the city. It's because there's legacy industrial in different parts of the neighborhood, and indeed phase two of the growth strategy and zone in is to try to define what is appropriate for industrial, what is appropriate for residential, and kind of draw the line and differentiate. As noted, this is one property owner, one piece of property that has both zonings on it, There's not an alley in between. If there was an alley in between and we could say you're here and you're here, that would be helpful. I think in our case, Dewey becomes sort of the boundary, if you will, Dewey itself. And again, that landscaping and screening of Dewey becomes the important factor in saying we're residential to the north and then were transitioned to the industrial, and again, with the use limitations. This is not a heavy industrial proposal. It's new construction. It's not legacy industrial. If it's mounted with the trees and so forth and limitations on the uses, it allows us to define that transition, if you will. Thank you.

And again, I want to go back to Mr. Dietrich on this point as well. So I think something we heard from residents, which is why we wanted to make sure they had a full listing of the allowable uses within this facility. So let's say this would move forward. And I think a very valid question I've heard from folks. Well, let's say they start doing something at this facility that is not on that list. Well, what happens then?

Yeah, so these commitments and limitation texts are enforceable by our city code officers, and so it would be a zoning complaint and a violation of their zoning, and they would have to cease operations or deal with that process.

And if they didn't, then the city would take them to environmental court and basically seek enforcement of the zoning restriction within court.

Correct, because the way this is laid out in the limitation text is very clear what's allowed and what's not. just like any other type of district has allowable uses, this does as well.

Okay, thank you.

Any questions from my council colleagues at this time?

Seeing none, I'll invite the applicant's representative forward. And I think the applicant's with him as well. Welcome back to council, gentlemen.

Thank you, Mr. Chairman and council. I'm Joe Clay's plan for land. Ali Bahane. Ally and I spent some time taking a look at net zero and what that really means, and we really appreciate the dialogue with the neighborhood area commission. I'm going to zoom through the presentation because you heard a lot of that, and I really appreciate staff support and their comments as well. The notion is we looked at what we could do on site to try to accomplish net zero within the framework. There's nothing within zoning code that stipulates this is what you have to do. But we try to be very respective of what it is nationwide and what the efforts have been. So to take a look at that, the one thing that we could do was we could plant trees. So the coverage that we've identified of 40 trees is an increase from three. We had originally indicated three trees as a minimum for the parking lot aisles. We had depicted four on the drawing. A minor difference, but the goal there was to try to work with the framework of what you have in your code. The goals and intent of net zero, as we understood them, is to decrease the hardscape effects of sun and heat and residual. The best thing we can do is cover the site with a tree canopy. So we've got a combination of evergreens, out of respect for some of the privacy comments, as well as deciduous trees within that 40, and that's in addition to the shrubs that were already identified. I also wanted to reiterate, we had a continued commitment for a for a seven board, board-on-board privacy fence on both the eastern and western side of the site to try to screen the site from neighboring properties. I did want to indicate we added an aerial photograph just to kind of give a little perspective, some of the discussion that we had last week. The west side is Rumpke. This red dot is the property that's identified. This side of Dewey also has Mount Zion Church further west, and then there's a a larger recycling facility that's located to the east as well. We're talking about screening for some of those, mainly because of the perspective off of Dewey, not because of the immediate neighbors to both sides, but to make sure that there's also a screening off of those roadways. So this helps to identify at least the proximity and the railroad tracks to the south and why a lot of the discussion's been those residential properties to the north. As you can indicate on here, I know that there's plans to build further homes within that neighborhood But there are a couple existing ones that we tried to be respectful with the setbacks that were proposed in respect to them. So, but the other item that we could do would be on trees. We talked about that last time. We wanted to dig a little bit further and see what else we could do. There's a retention basin that's proposed on site and did a lot of research into what we could do with the retention basin to help with net zero as well. We're recommending a 10-foot bank naturalization zone. and that would allow for additional water filtration, and it also allows for a lightened impact of the waterway. So we won't see mowed, manicured space down to the water. As a residual, that creates an environmental positive for the neighborhood as well. Everything else in net zero, as was explained in the plans within the building, I think those frameworks are going to take it to heart, but not knowing what building's going on this site specifically yet, We didn't feel comfortable that would be fitting in the zoning code itself or the limitation text. So we're happy to bring those to you, and we really appreciate the ongoing dialogue. If there's any questions, we're happy to address those. And I don't know if you had something specific for today, but I figured I'd pass it back.

Yes. I just want to say that last week here, I tried to listen again to the members and see what they wanted. I think one of the members mentioned pollution. They mentioned Joyce Avenue traffic. They mentioned security. They mentioned, I think one of the residents mentioned they would like to see a park. They like to see a residential zone. We feel like even though we can't give them a park and a residential zone, but we can give them a lot of trees to combat some of that pollution and do what we can to try to blend in.

Any questions from my council colleagues for the applicant or the representative?

I have a question. I've met with some representatives from the community that talked a lot about concern with the type of businesses that might end up leasing from your building? Are there assurances that can be made with regard to traffic and the times in which there might be increased traffic? So you're thinking about quality of life, traffic in and out of Dewey after 10 p.m. per se. Seems like something that could be built into lease contracts that could be monitored by you all? Is that something you're willing to do?

Yeah, absolutely. Just like you don't get a guarantee with residential where you get a bad neighbor, that could be terrible. You know, with the commercial, same thing. You could get a bad tenant. But all that is written into the lease, saying that if you are disrespectful, if you're making too much noise, too much this, too much that, you got to go.

And are you willing to define what too much noise looks like? Are you willing to define active hours in which there can be traffic in and out just to assure that there's peace in the neighboring residential?

Yeah, given that these are individual offices, individual renters, we can't restrict them during hours just because, you know, they forgot their phone or purse or whatever. We can't tell them they can't go back in. For sure. And we don't know what type of businesses are coming in. We haven't gotten that far yet. But as far as hours, I don't see how you could limit somebody just to eight to five, you know.

So... I would say more about the nature of the type of business that's attracted to this. This is a rental space. It's not something that they own. And in regards to that, they're typically coming in because they're trying to expand business. And that's why it's not necessarily a 24-hour operation. It's not. But a lot of times people are stopping in after hours. It's not the type of traffic flow that you would see from a traditional workplace, though. This is one or two employees per unit in most situations, and they're coming and going very casually. So as we noted, the 10 units are kind of the equivalent of maybe a couple of single-family residences on a trip generation basis on a daily basis. You usually get 12 trips per day from a single-family home. You're talking 10 tenants, and it's usually in and out a couple times.

So if I'm correct, and community members can correct me if I'm wrong, when they have an opportunity to speak, if I am interpreting what you are saying correctly is you don't anticipate. So say we are talking about real estate agents who have materials in which they need to drop off. You are not anticipating that that type of heavy drop-off pickup activity is going to happen after hours?

No, that's correct. I kind of think about what I do, and I don't have regular office hours. If I have a move-in on the first of the month, I might be in my office until 10 o'clock, but during the week I might leave at 3 o'clock. So there's just no set hours that I'm committed to my office space.

But the use limitations that were put in place were heavily geared toward this flex space and the idea that we're not attracting somebody running a landscaping business. bringing equipment in and out. That's not the gear toward the use limitation that's there. It's more office warehouse use, somebody that's typically coming in to sort or distribute goods or services, not somebody that's coming in to run a full-fledged outfit where they have a secondary site off-site.

Okay.

Any other questions for council members?

Thank you. I'll invite you all back up for any additional comments after public testimony. I did want to pause. I did skip over Dan Bleschman from our Division of Traffic Management. You guys are good to go. Just speaking about the question of traffic, Mr. Bleschman, if you could just speak and summarize your report from last week. I apologize for skipping over you there.

Sure. Yes, thank you, Chair Dorns, 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 limitation text of this proposed ordinance, there are no specific concerns with the proposed traffic volumes to be generated by this proposed development site. In other words, if this site were to be developed with a residential use, it would be a comparable amount of traffic as the proposed project. office warehouse use this proposed development site will be required to be limited to one access point to dewey avenue that would be anticipated to be aligned with the intersection of key west avenue with these comments noted we have no further concerns in this application i'd be happy to answer any questions thank you any questions from my colleagues for traffic seeing none we will move into public testimony our first speaker is our commissioner williams from north central area commission

Commissioner, welcome back to council.

Good evening, everyone.

Even.

So, as you know, this is near and dear to our heart and our community. Had the pleasure to speak with Councilmember Ross to kind of discuss this and work through what our community wants. It was a resounding no, to be honest, from both the Civic as well as the Area Commission for this particular project. As you know, and I believe, did everyone receive a handout with what's around and surrounds our community. As you see, American Edition, we do have Rumpke. However, they have been an excellent community partner where they worked with us throughout the process to actually build this project. All of their work is done with inside their facility. So it's content. and it's on the east side, so it's not on the side that is closest to the residence on Dewey. We were able to work and negotiate that out. So I kinda wanna make sure that you look at this. As you see across the street directly from Dewey on Joyce, there are the two warehouses that are both well over 200,000 square feet, and we have two junkyards further down Joyce as well as the smart truck transportation, smart truck, semi-truck business. And I'm asking that we get a little bit more time if you're deciding on moving forward with this so that we could go through and work out a good neighbor agreement because we tried in the past to work with various businesses, particularly the semi-truck business, smart truck, to have a good neighbor agreement and they have been in environmental court and it has been very, very difficult over the last three years to get things enforced. So I do not, to be honest, want to go forward without us having a solid good neighbor agreement in place. But ultimately the community does not want this project. This is a neighborhood that is four and five generations strong. It was a neighborhood of just families and we want to continue to keep it that way. When we purchased our homes, I was sold on the fact that it was going to be completely residential. Homeport was building out this project. We were going to have over 125 homes. We're still working on that. We have homes that are going to be built right on Key West, like I reiterated last week, as well as Puritan. The church is also looking at building two additional homes on Dewey for community members. In regards to the air quality, the air quality right now at my house, which is down the street, is reading at a 59, which is increasing to harmful. And as we spoke with the members from MORPC, they told us as the heat continues to go up and the particles fly around more, which is not necessarily good for breathing. I mean, today is bad across the board with the heat, but that is also a concern. I had something prepared, however, when you get up here and you wanna speak from the heart on what is going on with our neighbors. We're fighting for our community. We bought our homes, we love our community, we've done so much along with city partnerships to make American Edition a better home for residents. And honestly, with the increased traffic, I think that's gonna be an issue. Yes, we've been able to try to, we're talking about working some things out, but I would like if this is going to go forward, to be able to go a little further, dig a little deeper, and come up with a package that, if it's gonna happen, that would be acceptable to the community. We're not anti-development. We want things to come to our community and neighborhood, and we want it to grow, and we wanna be able to work with people. However, again, The traffic is definitely going to be an issue. When I left the city council meeting last week, there was an accident with injuries on Joyce right in front of Smart Truck, where police officers had to be on both sides of the street because there were cars knocked out. And now that we have that barrier on Joyce, it's even more. If you even pull the stats, I'm pretty sure there's at least an accident every other week between Dewey and 17th and Joyce. It's been consistent. We've had area commissioners, I believe the East Area commissioner was in a really bad accident on Joyce and Woodford a couple months ago. Joyce and 17th, another area commissioner was in an accident on, I mean, and outside of just regular residents. But it's the traffic flow that I think is gonna be a problem. If we can hanker down some business hours, if we can... Really, we want it to be residential. That's what our community plan supports. But as a community, we're not anti-development. But this is not residential. So I mean, excuse me, this is not for building housing. So I do not feel that a vote necessarily has to take place today. Because as you say, we need housing. We're trying to build housing. But most people, even if it's affordable housing, they're not going to want to live next door to this. And that's just the honest truth. So, and just because you need affordable housing doesn't mean you don't want quality or good housing. Everybody deserves to have a good, safe community to live in, and that's what we're trying to build in American Edition. We're a tight-knit community, we love our neighbors, we try to take care of our people, and ultimately, I'm thinking about the health and well-being of all of our residents and neighbors. We're not saying anti-business, I just don't think that this is necessarily the best business that we can put in place for our neighborhood.

Thank you, Commissioner. Any questions or comments from my colleagues? Councilor Dakar?

I would like to actually affirm your concerns about traffic. In District 2, places like this are common. Almost 90% of my district is industrial, manufacturing, warehouse, logistics, and commercial. Excuse me, I drive by properties like this every day. And there's cars there. It's not the, Oh, occasionally one or two people are going to drive in. There will be traffic on Dewey. If this project were adjacent to this community and could be accessed through Joyce, I would find that acceptable. But to put a development like this inside a residential neighborhood and turning that residential road into one for commercial traffic, It does not serve the residents. Quite frankly, nobody suggests putting things like this in Thorn Apple or Chesapeake Farms. Why would it be acceptable to put it in this particular community? I was very disappointed when the attorney for the client called me and pretty much said, this development is next to Rumpke. There's all those other stuff there, so what difference does it make? Kind of like, if you're next to Rumpke, why should you care if you now have light manufacturing inside your residential community? The level of disrespect was, quite frankly, disgusting. And so I want you to know that I hear your community.

So it's interesting because anytime there's a zoning issue that comes before us, anytime there's a zoning issue that comes before us, I think about, you know, I think about where I live. I think about different parts of the city. I think about the impact. And it's interesting. I live on the east side along 5th and Cassidy. I don't know. There's a chicken and an egg. There's a large business park where there's a lot of semis and actually what it required us to do was do a road widening project on Cassidy Avenue because we were having so many challenges with the semis that were coming through there which is actually against a lot of our vision zero principles and so it's challenging because as I think about the development of that particular community and it's really hard when you have something that is in place that's difficult to eradicate, right? You can't move things that essentially become monuments. Like once we build something, then we don't want to remove it. We want to think about another use for it. We want to think about what we do with it. And so this was a difficult one for me because I think there are nuances in the zoning decisions that we have to make sometimes. And this was a nuance, I think, to your point, council member. It's challenging because new addition, new addition, American addition. Sorry, it's been a long day already. American edition was already there and then industrial built around it. So at some point, we had predecessors or other folks who allowed this to happen. And when I think about communities and when I think about businesses around communities and where folks want to live, I also hear you, right? Because again, I think about my neighbors on Fifth Avenue and Cassidy who If they had their way, this is not what they would want to live near, but it's just what grew up around them. So there's a nuance to this particular piece of zoning that is challenging for me. And I think I applaud the applicant for listening to the community, for adding in different things to beautify it, to whatever. but it still makes it challenging for me because every time we're saying yes to it, we're saying yes to everything else that is coming around, which is obviously not what the community wants, nor is it a place that I think feels like a community when you're growing up near a bunch of warehouses and other things that is not necessarily additive to the community. So I just wanted to acknowledge your concerns and say that I hear you and that definitely goes into my decision making tonight.

customer Ross two things one and we talked extensively about anxiety around voting no for this and what that could mean as a result so if we talk about the parcel as is right now we can put one unit of residential And then literally anything could go on that back portion. And it could go there by right, meaning it doesn't come before council at all. We have no oversight over what that looks like. And I told you, I was like, I'm OK voting no for this. If the community is OK, if something goes there and it is 10 times worse than what is being proposed, that is what I'm really concerned about. And I'm also concerned about it because we are doing it in exchange for one unit. One unit of residential that can go there by right. Otherwise, we'd be back here talking about what type of residential can go there pursuant to a variance of some sort or a zoning change of some sort. So I really want to sit with that just for a little bit because I hear you. I hear you and I hear my colleague as well in understanding what American Edition was and used to be. And you know, I have people, good people that live in that community. And so I want to see... something on that parcel that is helpful and not hurtful further hurtful to the folks that are there so I really I want us to really consider what it looks like to if we vote this down which I think you might have and then I also want to ask about Joyce I want to ask about what our opportunities are there to control some traffic because the reality is that there is a traffic issue there it's horrible and and you got people and you're gonna have more residential people trying to get out onto Joyce right because that's the main thoroughfare that they can get out to so is there a traffic light is there something that could help with this traffic um so just just my two things and I and I know you you're you're sitting with that and I know that's heavy with you in particular I want to to have that conversation out loud because manufacturing heavy manufacturing is something very very different than office space particularly office space with the type of limitations that we have seen added that will run with the land. So it doesn't matter. They could leave, to my colleague's point. They could leave. They could sell this property to someone else. That limitation text will stay there. And so whoever comes is not going to be able to do anything that that limitation text says that they cannot do. I'm also OK. I think a good neighbor agreement, and I will encourage the applicant, if this vote is successful, to engage on a good neighbor agreement. And I will say this, and we talked about this, the legality of that, and we cannot enforce the terms of a good neighbor agreement. However, if by chance that use becomes a code violation, right, and you get into court, and I'm, you know, I've prosecuted environmental court for almost 10 years. That good neighbor agreement can be used as evidence to support the intent. Right? So I just want to take a little bit of time to think about that and give you time to respond to that because I'm inclined to vote with however the community wants to go here. But I want to make sure we understand what the ramifications of that look like.

And that's honestly what's weighed on me the heaviest is the what if. But I represent my community and it was a resounding no. But what I would like, if possible, if we're going to even maybe go to the table and hanker down hours or what to see what we can do, because again, this is just very, very difficult. When you are trying to fight your best for the community And you want to do what's right. Because the decision that we make today is going to be on that land when we're gone. That's just the reality of it. I have to think about our children. We plan on passing land down to family members and future generations. We have five generations currently in American Edition. So these families plan on staying here. And this is going to impact them. So I would respectfully, if it's possible, to allow the rest of my community to speak and give them the opportunity because I just don't want to make a decision without you hearing their voices as well. I think that's the right thing to do. And then, you know, after they speak, maybe I can come back up. But I just really feel that their voices really need to be heard. especially as we have representation from numerous generations who've 50-plus years in the community, as well as some of us newer folks who've been in the community within the last 7 to 10 years who were told that we were going to get a complete community. And I'll be very clear, if the development took place when it was supposed to, this honestly I don't think would be a discussion. That's just how I honestly feel. But I do want to give the opportunity to allow my residents speak if that's possible.

Commissioner, it's difficult for me to say no because I know that folks have engaged on this. And I know when folks come down to City Hall, we do have rules that we have to adhere to because if we make an accommodation here tonight, Um, our standard city council will say three on one side, three on the other. And again, um, obviously you all as air commissioners able to speak on these things on behalf. And again, it's difficult to speak on behalf of any community. And again, I know that is part of the, um, part of the responsibility that you're entrusted with as an elected area commissioner. And I appreciate you all doing that, both not only here in council chambers, but also out in the community and certainly with individual council members. So I know we've got other folks signed to speak, but again, to be very clear, we unfortunately are unable, based upon just our rules for these committee hearings, to just have anyone who has not signed up.

Oh, no, I was going to ask for anyone that hasn't spoken, because they're already registered to sign up. I was going to allow them to say their speech before I give my response.

I will invite you back up, if that's all right. OK.

Thank you.

I'm going to wipe the sweat from my brow thinking about how late we're going to be here tonight. And we will provide that accommodation. So I will let you. We'll do this. We'll have the rest of the public testimony. And then, Commissioner, I will have you both back up after that. Is that all right? OK.

Thank you.

Thank you. So we do have five other public speakers signed up to speak on the ordinance.

Are you right behind me?

Yeah.

I'm the chair for North Central, so all the speakers, I'm standing beside.

Okay, we actually, so I actually, we can go, chair, why don't we do this? Why don't you stay, and we'll actually, let me flip the script here a little bit with the folks that are coming up. So first to come up is Ms. Lisa Brown.

Hello.

I'm the community advocate for the American Addition. I work part-time for Impact. So I'm kind of here as a resident and Impact a little bit. So I'm going to go ahead and get started. In his 2022 State of the City Address, Mayor Gintham publicly confirmed the city's commitment to allocate money in the capital budget to make an American Addition the first net zero historically black neighborhood in the country. Now, be it is going to be 25 neighborhoods, but we're the first. Local nonprofits like Impact Community Action and Homeport have committed to supporting this project and ensuring residents have a voice as decisions are being made in the community. And this is something the neighbors want. Readiness priorities, Mayor Guenther's, we want affordable housing, equity, climate resilience, stronger communities. However, we constantly feel undeserved, and ignored. On average, 35 households attend monthly civic association meetings on the last Thursday of every month to move forward on our community-driven plan to reach the net-zero neighborhood goal. Almost 20 homes have received an energy audit, and 10 homes have received an energy-efficient install like a heat pump or rooftop solar. Our initiative also has received deep investment from the city, which is nearly $20 million being invested in the neighborhood upgrades and infrastructures. Over $10 million in grants approved for weatherization and energy efficiency upgrades in the community. Our neighborhood has been surrounded by industrial since the 1920s, really before that, early 1900s. We have experienced multiple environment disasters over the past years, such as waste from a Sarko American Zinc smelting plant causing an acid ditch to run through our neighborhood, to the 2011 explosion of the Income Injection Plant facility, which they said it wasn't their fault. I digress. To allow a zoning proposal to move forward would directly go against what residents want, what our neighborhood plan outlines, and our goal for net zero neighborhood and the funds supporting that effort. Now, this part I'm going to speak from my heart. My grandfather told me my great-grandfather could only buy one lot in the early 1900s. So he bought one lot, put it in his name, and the other one he'd put in his wife's name. They fought to get that land. Here's their great-granddaughter fighting to keep it. It just shouldn't be. Early 1900s, they didn't have a choice of what they could live nearby. They put up junkyards. you know, et cetera. We have a choice now. And we asking you to vote no. We're trying to keep it residential. Having a manufacturing in a residential neighborhood shouldn't be anyway. Just go back and right the wrong. All right, that's one time.

Thank you, Ms. Brown. Any questions, my colleagues? Seeing none, we will have Mr. Jeffrey Phillips next. Mr. Phelps, welcome to council.

Good afternoon, President Hardin. Minister, Elder Jeff Phillips, I am the assistant pastor of the Mount Zion Missionary Baptist Church. I've been a member of Mount Zion for the last 23 years. I've also been in the community for the last 20 years. So I sit on two sides as a community leader. and also as a church leader as well. And up here to discuss more of a sentimental side, my wife and I walk in the morning and I see the picture, there was a deer that was on the actual land where they were trying to build. So I looked at my wife and said, that's a beautiful picture to see where they're trying to build. At one particular point, we had deer, we had families of deer. That was the first deer I've seen in months. Because even though it's not really just them, it's everything around them, right? It's the shrinking of land for the animals as well as shrinking of lands of people. So I told my wife, I said, that's such a beautiful picture. And so I thought about Leonardo da Vinci and his Mona Lisa and the Last Supper. Whenever you add a watermark to something, you change its beauty, integrity, and authenticity. So whenever you change, you add something, you change the value of it. So tonight, we're just asking you just to vote no so you don't change our beauty, the integrity, the authenticity of our neighborhood. The second point I want to make really quickly is the neighbors that live on Dewey Avenue. Deacon Jay Latham Rhodes is a member of our church. He's a member that owns the Extreme Makeover Home, right? And to our other neighbor, Craig Ransom, another one of my friends who comes out and helps me from time to time, do stuff in the neighborhood. And the last point I wanted to make, I looked up, someone said last week they talked about emissions, right? So I looked it up, it says some emissions cause, I can't increase the risk of cancer. It didn't increase my risk, I got cancer removed just last year. I'm a year and seven days from having cancer. So my thought when I walk around the neighborhood, it may be just a small little mission that's making this change, but with all the other missions that's going on out there, just that percentage alone could affect me, my children, and me and my walks and my wife that walk every morning. So think about... So you said, we talked about what's going to come up there. If we don't see you guys vote no, we don't know. But by faith, I believe we have to trust in God that they won't build something that won't need to be there. We'll handle that when we get there. But this is the first fight. We have to fight to put this down. We respect the fact of what you're trying to do, right? It's just the fact that we want to say no because we want to protect what's there. Not just for us, but for our animals and for the people that's there. Vote no. Any questions?

Council Member Wyche.

Pastor, appreciate you being here and speaking in support of this. Just curious, obviously the changes that they're recommending to their plan to naturalize the water, have additional trees to help mitigate some of the air quality issues that they did not create but helped to reduce for the overall area. Do you think that plays any role in making this a better project for the community?

I think it plays a role, and I appreciate them for doing that. But once you open the door, those who have children know, once you open the door to something, the door continues to go get wider and wider. So the best of what we say is, you know, just keep it like I said earlier about the paintings of Leonardo da Vinci. Don't change the integrity of it. Even though, just leave it as it is. And then let the beauty, let it stand as it is. So I appreciate them for doing that. It's just the fact that once we let it in, like someone said earlier, you can't change it. Any other questions?

Thank you, Mr. Phillips. Our last speaker against this legislation is Ms. Christina Harrison. Ms. Harrison, welcome back to council.

Good evening, President, Chair, and members of Council. My name is Christina Harrison. I come tonight as a resident and a community advocate for American Indigenous. I'm also a commissioner for North Central. I was born here in Columbus, educated in the Columbus City Schools Attending Cause, Eastmore Academy, and I care deeply about the future of our city and neighbors that shaped me. I come here with respect for the process. I come here with concern for my community. And most of all, I come with love for a neighborhood that means something to the people who call it home. I want to be clear from the beginning. I'm not anti-growth. I'm not anti-business. I am not against progress. I understand Columbus is growing. I understand neighborhoods are changing. Many of us want to see the vacant locks activated. We want to see investment. We want to see communities thriving. I want that for American Edition, too. Growth should have responsibility, though. American Edition is not just a parcel on a zoning map. It is home. It's where families have lived, worked, worshiped, raised children, cared for elders, and continue to believe in this neighborhood, even when investment didn't always come easily. The community has a deep history. Like many historical neighborhoods, American Edition has carried the weight of decisions made long after, before many of us was even invited into the room. Zoning, redlining, industrial use, disinvestment, and infrastructure challenges have shaped what this neighborhood has had to live for generations. So when residents speak about the Dewey Avenue rezoning, we are not simply reacting to one piece of property. We are speaking from lived experience. We're speaking from history. And we're speaking because we deeply care about the future of our neighborhood. I understand that part of this property is already zoned manufacturing. I also understand the argument that if this proposal does not move forward, something else could come later. But respectfully, I ask township not to ask residents to choose between today's concern and tomorrow's fear. No community should be asked to accept one burden simply because the heavier burden might come later. It should be a reason to pause, a reason to listen. We do appreciate the applicant discussing fencing and trees. Those things matter. A fence can help. Trees can help. Visual buffering is very important. But something I caused. I was taught that excellence is the standard, not the exception. And tonight, I ask councils to apply the same measures that American Edition. No minimal standards, no verbal promises, excellent. Excellent in planning, excellent in transparency, and excellent in accountability. Excellence in protecting the people who live there with the impact of those decisions long after the vote is over. At this, we're asking respectfully for the council to vote no. But if the council choose to move forward, we ask that you at least table it for additional discussion with the applicant so we can further discuss a good neighborhood agreement. American additions deserve more than just fear. It deserves fairness. It deserves more than compromised advertisements. It deserves protection with purpose. Thank you.

Thank you. Any questions for my council colleagues? SEEING NONE, THANK YOU ALL. WE HAVE TWO OTHER PUBLIC SPEAKERS SIGNED TO SPEAK ON THE ORDINANCE THAT ARE IN FAVOR. ANY OTHER QUESTIONS OR COMMENTS? SEEING NONE. THANK YOU ALL. OUR FIRST SPEAKER IN FAVOR IS MS. LAURA COMEK. WELCOME BACK TO COUNCIL.

All right, good evening, President Hardin, Chairman Dorans, members of city council. A couple quick points. First, I am here not in my normal capacity for an applicant or a developer, but here on behalf of the property owner. There was some confusion after last meeting about whether or not the property owner supported this application. And in fact, he does. And I hope that you've all had a chance to read Mr. McLean's letter. For health concerns, he can't be here this evening. He's a very long time resident of this neighborhood. So there's two points, because I really want you to hear from Ms. Pace about just outside of our normal back and forth. I'm actually encouraged by the discussion that we're having here this evening. I think that everybody needs to be heard. I think that points need to be raised and that we can all continue to discuss these without ad hominem attacks, or sidebars that maybe aren't productive. That doesn't mean a lot of things that aren't being said here are relevant. I think a lot of the points that have been raised are relevant, but they shouldn't be personal. And I'm sorry that Councilwoman Daffner, that you had that experience. For the record, that was not me. No, it was not you. All right. Did I cover that? Yeah. But actually, One of the things that your comment made me think about was you want to start talking about how things go and how this process actually evolves. We can do that. These gentlemen, I've only been involved in this case in two weeks here at council on behalf of Mr. McLean because of his health concerns, because he's a stalwart of this community and you stand up for him. But the other thing that you should know from the letter that he wrote actually has to do with this process. These gentlemen applying for this today, want to bring private investment to this community. They're doing what exactly what your system tells them to do. They look on a map and they look for zoning that's consistent with their use and they found it at this site with the exception of the sliver on the top that's consistent. The other thing is the planning and the time that these professionals have put into your city plan suggests exactly this kind of use. So, That's how this process works from the outside. When people come and they want to build a building or they want to do something, they check the plans. Very, very few times do they say, I would like to put a McDonald's right here. No, it said manufacturing, so they're doing manufacturing. And why does that matter? Because it's just what I said last week. It's about context and it's about scope. So the other thing you see on that map is the very active trains that are feeding the heavy industrial that's a little bit further to the south. Mr. McLean would not have accepted this proposal if he didn't think that the scope and the scale mattered. So I'm happy to answer any questions that you have. It's just a little bit of context for you.

Any questions or comments from Ms. Komick?

Mr. President, last week I thought I heard someone yell from the audience that Mr. McLean voted no on this or did not support that. He abstained properly.

He's actually a member of the Area Commission and abstained properly. Thank you. Yeah, thank you.

Our final public speaker on this ordinance is Ms. Denise Pace. Ms. Pace, welcome to council.

Good evening. Good evening, President Hardin and member of Columbus City Council. Thank you for your time. and your thoughtful consideration of the zoning request. My name is Denise Pace, and I'm the broker owner of Anchor Real Estate Group, and I happen to represent the seller, Mr. McLean, and the buyer, JAS Greenfield. And this is for the self, of course, Dewey. So I want to talk a little bit shortly about the seller. If you know Mr. McLean, he is a pillar of the community. I've worked with him for over a decade on several of his real estate projects and he thoroughly thought this out before making a decision to even enter into a contract for sale. Um, if you know him, he's a, he's a pillar. He will go clean. He has helped people in this community when they have fallen short and he takes great pride in this, in this community. Um, The purchaser has demonstrated a sincere commitment to working with the community by attending multiple area commission meetings, civic association meetings, and listening to the concerns of the community. Every thing that they have mentioned that they have bought to the buyer, the buyers went back and came back and made it right. Once again, even to the point of last week, They wanted trees and fencing. I attended the Civic Commission meeting this past week, and my question to the group was, what do you want? I got two responses. We want trees and we want fencing. This buyer was responsible. They went to the drawing board and offered trees and fencing, exactly what they want. I also said, how many want to build their home on this lot? with Romke in the back. No one wants to build a home with Romke in their backyard. So I'm going to go into the land itself. This land is compatible transition. And when I say compatible transition, this two plus a partial present, it's unique. The planning opportunity is located between residential and existing waste recycling. Because it's located, this property is ideal. It's ideal situated for the use to serve compatible transitioning between residential and industrial. Makes sense. The proposed rezoning to light manufacturing will allow the construction of approximately 10 professional design storage building and a small office. This is low impact. business that will generate minimal traffic, very little noise, and provide a clean, well-maintained development. Now I'm gonna pause here because council member mentioned the traffic. Woodland Avenue does go back, but that's one of the city roads. It's been shut off. If you want to control traffic, it doesn't all have to go to Joyce. That land could also be going out to Woodland Avenue so it could control the traffic. More importantly, the project represents positive reinvestment in the property that remains underutilized for over 20 years. This property has not been utilized. We've had to contend with dumping, drugs, activity that's unattractive, so it's unutilized. If you do go with this project, the storage units will serve local contractors, electrical plumbers, landscapers, flooring companies. You talk about a time constraint. If you're a person that's doing flooring, the space is transitional. You're building a home. You do flooring. Contractors sometimes start at 3 o'clock in the morning. To say you can't get in until 8 to 12, it enables them to do their job properly. So we don't want to put a time restriction on what companies can do and what they can't do. But the buyer is willing to adjust to the needs of the community and what they're asking for. So approving this request returns to underutilized property that produces strength to the city tax base because you're helping a small businessman by allowing them to have a transitional space. If you're an attorney and you have archive files, this is a great place to go put your files at to store. So for various types of business, this is a space that will allow them to help. So I'm going to, my time is short. Council members, this proposal is not to ask you to choose between residential or industrial use. It is asking you to approve a compatible transition between the two projects, between residential and industrial. So the project transfer underutilized parcel into a clean, professional, and maintained developed structure that supports small businesses, strengthen the tax base, discourage illegal dumping through improve lighting, active management, and encourages continual investment along the corridor. That is thoughtful planning, and that's what we're looking for, thoughtful planning. So I respectfully ask for your support for this project and ask you to vote yes.

Thank you, Ms. Pace. Any questions or comments from my council colleagues? Thank you, Ms. Pace. I will invite the applicant forward again if there's any additional comments they'd like to make. If not, that's okay too.

I just want to reiterate the comments about respect. I feel like this has been a very respectful process and really appreciate the opportunity. I'm also encouraged by a lot of the conversations that have been going on. I think part of the challenge about being the good neighbor representation is we start the planning process with the idea that we're working toward a goal, and we all can work together on those comments. Unfortunately, when there's opposition, sometimes those comments aren't the things that come forward as we're considering this use, what can it be? But I just want to kind of recap the scale is really the biggest thing. I heard the respect for Rumpke that they're 100% contained. The proposal here is 100% contained. They brought the application forward. We didn't know how many units or anything were proposed. We didn't know the scale. So the thought process went into the scale of this project to match the neighborhood. A lot of thought went behind the design that you had in front of you. The thought process of trying to blend smaller units on the street, something that's visual and set back off the street, something that residents would find as appealing across the road from their own residence, but something that really blends into the fabric of the neighborhood. There's plenty of opportunities for good neighbors. I want to say that it's nice seeing 10 small businesses versus one large business on the site. This property's been on the market for three years, my understanding, and I've seen other proposals for this property in addition to what's being proposed to you tonight. This has gotten through a lot of scrutinous review. What we brought before you is something that we think is a good transitional use. We hope that these 10 small business owners take a vested interest in the community. and instead of one business potentially turning its back at the neighborhood, this is an opportunity for the neighborhood and the businesses to work together in the future as well. As far as adding to the good, safe neighborhood, we tried to do that through design. What you see before you is a well-thought-out design where we have a warehouse at the rear of the building facing the industry. We have the office facing the residential, something that would blend well. Any activity would be toward the rear of this site, not toward the front. We wish that it was existing so we could give a tour. I think that would have been the easiest thing through the neighborhood process is to have an existing building and say this is what we're going to do with it. It's hard to present an open field when there's threats of what can come. So we appreciate the process and we definitely give credit to that. I do know my clients under contract to purchase, and we'd love to take years, months in the process to go through the planning process, but we do realize that a lot of their investments hinged on whether this site fits for the limited uses that they've proposed. They have continuously reined in the design, and I've went through those transitions. I know that's not easy because they're calling me when they have to change things, but we've went through those renditions, and we've tried to mold this to fit the neighborhood. I believe what's in front of you is smart growth, I believe it's conservation development at its best. Those are things that we do at the heart of our business. I'm glad that they called us. As far as the pasture and Ms. Brown and their comments, we really definitely appreciate where they're coming from. I heard the respect in their comments as well. I think everything that we can do as part of this planning process will help to reiterate good neighbors and happy to continue that dialogue with the investment opportunity that they can bring to the table. Unfortunately, I know that time is kind of critical for investment as well. So we continue to go back and forth, and we appreciate that opportunity. But we're happy to answer any questions you have. Definitely don't want to leave you thinking that we're trying to be stubborn in the process. And I apologize for the experience that you had with whoever that was. And I think what we try to bring is a mediation process to the table to try and find what happens in the best interest of everybody. And I do think that this is a project that works well for everyone, even if there is opposition, that they'll grow to love the design that's there.

Thank you. Thank you. Any questions or comments for the applicant or the representative this time?

I just want to add that you stole my line. I wanted to apologize to you about how you felt. And I wanted to highlight maybe, I know there's been a lot of talk about the negative possible things that could go wrong. Also, I think we could be optimistic about possible good things that could go with the community. We would love to embrace the community and create an opportunity zone for some of the members. We would love to have some of the kids, some of the members come in and have a picnic and take advantage of the green space that's there. These are the positive things that, It could integrate us with the community. I hope they see the good side that could come with it versus all the bad things that could come with it.

Thank you. Any questions for the applicant or the representative? See none. Thank you, gentlemen. Thank you for your time. Appreciate it. We have devoted a lot of time at two different council meetings to this. I'm sorry, Council Member? Oh. You may.

Thank you, everyone. I do want to let you know how much our community appreciates our council taking the time out to really listen to the residents. You know, most of y'all know me personally and know our community and have come to American Edition, whether it's for National Night Out or other community events. So I do appreciate you extending the time that you've had to this particular zoning. But we also feel that it's just due because it's that important to our neighborhood. And to be honest, you heard from the residents, they do not want this project. And as I've been sitting here since I've given my report, the air quality has gone up to 68. So it's increasing as we're here right now, because it uploads every two minutes, just to keep y'all in mind of that. So when they were talking about exploring times, but then Ms. Pace indicated that they may need materials at 3 o'clock in the morning, that is simply not conducive for American edition. We've had the Flames, which is a biker club that has been in our community, serving our community for decades, over 50 years. They shut down at 10 o'clock. You can drive through American Edition at 10 p.m. If it's not a crazy Saturday when I have to call the police because people have to park, other than that, you don't have any noise. You can literally hear a pin drop in American Edition. And I challenge anyone to come through our neighborhood, whether it's a Saturday, a Sunday, during the week, 10 o'clock, it's peaceful. So to have potentially, now you're saying 10 different businesses that can be in this facility, which all can make up their own hours. Yes, they at one point said that they would consider contractually limiting the hours, but then the real estate agent, which I believe represents both parts or both sides, indicating that that's not going to be conducive to the businesses that's going to be in there. And as we've known with our previous good neighbor agreements that we've had with other businesses, i.e. Smart Truck, that's been in environmental court for over three years, and they're switching hands and businesses and still doing terrible operations because we try to give a business a chance. And it has been wrecking havoc on our community. So respectfully, the residents have spoken. They do not want this. And so I'm going to stand with my residents.

Thank you, Commissioner. I do want to make sure we get to a vote here at some point. Sorry. No, no, no, you're good. Chair.

As the chair, may I speak?

Yep.

Thank you. Good evening. My name is Melody Cook. I'm the chair of North Central Area Commission representing all 10 communities within North Central and American Addition is one of them. I became the chair of January of this year. And I want to speak on behalf of all of the communities, especially American condition this evening. We are saturated with toxic chemical buildings within North central area, heavily in Devon triangle, which are any businesses. And there's more businesses coming. There's 12,000 square feet to 6,000 square feet buildings that are being built. You hear the thumping at two and three o'clock in the morning where they're building construction of warehouse building that's on Joyce in between Windsor and Rumpke. That's where they're going to put people are going to go there to rent space. They're going there to have businesses. That's 12,000 square foot buildings. There's two of them. They have borders on Joyce Avenue. We're having an accident almost every other day. There's two or three times there's an accident every week. It's heavily traveled with trucks, just as you spoke of with the trucks. We are a food desert. We do not have groceries. We do not have a pharmacy. We barely have gas stations. And everything is being, the companies that are coming in, We have dump truck companies. We have asphalt. We have the salt bay. We have the water tower. We have Pepsi. We have Plasco Light. You can smell Plasco Light. We have the Yanking Majestic explosion. We're still just restoring ourselves from that. And limited manufacturing, yes, it's going to come in. They're going to improve things. But we need housing. We're getting 16 new housing habitat humanities coming in. Two of those are private owners and 14 is Habitat for Humanity. We are in need of housing. We have a lot of manufacturing. There's rental space everywhere else. There's development for housing, warehouse space that's on the west side and the south side. They have land as well. That's all. Thank you.

Thank you, Chair. Any questions, Council Members, for the Air Commission? Seeing none. Thank you all.

Thank you.

Just one last question before I move for a vote. Mr. DeVillis, Again, for me anyways, this comes down to a question from the community around the desire for housing writ large within the community and as it applies to this site. Would the department be in support of a zoning request that would add significant amount or whatever amount of housing, obviously any additions, because currently the zoning district there only allows one unit. So if someone came with a proposal for adding housing to the site, now obviously that's not what's before us, but from a planning perspective, considering you have Rumpke, you have a rail line, if a housing proposal came to your desk specifically for this site, what would be your view of that?

We would have... Serious concern for really exactly the reason that a lot of the neighborhood is representing because we feel like that could Exasperate a situation. It's there's there's It's a challenging site, obviously. It's a difficult question that you have. But the call that we made when we developed the Columbus growth strategy was that a light industrial use that was appropriately buffered and provided a face to the community was the appropriate use. It may not be the perfect solution, but that's the solution that we recommend. Thank you, Mr. Dells.

Any comments from my colleagues before I ask for a vote? Council Member Bankston.

I just wanted to get my comments now, Mr. Chair, before the vote because this is a difficult one for me because I hear both sides of the argument. I think for many folks in this neighborhood know that I've been there for community events. I'm happy to always come to Mount Zion and give my praise on there. And so I'm very familiar with this community. Also, my parents, they live in Devon Triangle, just over the bridge. And so I know what these types of neighborhoods feel and function like, this idea of parts of our city where there's this blend of housing and also industrial and I think history of our past. And so for me, I think about my parents who live on Gibbert Avenue and at the end of their street is a commercial use, um, actually a heavier use than this is automotive, but it's done very tastefully. I mean, it's behind the building. You can't really see it doesn't impede. There's also a large, uh, geo E fern or fern or whatever the company is there, uh, at Leonard. And so I think that there's ways to that both can coexist. Uh, and then I think for this particular part, because it is on the edge and because of, again, and I said this last meeting, because of the Area Commission's work of working with this developer to limit the uses. Because I think in this conversation right now, we're conflating just the simple word manufacturing. Because I've heard things like toxic waste and other types of things when really, again, it was this community that said to this developer, these are the limited uses that we want approved. And that developer agreed to them. Went back to also make the site even better. And so for me, I just wanted to make sure that I voiced where I land on this to this community because I does not fall on deaf ears. But this is one where we will have to disagree. And I hope that we can continue to have the dialogue when I'm out in community speaking with you all and know that because of your work, We now have limitations to hold them accountable to that. And so I want to thank you all for leaning in to make this better. So that is why I will be voting in the affirmative for this this evening.

Thank you, Council Member. Any other comments from Council Members? Council Member Green.

Thank you, Chair. I feel very similarly to the way that I think Council Member Bankston feels, and then I also have, like, feelings personally. similar to council member Dayock hours feelings. I think, um, one thing I think that is frustrating and, and I wasn't not around when the Rumpke plant was moved there and I don't know, maybe the community was very supportive of it. I'm not sure, but I remember thinking at that time, that's an interesting choice. And I think it established a little bit of a precedent now where now I see the value of having somewhat like of a step down industrial use so that we can get back to, I know, like what the goals of the neighborhood are. but I just wanted to kind of make that note because I think that these decisions that we make and these plans that we're setting and, um, you know, the vision that we're charting and every time we deviate from that vision, um, you know, it, it has, it has these ripple effect impacts. And I know that we have, um, you know, there's another, um, uh, composting facility that's being proposed in the center of a, you know, of a neighborhood here that I think is coming down the pipeline and other sorts of things where it's like, I just think we really have to be listening and thoughtful and thinking about the future. Sometimes I know it's like, we have to look at what's in front of us right now today, but, you know, I believe that we're here to work collectively with the community and think about what comes tomorrow, not just what's right in front of us today, so.

Thank you, Councilmember. Anyone else? Thank you all. I mean, I think this is a perfect case of reasonable minds can certainly disagree. I think that there are any number of ways to view this situation to come to a reasonable conclusion to either be for this project or to be against it. And I think for me anyway, it's just going back to the advice that we're getting from our planning folks is that this is not a site that they would recommend housing to be located on, particularly because of those adjacent uses. I do think, I agree with Council Member Banks in the sense of if this passes, and I'm not honestly I'm not sure it will is that it is actually been made better by the engagement from folks in the community on to limit the uses to work towards frankly where I'm about to ask to amend this based on the conversation that happened last week at Council that is unusual that we have that amount of dialogue and see additional changes contemplated and made But again, and I know residents disagree with me on this because you've said as much on this floor, is that folks have a higher ambition for what they would want on that location given the current zoning on that site and given the site-specific issues neighboring that site. I don't think we'd want to place housing up against a rail line, up against a recycling facility. So if so, what else could be there? There's not a perfect answer to that. This is a reasonable, I think, proposal in my mind, given the restrictions that have been put in place that folks have advocated for. So on that note, I first move to amend and submit to the clerk by voice. Clerk, please call the roll.

Bankston. Yes. Barroso-De Padilla.

No.

De Alcar. No. Dorrance. Yes. Green. No. Remy. No. Ross? No. Weitsch? Yes. President Hardin?

Yes.

Amend it. I move for passage as amended by voice. Second. Clerk, please call the roll by voice.

Bankston? Yes. Barroso-De Padilla? No. De Alcar?

No.

Dorrance? Yes. Green? Yes. Remy? No. Ross? No. White? Yes. President Hardin? Yes. Ordinance is passed.

Thank you. Next, we have ordinance number 1607-2026 to rezone 2345 Demarest Road, being 11.49 plus acres located on the west side of Demarest Drive, being 460 plus feet north of White Spruce Lane from RRL District to LAR1 Limited Apartment Residential District. At the request of the applicant, I move to refer this ordinance back to committee.

Second. Second. Clerk, please call the roll. Is there a second? Second. Clerk, please call the roll.

Bankston, Barroso, de Padilla, de Acara, Dorrance, Green, Remy, Ross, Weitsch, President Hardin.

Refer to committee. Next, we have ordinance number 611-2026. TO REZONE 1753 NORTH HAGUE AVENUE BEING 15.9 PLUS ACRES LOCATED ON THE EAST SIDE OF NORTH HAGUE AVENUE, 879 FEET SOUTH OF TRIVIA ROAD FROM ARROW ROAD DISTRICT TO LAR1 LIMITED APARTMENT RESIDENTIAL DISTRICT. SECOND INCIDENT, ONE UNDEVELOPED PARCEL AND FOUR PARCELS DEVELOPED WITH SINGULAR DWELLINGS. recently annexed into the City of Columbus. The requested rezoning will allow a multi-unit residential development containing a maximum of 296 units for both the Brisbane City staff and the Development Commission. But a disapproval from the West Side Area Commission. Due to that Area Commission's disapproval, we'll now hear a staff report, starting with Mr. Tim Dietrich from the Department of Building and Zoning Services. Mr. Dietrich, the floor is yours.

Chair Dorns, President Hardin, members of the council, north and west of the site are single unit dwellings in the R Rural District of Franklin County. South of the site are single unit dwellings in the LR2 Limited Residential District and R Rural District of Franklin Township. East of the site are single unit dwellings in the R Rural District and a pending rezoning to the AR1 Apartment Residential District. The requested LAR1 limited apartment residential district will allow a multi-unit residential development as shown on the submitted site plan and building elevations allowing for up to 296 total dwelling units. The accompanying limitation text establishes the maximum dwelling unit count and includes supplemental development standards addressing building setback, perimeter yard, traffic improvements, site access, shared use paths, landscaping, and fencing. The text also includes commitments to develop the site in accordance with the submitted site plan, landscape plan, and building elevations. The requested LAR1 limited apartment residential district is compatible with the density and development standards of adjacent multi-unit residential developments northwest, northeast, and southwest of the site. Additionally, the proposal includes binding plans and building elevations which incorporate design elements and features that are consistent with planning division's requests. Lastly, the proposal meets the city's objective to provide more housing in all neighborhoods and therefore city departments recommend approval.

Thank you. Any question of my colleagues for Mr. Dutrick? CNM will move on to Mr. Derrillas from the Division of Planning. The floor is yours.

Thank you, Chair Dorns, President, Council, members of Council. Planning supports this proposal. Although the Treview-Roberts Area Plan, which was adopted in 2011, recommends very low density residential land uses at the site, the plan also recommends that future redevelopments of the area should be at density levels compatible. With existing surrounding residential density patterns, staff recognizes existing multi-unit residential development to the north and east of the site as demonstrating compatible densities. Additionally, the Columbus growth strategy highlights that corridors like Hague Avenue should be considered as opportunities for higher density residential. Staff notes that the total unit count was reduced from 324 units to 296, and a variety of housing building types have been incorporated into the site layout. Staff reviewed conceptual building elevations and found them to be consistent with Columbus Growth Strategy residential design guidelines. Finally, the site design provides for the protection of the stream floodplain and stream corridor protection zone, along with associated trees in this area along the southwest of the site. As such, planning is in support, and I'm happy to answer any questions. Thank you, Mr. DeVilles. Any questions for planning?

Seeing none, we'll move on to traffic. Mr. Blushmit, the floor is yours.

Thank you, Chair Dorns, 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 the site access point to North Hague Avenue and the intersection of North Hague Avenue and Traby Road. Although this site is anticipated to generate 118 trips in the A&P cower, which are 28 entering trips and 90 exiting trips, and 152 trips in the P&P cower, 94 trip entering trips and 58 exiting trips a traffic impact study was required that would include analyses of the intersection of North Hague Avenue and Trevi Road due to previous traffic analyses that had indicated That future roadway improvements would be necessary at the intersection of North Hague Avenue and Trevi Road this study was reviewed and approved by the Franklin County Engineers Office which has jurisdiction of North Hague Avenue along the frontage of this site and the intersection of North Hague Avenue and Trayview Road. Resulting from this traffic impact study, the developer will be required to make roadway widening improvements to provide a northbound left turn lane at the site access point to North Hague Avenue and make a contribution to the Frank County Engineer's Office toward future roadway improvements at the intersection of North Hague Avenue and Trayview Road. These requirements have been incorporated into the limitation text associated within this proposed ordinance. Additionally, please be advised that the Franklin County Engineer's Office has initiated design efforts to implement future roadway improvements at the intersection of North Hague Avenue and Traeby Road. Based on the committed contributions by this site and five adjacent development sites, There will be funds available in the amount of approximately $863,000 to be applied toward future improvements at the intersection of North Hague Avenue and Traby Road. With these comments noticed, the Department of Public Service has no further concerns regarding this application, and I would be happy to answer any questions.

Thank you, Mr. Blushman. Can you talk us through, so the engineer's office has started design on those improvements, so can you walk us through some of what those improvements on the table will likely be?

So the improvements will be additional lanes on the northbound approach and the eastbound approach of the intersection and a new signal installation at the intersection. And the county engineer's office is in the initial stage. I understand they have retained a consultant to move forward with that, but they are in the early stages of the design. Okay.

So essentially, again, when we talk about the difference between a traffic access study and an impact study, the impact, again, looks more broadly around the area because of the size of the development. So we're not just talking about additions to turn lanes so it's easier for folks to get in and out. It's that then zooming out a bit and, again, looking at those intersections nearby of what upgrades need to happen in order to mitigate some of that increased traffic that comes with just increased residential development.

Yes, that is correct.

Thank you. Chair, just a quick question around this. This was annexed in, correct? So in terms of the roadway decisions, I know the Franklin County Engineer is part of that. Are we maintaining those roads as the Franklin County Engineer? And when we think about those roadway decisions, where does that decision-making fall?

so that falls when when the annexation happens you know prior to this uh process uh there's decisions made between columbus and franklin county where those lines are drawn in this case the roadway along this frontage will be retained at least at this time within the jurisdiction of the county of the county so any roadway decisions would be theirs not ours to make yes currently yes

And when we talk about the, one last question, when we talk about the additional lanes, is that a road widening or is it a redesignation of what the actual physical roadway looks like?

It is a roadway widening. Currently there are two lanes on Hague Avenue and there will be a center turn lane to provide left turning vehicles opportunity, additional lane to enter the site.

And does that, with this project, do we also have sidewalks or shared use paths?

There will be a shared use path requirement that's provided along the frontage of the site, yes, which will align with others, a future county project that intends to provide a shared use path along the west side of Hague Avenue.

And just residents may know this, but just so that we're all on the same page, a shared use path is essentially a larger, wider width path that you can both be on any sort of mobility device. So a bike, a scooter, a wheelchair, you could be pushing a stroller and you can walk. So it's a wider width than what a regular sidewalk might be. So thank you.

Thank you, Council Member. Council Member Dakar.

So you said there's going to be a center turn lane, but there will not be a turn lane for those people who are traveling south? So only those who cross traffic, not the ones who are...

So for a northbound vehicle, there's additional lane to allow that northbound vehicle, when they seek to turn into this site, they would have an additional lane. But the southbound vehicles, there would not be there would not be a right turn lane, a southbound right turn lane.

I drive that road frequently, and whenever somebody is going southbound and turns right, it stops traffic. So there should have been a southbound turn lane. That's one of those, engineers have their reasons for why they do things, but those of us who traverse those roads know the reality of them. There should have been a turn lane there.

Mr. Blushman, there are two turn lanes, correct? Because we're adding the middle turn lane in order for folks crossing, and then an additional turn lane for folks that are going directly into the development, correct?

There is not going to be a southbound right turn lane. There will also not be a southbound left turn lane at this time. There was a proposal that has not moved forward on the east side of the road, which then would provide a companion southbound left turn lane, but that would not be happening at this time. Thank you. Other requests? Council Member Green.

Thank you, Chair. Can you help me understand when the traffic study was completed for this application? I do not have the dates in front of me, but it was within the last I believe within the last year in the last year Okay, and then when I was talking to some residents about this project I've I Drive the road all the time, too It's how I get to and from picking my kid up from these meetings the What I was talking to some of the neighbors and the community leaders about this project they also mentioned that I you know, in addition to concerns about the density and then the traffic, which I truly share those concerns. Um, this roadway is not built to withstand this type of infrastructure and recognizing that the cross the street application, this one would be about 20 units an acre. The across the street application would be about 25 units an acre as it's currently presented. Now you're talking about something way different, way, way different. Um, but through the course of those conversations, they mentioned a longterm planning projects that were underway also related to trade bureau road, which is of course like the feeder road onto Hague. And then Hague is the feeder that takes you to the highway, even though it's a tiny back country road. It's the only way that all those thousands of apartments we've all built there on trade, you get to and from the highway. Um, something about a road diet or the potential of a road diet on tribute right now, that's a five lane road. and what they were understanding is that that is being reduced to a three-lane road, which I'm not sure if that is accurate or not, but I think as it relates to this, and as it relates to all the development that's happening in and around this intersection, and then along both the trade view and then proposed hang corridor, we have a lot of conversations about the need for proactive infrastructure investments that would support that type of development, and so I would be really concerned if that ends up being accurate. And we could ask the commissioners when they come up to testify as well.

I'm sorry, what was your question?

Is there a planned reduction in the number of lanes on Treby Road that right now you've got an east and a westbound lane, two of them, and then I think their understanding is that it would be reduced to just one eastbound, one westbound lane.

Yes. So between McKinley Avenue and Hague Avenue, yes, that is correct. Currently, it's two lanes in each direction. And the plan is to provide a three-lane section there where there is a center turn lane to allow left-turning vehicles to turn within that section. But yes, there would be one through lane in each direction, yes.

So it... So we would be reducing the amount of lanes, but like adding more traffic, I guess, is that what in?

I mean, I would respectfully disagree as far as it would be making it safer. As far as when you have it, by allowing a left turn lane, it allows a place where vehicles can safely make their turns, where in a four-lane section, that often promotes higher speeds and people weaving in and out as people are making left turns. So that was part of a separate application that was reviewed as part of a traffic impact study to evaluate the appropriate access configuration along that, that section.

And Mr. Blushman, this is that portion of trade view is Columbus.

Yeah, it's, it is mostly, it does also, we don't share it with the county engineer's office, but that is probably 80% in the city and 20% in the county.

Thank you. Yeah. I mean, again, because this development would be like right almost at that intersection. And then again, another one across the street, which I haven't seen yet, but I can't.

Councilmember, just to be very clear, we cannot, this body should not be considering other applications that have not been submitted to this body at this point.

What I'm talking about is the planned change in that intersection that is right there, as we are also considering adding hundreds of units right there that would feed in and out of that intersection, as well as... Councilmember, it is fair for you to consider this application as it relates to that traffic improvements

I'm asking you to limit, I mean, you can consider whatever you want when you consider a vote here tonight, but the other application that has been filed across the street has not come to this body yet.

I'm not referring to that. I'm referring to the intersection at Hague and Trebut, which is referenced in the document as needing future improvements, but it sounds like the future improvements that are referenced in the zoning briefing, I'm trying to seek clarity on whether or not those improvements include the road diet reduction, of changing it from currently as two eastbound and two westbound lanes at Hague and Trabio, referenced in the current briefing document.

Yeah, so I can speak to that. The roadway configuration in the Franklin County Engineers Project shows a three-lane section for that same section. So one lane in each direction and a center turn lane for the section east of Hague Avenue.

Okay, thank you.

um chair i just wanted to the reason i'm asking back and forth is because i i just want my colleagues to also understand in certain in particular areas we do not have we we are not the decision makers so if it's a franklin county engineer then they're going off of a certain basis of study so obviously we have someone from the department of public service here who is representing this, but I just want to let folks know, as we think about our advocacy as a body, and when the community thinks about their advocacy, we are talking about two different agencies. So while we do work in tandem, when we are near city limits, there are decisions that they will make. Similar, further down on Trebut, there is an ODOT project over the interstate that is an ODOT project. So I'm just referencing that because we are in a particularly tricky area where there are three different decision-making bodies as we talk about the entire flow of the corridor. I just want to mention that for good measure. The other thing that I would also mention for good measure is that, again, I said this in the last zoning conversation we had. Livingston Avenue, for anyone who lives there near Bexley and the border of Bexley, we did a road diet. We also built a large, I think it's like 200 or 300 units maybe. It's a pretty large unit on Livingston Avenue. There were lots of concerns. We also did a road diet there. Road diets, I want to make sure that we all understand. I'm going to say something everyone doesn't like. Road diets are not for convenience. Road diets are for safety. So do you travel along peak hours, along Livingston, and you are slowed down? Absolutely. Is it frustrating? Sure. I travel it all the time. Is it safer? 100%. and we saw that from the high injury network that's even with developments along livingston avenue so i just want to mention that for real life examples as we think about our decision making and also understanding that when we think about especially a road diet it's not for the convenience of people especially when There's already traffic in areas. The traffic happens because of density. And the answer to that is using other methods of modes of transportation that we are working on largely as a city. So just I want to mention that because I think often we think of convenience and convenience in a city that's growing, the unfortunate truth with transportation is that it will no longer be convenient because our infrastructure does not match our growth. And even if it did, you wouldn't want it to because you actually don't want all of the cars that a million or two million more people would bring onto our roadways because that would actually be more detrimental to us than what we're experiencing now.

I think when I imagine it, and it would be helpful if I had a visual, I could probably better see it. But as someone who drives this road on a very regular basis, what I imagine is we're taking a five-lane road, you're condensing it at the intersection that feeds to a highway that then enters onto a very narrow, windy, hilly country road with no median, no... And so that seems... scary to me, I guess.

Absolutely, and I know along this path, and Mr. Blushman, I know you want to continue to, I was just going to say, I think the consideration of no median or a shared use path is, that's part of the reason that's being added, because along this corridor, currently, as I understand it, does not exist a median or a sidewalk, which is part of the larger plan, as I understand it.

Correct. Thank you, Council Members. I'm going to keep this moving forward unless anyone has another burning desired question for Mr. Blushman. I don't think he's done with this one yet. So I will move on to our Deputy Director for Housing Strategies, Ms. Erin Prosser.

Thank you, Chair Dorans, Council President Hardin, members of Council. The proposed rezoning of 1753 North Hague supports the Columbus housing strategy by adding key housing supply in an environment where the cost of construction is escalating faster than affordable rents can accommodate. These sites that are feasible for new housing development are increasingly difficult to identify and secure. In order to keep the residential housing construction at the pace we need to accommodate our growth, permitting housing where it is feasible is critical. The current housing infrastructure is not meeting demand in this census tract. Rents have increased 56% and home prices have risen 57% just since 2020. Cost burdened renters, those paying more than 30% of their income on their housing expenses rose from 54% in 2020 to now nearly two-thirds of the households. This indicates an increasing demand for new housing, and in particular, more rental options. The current homeownership rate in the census tract remains stable, rising 1.7% between 2020 and 2024, and 80.1% of the housing units are single-family units, indicating an overall lack of housing diversity in the area. The rental vacancy rate for existing options dropped from 7.1% to just 3.9% in the zip code, indicating an increasing demand for housing, and in particular, more rental options. Investment in the housing in this area is critical to adding to places where we are close to our large job centers, including Ohio State, the Northwest Corridor, and downtown. Overburdened transportation networks are not the result of localized trip generation from an individual new development, but instead are the result of employees facing even longer commutes to access jobs. This adds to the economic, environmental, and health costs to the community. not to mention the ensuing gridlock resulting from adding significant vehicle miles traveled to the transportation network. We see the negative outcome on city transportation networks when there is a significant spatial mismatch between where employees live and where they work. Adding housing near job opportunities is critical to managing the overall transportation system so roadways continue to be safe and functional. In an area with increasing home prices and rents, already cost-burdened households, and access to significant job centers, it's critical to add the needed new housing to manage the impacts of our housing scarcity on existing families as well as those needing housing in our community. I'm happy to answer any questions.

Thank you, Ms. Prosser. Any questions from my colleagues from Ms. Prosser at this point? Deputy Director, I know there's been a lot of rental construction on this area. This is something that we've heard from the folks at the Area Commission, just sort of the amount of development that's been happening out there. How does that sort of square with, you're mentioning we're still seeing housing prices increase within this area. So even though we've seen development that's occurred, obviously we have a proposal in front of us here tonight, there are others that are sort of working its way throughout there. So from your vantage point of saying, You know, you would see folks say, hey, there's a lot happening here. Don't we already have too much of this? How do you sort of respond to that given when you sort of review the data there about what housing costs are looking like within the area?

And as we look broadly at the city, but also in the region, obviously we know we have a housing scarcity challenge, right? We have a lot of folks moving into the community. We lost momentum on housing construction largely following 2008. So there is a deficit that we're working to overcome. When we look at areas that are close to our job opportunities, close to those high opportunity areas, we see an even increased demand. As people opt and choose for housing, they will pay more if they're able. to get that proximity to those job locations, to that access to amenities and things that are right near this particular area. So we see those acute spikes even in the demand side around those areas. If we do not allow for more housing to happen in those locations, it will exacerbate that in those areas in particular. And then we don't see that feasibility of the housing construction, right, threading the needle between the cost of the construction to the manageable rents that we can accommodate here in central Ohio. And so when you look at those sites, you find them here, you find them in some of the other locations in the city where that demand is high enough. If we don't allow for housing in those locations, it's not likely that there are other sites always that will be able to accommodate that housing. And so it goes hand in hand, and that proximity to a tremendous amount of jobs in our community is really the driving source for why that becomes an extremely attractive area for folks.

Thank you. Yeah, any questions for Ms. Prosser, my colleagues? Seeing none, I would like to invite the applicant's representative, Mr. David Hodge, forward for presentation.

Thank you, Chair Dorans. President Hardin, members of council, David Hodge with the law firm Underhill and Hodge here this evening on behalf of Metropolitan Holdings. This process, like the vast majority of the processes that my office is involved in, started with some direct engagement with the city planning office, submission of conceptual plans as the annexation was working its way through the process, submission of conceptual architecture, to get feedback from the city planning office as to whether or not a proposal such as the one before you is consistent with city policy and is something that's worthy of moving forward. We took that feedback in, made certain revisions to the planning documents, and As those documents were revised, even before an application was filed formally with the city, Metropolitan Holdings went out and had a conceptual meeting with the West Scioto Area Commission to get some feedback from that group. So there was some extensive, thoughtful engagement with West Scioto Area Commission actually starting before an application was formally filed. There was also, leading up to tonight, some direct engagement with immediate neighbors, resulting in further revisions to the planning documents. This application is here with a recommendation of approval from the city staff, which is indicative of a proposal that's consistent with city policy. THE PROPOSAL IS HERE THIS EVENING WITH A UNANIMOUS RECOMMENDATION 6-0 FROM THE DEVELOPMENT COMMISSION WHICH IS INDICATIVE OF A PROPOSAL THAT FURTHERS THE CITY'S HOUSING POLICY, THE COLUMBUS GROWTH STRATEGY AND IS APPROPRIATE AT THIS LOCATION AND IN THIS NEIGHBORHOOD. THE LEGISLATION BEFORE YOU PROVIDES IN THE BODY OF THE LEGISLATION THE FOLLOWING LANGUAGE. THAT THE SITE INCLUDES HIGH LEVELS OF SITE AND BUILDING DESIGN. significant natural resource preservation, adequate buffering and screening from adjacent land uses and pedestrian connectivity throughout the site, which is, you know, chief among the reasons that the city, uh, planning office, uh, and then ultimately the development commission saw fit to recommendation to recommend approval. The area commission process directly, uh, resulted in the following modifications to the plan, a reduction in the unit count by 28, This proposal originally had a companion council variance to address several site issues. The companion council variance was withdrawn, and so this is simply an L zoning, fully compliant with the code, no variance is necessary. Metropolitan Holdings increased its setbacks at perimeters and along the frontage at Hague, incorporated a 15-foot tree preservation zone along the north side of the site, expanded its open space, internalized some of the larger buildings, relocated the trash compactor, created a green geo-paver emergency access feature at the southeast corner of the site as opposed to an asphalt entry drive, which was in response to some neighbor feedback to the south. unit reconfiguration to reduce building heights, building redesign to reduce heights, and the neighbor to the south, the additional work there, we were able to commit to some additional landscaping and some fencing specifications there at the southeast corner of the site. Some of the additional attributes here, which there was just somewhat of a lengthy discussion on, There are going to be improvements to Hague, a northbound left turn and a widening to accommodate southbound vehicles. I am also not a traffic engineer. I've been in my fair share of wrestling matches with Mr. Blechschmidt and Mr. Stargell and Mr. Moorhead in the traffic management department through the years, and I don't always agree with the outcome either, but I do always find them to be exceptionally professional I know that Hague, and for that matter, Treyview, has been studied about as much as a transportation network can be studied. It's been studied by Preferred Living. It's been studied by Thrive. It's been studied by Upland. It's been studied by LDG. It's been studied by now Metropolitan Holdings. It's been studied by Metro to the South. And it was studied by Avenue Development on a project on the north side of Hague. So this area is certainly not lacking focus of really the traffic engineers that serve all of the city of Columbus and for that matter, Franklin County. This proposal observes the stream corridor protection zone at the southwest corner of the site. That, as Mr. Dervillis said, does add to tree preservation. We also commit to the 15-foot tree preservation on the north. There are some mature growth trees up there between us and some single-family residential, and as opposed to... get into a discussion about, you know, is two thirds of the tree on this side of the line or that side of the line, let's just say they're all going to stay. So we created a 15 foot preservation area there. Importantly, as was previously discussed, there is a shared use path coming along the frontage here. Apparently there's going to be more shared use path coming in the near future, but it's not just a, you know, a six foot or an eight foot shared use path. It's an 11 foot shared use path that's happening here. along the frontage of the property being installed by this applicant. One of the things that Mr. Dravila said, and I think that resonated most with me when I first saw this proposal, and I certainly think resonated with the Development Commission, resulting in their 6-0 recommendation of approval here tonight, is the building typology that's proposed. As you know, I've represented my fair share of these before council through the years, and More often than not what we see are three-story breezeway buildings. In this instance, we have some three-story breezeway buildings, but we also have some two-story carriage house type units along the northern property line. And we've got a different building typology, more single family residential in appearance along the Hague Avenue frontage. So really, to me, a great proposal, meets the city's housing policy, meets the Columbus growth strategy. I think it's here after responsible and thoughtful engagement with the neighborhood. And I think it's a great proposal. I'll stop there and do my best to answer questions that anyone has of me.

Thank you, Mr. Hodge. Questions for the applicants represented at this time? All of a sudden the group is quiet. Thank you, Mr. Hodge. I will invite you back up after public testimony. Thank you. Our first public speaker on this ordinance is from the West Saudi Area Commission, Commissioner Rita Cabral. Welcome back to council.

Council members. Council Member Hardin and other members. I am Rita Cabral. I am a commissioner with the West Scioto Area Commission. I reside in the Scioto Woods neighborhood. I'm here to speak as a commissioner. Our chair and vice chair are not available this evening. So I will speak of the standard and recognized form that goes out from our commission. The West Scioto Area Commission met March 19th and voted to disapprove the application by a vote of 6-1-0. The primary basis for the disapproval is the project's density. Everybody here knows that We have put in nearly 8,000 beds. And I say beds, not units, because a lot of these units have multiple people living there. 8,000 in our area over the past five years. This project's density and lack of conformity to the surrounding area, both property and roadway. This application is for 296 units on 15 acres. The existing current plan, which is submitted with this form, consists of one unit per five acres or 15 units per acre. and is very low density, consisting of single-family homes in the surrounding area. The project is not in conformity with the adjacent residential properties. The current plan that is in existence is 15 units per acre. The Treview-Robert Road plan is the plan that this applicant is pointing to in support of their application. However, the number of units per acre for this application does not align with the 15 units per acre that is called for in the plan. Additionally, this project will add 500 residents. That means 500 vehicles in and out. To a secondary road. This is not the main corridor. Trayview is the main corridor. This is a step back area. A roadway that cannot support existing traffic, much less the traffic that is currently being built and added to the existing roadway from the projects currently being built on Trayview. Residents attending the meeting expressed not only concern about the density of this project, but its impact of the value of their homes. They also voiced concerns about the number of fire hydrants, the impact on safety services, and location of bus stops for kids. Since there is no place for them to stand to wait for the bus, except for the berm of the existing roadway, which is dark during the early morning pickups. And there was attached information that went along with this. Overall, both the area commissioners and the public were vehemently opposed to this application. All residents that spoke indicated that they believe the city is abandoning their concerns and interest. Now to sum this up, the proposed density far exceeds what the area's infrastructure can safely support. Inadequate roads, the lack of sidewalks, and insufficient police, fire, and EMS access create unacceptable public safety risk. Approving this level of development without first addressing these deficiencies will increase emergency response times and put lives and property at greater risk. Growth is not the problem. Smart growth requires corresponding investments in road, sidewalks, connectivity, and public safety Without those investments, growth simply transfers its cost to existing residents while diminishing the quality of life for everyone in the area. I am available for questions.

Thank you, Commissioner. Questions for my colleagues? So, Commissioner, I did want to ask you, I know a lot of your comments were regarding sort of the infrastructure associated with these developments. We heard from Mr. Blushman about the traffic impact study and sort of the improvements that are coming to that area based upon that, sort of the addition of the turn lanes. From your comments, it sounds like that's not sufficient from your view.

The studies are outdated, really. This road is limited to what can be improved on it. I hope everybody understands that. I mean, it's a rural road to begin with. And if we're going to treat it with high density, this is not appropriate.

What do you mean the studies are outdated? Just want to make sure that we're clear about that.

Are they including all of the projects that have been added to the area?

Mr. Blushman, did that study contemplate the other projects that have been improved in the area?

Yes, this latest study included all previous projects that have been proposed in this area. Thank you.

We feel more needs to be done. The areas where residents live, it's almost impossible to widen the road. It is not the same. This has to be clear. Haig Avenue is not the same as Trebut Road and cannot be treated the same. It is a step-down area. And the recommendation from our commission is for what is existing in the area. It should be compatible for what is on Haig Avenue.

Sure. One of the questions I have for you, Commissioner, is that this is one of the applications I've seen come through that actually has different types of housing typology within it. So oftentimes we get an application that's sort of the same building being built three or four or five or six or seven different times on the site. This is one in particular that the applicant has a number of different buildings. And again, I think... from my standpoint, be a little more thoughtful on how to have those different structures as it comes up to the actual road itself. I'm just curious, your commission has reviewed a lot of different multifamily developments over the years. Whether or not that was something that was appreciated by you all, didn't really matter in the process of this, or was something that you liked, but again, the density is just too high. I'm just sort of curious if that different types of housing sort of buildings made any difference for you all.

We definitely would like different types of housing in the area. Nobody has brought that to us.

Well, in this particular application, it actually has different types of buildings in it of itself.

It's all the same apartment type of dwelling. There's no duplexes that have been suggested to our area. There's no condominiums, which are group homes that will take care of larger populations. And of course, no single projects have been offered to us.

So again, if I'm hearing you correctly, you know, again, open to other types of buildings, but from a perspective of if these are rental units, that's a particular point of concern for you all.

The project, this particular project is surrounded by residents. So the impact of the size is impacting our area, is impacting that residential area.

So if we flip that, though, and say right now 80% of the city is zoned for single-family housing, so your point, the adjoining areas have other single-family nearby, wouldn't this be the other type of housing within that area in which you've got ownership of single-family nearby and this being the rental options that are nearby? And you heard from Deputy Director Prosser about the need for more housing in this area writ large.

rephrase the question, would you please?

Sure. I think you were mentioning about the disappointment not seeing other types of housing, whether or not that's condominiums or single-family development. There's mostly that type of housing from a single-family perspective. So 80% of the city is zoned for single-family right now. So when we are seeing multifamily being built in areas, that is sort of the other type of housing as compared to the existing single-family that's there currently.

We have an abundance of apartments in our area. That is the only thing that is being built in our area. And when a project comes to us that is oversized, that is of great concern to us.

Okay. I do want to mention we've received the most disapprovals from any area commission over the last five years from West Scioto in every single time that's been multifamily development.

Wait a minute. In the last year and a half, we approved the San Margarita, the San Reno project. We approved the fourth phase of preferred living. We approved the Upland project. And there is a project on Trayview Road that hasn't hit the development commission meeting. And I have not spoken or anybody hasn't spoken in regards to any of those projects. And those are recent.

Yep, that is very fair. That's very fair. Other questions or comments? Council Member Green?

Commissioner, correct me if I'm wrong. When you and I talked about what it sounded like the West Scioto Area Commission was looking for in terms of changes, it sounded very similar to the request of the community that we heard from last Monday. So your requests were wanting to keep the size compatible with the surrounding Neighborhood at around like 15 units to acre or as close to that as we could get the first story or the front buildings correct me if I'm wrong that that were Right there, like on one of the east side of the project, I think you wanted them instead of three stories. Those are the unique looking buildings. It's a beautiful project. It's a really beautiful. And you acknowledged that as well when you talked. One of those we dropped from three stories to two stories, correct? And then the concerns about the traffic and the bus stops, which again, you know, it's a not lit street. It's a very skinny rural road. And all of that made sense to me. And it also sounded like, I think this was your project last week. You know, it sounded very similar to other advocacy. So it wasn't, at least when we spoke, the conversation that we had was not at all, we don't want apartments. It was very much like, you know, is there anything we can do to accommodate a trim down of the scale of this? And also we need to be thoughtful of the roads. Is that an accurate accounting of what I think the commission was asking for? Yes. Okay.

Thank you. Any other questions from my council colleagues for Commissioner Cabral?

I just wanted to follow up on that. Was there a number per acre in terms of density? Because you talked about the upland project.

Okay, the upland project, which is on Tribute Road and is going to be very close to this project, is 280 units. This project is 296 units. Step down. Step down area.

So was there a number? I'm just trying to understand if there was conversation.

The metro development new project that is close to being completed is 15 units per acre. Didn't have a problem with that. All right. All the other apartments, which are older, Whispering Creek and Abbott and all, they're in the 12 units per acre. So when we request 15, we're not out of line for a step-down area.

Thank you, Commissioner. Any other questions for Commissioner Cabral? Thank you for being here with us. Thank you, everybody.

I appreciate your time.

Absolutely. We have three public speakers signed to speak on this ordinance. The first is Ms. Anita Mitchell. Ms. Mitchell, welcome to council.

I want to say good evening and thank you, President Hardin and all council members. My name is Anita Mitchell, and I have property at Hague Avenue. I just listened to Rita speak, and I think I touched on a lot of areas. She touched on a lot of areas that I have, so I'm going to speak from the heart a little bit here rather than from my paper and redundancy. I think what Rita was trying to say is, Chairman Dorrance, is that It's not necessarily the single-family housing that we're concerned about, but as I'm sure you're aware, I think you were charged with legacy and preserving the legacy. That seems to be gone. The San Margarito legacy is gone. I'm 63 years old, and I grew up in San Margarito. I still live on Trayview Road, and I'm moving to Haig Avenue. I had grapevines. I had gardens. I had trees. I had all of that in my backyard. it was mowed down for these apartments. I'm trying to rebuild now on Hague, and I look four doors over, and there's a development there that's putting in 485 apartments. So as I sit on my front porch now, I get to watch all of these people building and hammering and going at it. I'm working with this, okay? I really believe that we need different types of housing, but I don't think Three and four story apartment buildings are what we need everywhere. I think people like condos. I think people like townhouses. I think people want their diversity also in their homes and how they live. And the other part of that is all of these are making people isolated. So you have these huge developments. They have pools. They have spas. All of that good thing. All of those good things. And then Once that property is sold and the developer's done and moves out, then whoever manages that property has what's left. They don't keep up with it. I hear continuously people that live at the corner of Trey Butte and McKinley Avenue. The crime is up there. They've had these crashings of the pool parties and people coming onto the property that don't live there. I actually listened to somebody on a recording being physically abused while they waited for 10 different calls of police to come to the area. It rips my heart out. That is not where I grew up. That is not the legacy that I want for me, my family, my neighbors, my community. And I don't care what your studies say. I'm telling you, can I have a show of hands? How many people have been to the Treby Road and Haig Avenue area? All of you have. You've all been through there. Have you all been stuck in traffic? Do you know what Haig Avenue looks like? I sent all of you a letter with a picture of a family, a husband and a wife, apparently, I assume, walking down the road, pulling a wagon full of groceries that they catch the bus at Tradeview. There's no COTA service there. They live at the south end of Haig Avenue. There are no sidewalks there. You know, this little community area is great for this development that's there. But unless every single development has that extended area, what's it going to link to? I'm just asking you to be responsible, thoughtful for the legacy, for the people that live there. We're not saying no. We're just saying meet us halfway here. Honest to God, that's all we really want.

That's all I have to say. Same, Ms. Mitchell. Any questions from my colleagues for Ms. Mitchell? Our next speaker to come for council is Mr. Alex Nichols. Oh, I'm sorry, miss. I apologize.

I'm sorry.

ALL RIGHT. HELLO, COMMISSION MEMBERS BANKSTON, PIROSA DE PADILLA, DE YALKER, DORANCE, GREEN, REMI, ROSS, WAICHE, AND PRESIDENT HARDIN. MY NAME IS ALEX NICHOLS AND I LIVE IN THE CORTONA WOODS DEVELOPMENT ACROSS THE STREET FROM THIS PROPOSED PROJECT. THANK YOU FOR THE OPPORTUNITY TO SPEAK TONIGHT ON THIS ZONING APPLICATION AT 1753 NORTH HAGUE AVENUE. THE CITY OF COLUMBUS GROWTH STRATEGY IS MEANT TO BE FLEXIBLE GUIDANCE. to move us towards a prosperous, connected, inclusive, and vibrant future. The first guiding principle of the Columbus Growth Strategy is healthy and complete communities. It calls for the creation and preservation of a variety of housing types to support mixed income communities. Local residents are disappointed with a single type of housing being built. According to this morning's Zillow listing, there are 312 apartments for rent in a one-mile radius of this property. In comparison, there are only 14 homes that cost less than $500,000 for sale in the same one mile radius. If we are protecting the ability for someone to move out of home ownership and into a rental without leaving their neighborhood, we should also be protecting the opposite movement as well, a renter into home ownership. The second guiding principle is quality of life in our city. It calls for us to conserve both economic and environmental resources, enhance the uniqueness of each neighborhood, and provide access to natural areas and open spaces. The Columbus Growth Strategy specifies that neither required step backs nor storm water detention basins can substitute for recommended open space, but I believe this proposal has included them in their open space calculations. The third guiding principle is neighborhood vitality. High quality development enhances neighborhoods, creates a sense of place for residents, it makes thoughtful development. High quality development is subjective and has different interpretations for different people. There are no adjacent properties that share the zoning density currently. Thoughtful development means thinking about what happens specifically, I'm concerned about the neighbors on Britton Avenue. What happens to their sense of space when a line of mostly ranch-style homes on Britton Avenue gets sandwiched between these two high-density zones? And I have given you the map so you can see just how if it was pink on top and pink on bottom with one row of houses, how that might look. And I know pink is mixed residential. It's just a density comment. And then in the past six months, this council has approved Every zoning decision, albeit with amendments at times that has come before them, these decisions agree with area commissions 95% of the time. We're hoping that you'll do that tonight. Thank you so much for your time.

Thank you, Ms. Nichols. Any questions from my colleagues, Ms. Nichols? Thank you. We do have one final public speaker, Mr. Anthony Wright. Mr. Wright, before you come up, I do want to just ask a question to Deputy Director Prosser, because I think this has come up with Commissioner Cabral and Ms. Nichols. So we hear this a lot from residents, and again, council only can act on the legislation that's before us. This is unfortunately a very applicant-driven process where we have an applicant that either buys property or gets an option on property. They go through the development process and bring it to us, right? Council is not the one at this point under our old zoning rules saying, hey, here's what we think the density requirement should be. This is the housing typology we'd want in this area. It's very much driven by sort of all those different processes that come to us. But there's a common ask that comes to us of why not more ownership? Why not more single family? Why not condos to the like? And You know, I think that's a common thing that we hear from a lot of area commissions. I'm just curious, as someone who studies housing here in Columbus, you know, this council has approved a number of very large scale single family housing developments, but they've been particularly outside of 270. Could you talk a little bit about why we see certain types of housing get proposed in certain areas and why single families like we see that less proposed in areas like this at this point?

As we think about our partners in the development community identifying sites for housing and what type of housing they want to build there, a lot of that is determined by the sites that are available. So as we think about some of those outer edge, bigger sites that are what we would refer to as greenfield developments, you've got the land enough to make a development big enough to sustain a single family investment. When you have a lower density product, you still have to capture the number of units to balance out both the land cost and the cost of construction. When we look at some of the places where we have the density that we're bringing, one, it's bringing the units that we need to help support just the overall growth. There is a market demand for these units for the folks who are coming in, recent graduates of Ohio State who are staying with us here in Columbus, getting their first jobs. All of that is something they need housing for. But when you look at when we have these higher land costs, closer to opportunities, closer to job centers, you're going to need those additional units in order to make the housing feasible. And so it's marked demand. So they know that they are going to have tenants that want to come and live in this community and be part of it. But it is also to overcome the cost of construction and the cost of the land in these extremely high demand areas. And we know in this particular part of the city, those land costs are going up. But it does allow us to accommodate the permitting that we need. And when we look at our trajectory around overall housing permitting, we are meeting the expectation we have annually now. We're starting to see that slowing growth of rents and home prices in a way that we haven't seen in the last couple years. That's evidence of that pressure being relieved. And particularly when we think about these high demand areas, if these options aren't available for these folks, they will move into other parts of the city We look at the pressures around displacement and concerns around that. When we don't have the accommodating housing, the pressure does not just stay here in this particular community, but moves into those other parts of the city as well. It's complicated. To build in-site housing is getting increasingly more complicated. To find a site that you can make work to add the housing we need and to satisfy that market demand in an area that, you know, to date, about 80% of the units in the census tract are single-family units. So as we think about increasing that housing diversity, this multifamily does serve that purpose and meet that market, relieving that overall pressure and helps not just the new residents that are going to come in and move into this development, but the existing residents as well.

Thank you. I'm sorry, Mr. Wright, I apologize. Thanks for indulging me for just a moment. I want to make sure we sort of got to that question, if that's all right. But floor is yours, sir. No worries there. I'm pretty easy to work with.

Good evening. My name is Tony Wright. I am a father of two, with two on the way in September. I'm a software QA automation engineer, and I'm the Eagle Scout, and I'm someone who's concerned about the community and whether their voices are truly being heard. I want to bring up some concerns regarding the presentation that was put on by Metropolitan Holdings, how it was presented, and question the transparency of this process and whether residents' voices are truly being heard and accounted for. In the attached packet we gave you, there is a graphic there. It's an AI graphic. Refer to it as you'd like. But during the April 9th development commission meeting, the developer presented this AI-generated graphic as a factual plan that they have for developing the property. This meeting was the first time the graphic was shown to residents and to any commission board. It was not previously shown to the West Toyota Commission, and so they did not have the chance to challenge the inaccuracies of the graphic and question the developer regarding them. The AI-generated graphic majorly misrepresents the area to the north of the site as being heavily forested, when in reality, much of that has already been removed to make way for the high-density upland development that is already underway on Trebut. The golf course is not accurately represented, nor does it show the existing buildings that are already there that are along the road at that intersection. It suffers from several points where the perspective does not work with the area. adequate parking does not appear to be provided, the buildings at the back are not proportional, and the sidewalks appear to be overriding the driveway. Presenting this AI-generated graphic as a factual representation gives me great concern about this project when their AI-generated graphic has such glaring issues, and I'm concerned the graphic was not reviewed for accuracy by a human, especially since the upland project is well underway and is not represented here. Another concern is the lack of transparency and the lack of a complete official record. The previous meetings I have personally been to, the voting board did their due diligence and heavily discussed any projects that had community opposition. But at this latest meeting for the Development Commission, the community's main concerns regarding density were only briefly considered and discussed before a vote. It felt as if the AI-generated graphic painted an inaccurate, idyllic picture and that settled any major concerns, even being referenced as a deciding factor in one of the comments made by the committee. The recording of the development commission meeting does not show any of the presentation by Metropolitan Holdings. All that is seen is the open space plan side, and so residents who are unaware of what's being presented in the recording have no opportunity to see the presentation. Not having a complete official record and recording that includes the full presentation does not give residents the tool and information they need to make informed decisions and understand the project as presented by the developer. We reached out to Alyssa Saltzman regarding this official record being incomplete and requested a response as to how this could have happened and what can be done in the future to prevent this from happening. And at this point in time, we have not received a response on that point. This is concerning because if the official record is not accurately depicted here, what other meetings are missing vital information for residents to make informed decisions for meetings they, like myself, have not been able to attend in person? In conclusion, the density concerns, the perceived zoning code irregularities, and the concern regarding the accuracy of the project presentation and perceived lack of transparency are our main concerns in addition to the other topics we, as its community, have provided you on the sheets when we first started speaking. We urge you to disprove this application so a properly suited application may come forward, whether it is an amended compromise from the developer or from another developer. Thank you for your time.

Thank you, Mr. Wright. Any questions from my colleagues for Mr. Wright? Thank you. Mr. Dietrich, I did want to ask you, just with regard to the point that was made by the speaker about renderings as they're submitted to various bodies, does the city have requirements about the accuracy of those or the type of image that is shared? And if so, what are they?

Typically, Developers like to come with their own presentations to a meeting like the Development Commission. They'll have things like renderings, 3D models. One of the reasons we typically don't include those to you guys is because they're not always 100% accurate. They're drawings. They're the developer's vision. It's not black and white like the site plans and elevations that are included in your ordinance that you're looking at tonight.

So, again, just to be very clear, I certainly understand the point from the speaker about what was presented to the Development Commission. Obviously, that image is not something that's part of the packet that arrives to Council for members to review. The same things you're talking about, the site plan, those other sort of the height elevation, those documents are also provided to the Development Commission, correct? So while they may have something that's, again, I think it's a fair question of, hey, if I'm submitting this and it's not accurate representation of the project, there's other information that actually is demonstrating what is properly before that body.

Yeah, and staff has their packet that they're presenting to the Development Commission that included all the things that you guys see tonight. What the developer chooses to show to the Development Commission is up to them and their integrity and what they're providing to the Development Commission for recommendations. So whether or not that rendering was 100% accurate, a lot of times we don't even have access to those presentations until right before the meeting. They're handing us flash drives to plug in so they can go through with the Development Commission.

Okay, thank you, Mr. Dietrich. At this point, as customary, I'll invite the applicant's representative forward for any rebuttal for the proper testimony.

Thank you, Chair Dorans. Certainly, it goes without saying that the change is hard. The growth that is necessary in our city in terms of housing and infrastructure is at times messy and is painful. But we are without a doubt observing what has happened to other cities nationally and have come to the conclusion that the way we historically created development, the way we did business historically wasn't working. It just wasn't working. That's why we don't have the housing in the community that we need. Ms. Prosser mentioned 2007, 2008. I was doing this kind of work in the community at that time. Nothing was happening. And not just in Columbus, but nationally, that created a glut in housing. Even in Washington, D.C., they're having this discussion. I think maybe there's a national bill that's been floating around to help promote housing across the country, including here in Columbus. So it's a challenge. It's a tough process and it's difficult, but it's also a necessity and it's leadership. And I think that this council and this community has wisely adopted a housing policy, has wisely adopted a growth strategy, is wisely revamping the zoning code that I've made a living on for the last 25 years, but widely revamping the zoning code to create the kind of housing to continue to move Columbus forward. The other thing that I think is worth mentioning is that the housing that we need is, it can't all be provided by the government. The housing that we need really at the end of the day is a collaboration between the private sector and the public sector. And that's what has to happen. The government can't, the government in the business of building housing. So it does take a partnership. I think someone used the word earlier, partnership between local government and the private side development. And that is certainly what this is. In terms of bus stops in COTA, we all know that the Link Us project platform was approved by the voters. We know that COTA is consistently evaluating its bus routes and we know that COTA is a responsible organization and they're getting bus routes out to the growth corridors of the city and the areas that need busing. In terms of whether or not this density is appropriate for the area, It is. The Professional City Planning Office concluded that it is. The Avenue project in the immediate vicinity is at 30 dwelling units an acre. The Alamira project is at 26 units an acre. The San Remo is at 18 and the Featherwood is at 18. All densities that are consistent in two cases considerably more intense than the proposal before you this evening. In terms of the graphic that was presented, there was never any intention for any sleight of hand or for any misrepresentation. There was a bird's eye view rendering prepared by the landscape architectural team that sort of showed the development looking from the east side of Hague up towards Raymond Memorial Golf Course, it's up to the north. An original of that did not show the upland development. We then had that image updated so that we did actually superimpose the upland development into that imagery, but there's never ever any intention to not be transparent and not provide all of the relevant information. to the council, to the development commission, to the neighborhood, to the city, to anybody involved in the process. So I think I'll stop there. I'll certainly do my best to answer questions of council, but this is here with the city staff recommendation, with the unanimous recommendation from the development commission. And I respectfully request that city council follow suit from those earlier bodies and do the same. Thank you all.

Thank you, Mr. Hodge. Any questions for the applicants or representatives? Council Member Bankston.

Thank you, Mr. Chair. Mr. Hodge, could you just run through again? I think this project had many variances at the start that this body was going to hear. There was, I think, some height reductions that had happened looking at the site plan. My understanding is that there are townhomes and different typologies in the actual site plan. You could just tick through very quickly because I think we've been here a while. Sure. What those changes were because I heard, and I'm only saying that because I think when I hear things like meet us halfway or we're not saying no, when there's a lot of work that's been done to change it, I mean, if we're talking about if this was the same exact project at 15, units per acre. What I'm hearing from the community, they would be fine with that. I don't know math off the top of my head. That's about probably 50 or so units that we're talking about. Am I getting that right? So I just wondered if you could just tick through kind of what has changed, because now we're not talking about something as a rezoning plus multiple different variances. This is contained to the site. Once it goes through the zoning, it can be built. based off of just that zoning change. So if you could just remind us again really quickly.

Sure. So out along Hague with the original proposal, those buildings out along the front, they were moved way up to the Hague Avenue right-of-way. I think our setback at that point in time was 10 feet. So we did not meet the the city building setback requirement for the buildings that fronted Hague. So one of the revisions that happened was that building typology that has a single family residential kind of aesthetic to it, those got shifted to the west back deeper into the site. We originally had a height variance for many of the buildings throughout the site. I know with council relatively recently we've discussed the 35 foot height district. These all fall within the 35 foot height district. We originally had a variance for some of the buildings here to exceed the 35 foot height district. We also were into the perimeter yard at certain places north and also southeast, where we were encroaching into the perimeter yard by five feet. We instead shifted the building's interior to the site, meet that 25-foot perimeter yard requirement, and then also we mentioned earlier that along the northern perimeter yard within the northern 15 feet we incorporated a tree preservation zone in addition to meeting the underlying requirements. So to my recollection, those were the variances that were previously associated with the proposal. We eliminated all of those in response to feedback throughout the entirety of the process leading us

So, yes, it changed significantly. And then again, you talk about the mix and type. We're not talking about all flats here. We're talking about some mix of townhomes. Also, I believe when we met, there was also a combination of three bedrooms here, right, to accommodate larger families as well.

That's correct. That's correct. So up on the screen now is you can see the different building typologies. So up on the top of the screen are the buildings that front Hague Avenue, and those sort of have a single-family residential aesthetic. The middle column there is along on the right-hand side is the two-story carriage house-style unit. Those are along the north. side of the property and then on the bottom of the screen are the three-story breezeway buildings that the council has seen so many of so yes lots of different building typologies it's all apartment residential they have a townhouse aesthetic but it is all apartment residential

Gotcha. And then again, from a railway improvement, there's going to be sidewalks where I think a mixed use path that goes to nowhere for now, but I think, you know, we fill in the teeth as it goes. So that will be in the front of Hague. So there will be a place for children to stand safely. Is that my?

Absolutely. An 11 foot shared use path. That was one of the, that was one of the notes I wrote. An 11 foot shared use path will be installed along the entire frontage here, here on the West side of Hague, which, which not only, you know, accommodates the biker, the skateboarder, the walker, the jogger, the scooter rider, but also can provide that place for kids to wait for the bus.

Okay, thank you. Thank you, Council. Council Member Bosa-Diputia.

This is not for you, but for Director Prosser. Can, for just a second, can you, in the most succinct way, when we talk about density, right, and we talk about 15 units versus 12 units, you know, when you look at other cities that might be more dense, right, that they're like at 26 units or 20 units or whatever. As we look at the growth of Columbus, it feels like we're growing this way, and at some point that's going to end, so we need to grow up, right? And as we think about Linkas and we think about how we're pushing our density towards those corridors, but in these areas where we still have the land to grow, can you talk, again, just super succinctly, how do we come up with that 15 number and... And is that different for different areas of the city because they can withstand more density or it looks different? Can you just give us a refresher on that?

I can. So as we think about the growth that's coming into the city, we know broadly in the region we need about 200,000 units. When we look at other cities, in particular I'll call on Austin, where the growth pattern was very sprawling. And what that outcome was was large amounts of personal vehicles on the roadways for very long, many miles, creating an overall gridlock in the system, right? When you have that incredible spatial mismatch and you're separating from where people live to where they work and without other multimodal choices. And when you're sprawled out, it's really hard for CODA to figure out how to serve that level of sprawl. And so when you can dense, you can create those dense pockets where there is that connectivity between a job and where you live. It's going to reduce the amount of, even if you drive your personal vehicle, you're not on that many roads. It is going to overall alleviate the pressure on that system. And so we have to figure out a way to get that density close to where people are working, going out, all of the things that we know people are going to do in order to sustain the overall transportation network. The development community will find a way to accommodate the housing we need. It will just happen very, very, very far out from the city into other jurisdictions where that housing will go. If you've been out in the ex urban parts of our city, you see a lot of single family construction. They will meet that need. They will meet it in a way that is not sustainable for all of us from an environmental, from a transportation network standpoint. So adding density close to these job centers is really critical.

Thank you. I just sometimes need that reminder because I think as the city sprawls out, right, to your point, we're moving. People are living further away. I mean, I think about like I grew up in a five or six mile radius of my house, right, because I had a mall. I had all the amenities around us. And as those amenities start to go out further, you know, like my kids, doctors, now I'm like Africa Road, right? And I'm driving 30 minutes to go to the doctor because it's in network, et cetera. We have to grow up, which is why you're seeing more two or three stories in places where it has not traditionally been because that is helping us address our density, correct? Thank you. I just want, I just think it's good for us as we continue to have these conversations to have like reminders of why things are changing the way that they are. I mean, at some point I look around, I grew up around lots of apartments in the Eastmoor neighborhood and Fairmoor neighborhood and it was, it had to have been because of a population boom at some point. And you saw those grow because you could see after, After a certain amount of time, we needed to go up further if people wanted to stay in that area. So thank you.

Any other questions by my colleagues or the applicant's representative? Any other comments from my colleagues? Because I'm going to ask one last question of Mr. De Villis, and then I'm going to ask us for a vote here. Mr. Villis, so we heard from the area commission folks here tonight, you know, around 15 units per acre was what they would have found acceptable here. Obviously, we are higher than that. Mr. Hodge mentioned other developments nearby that are sort of in line with the developments that have been proposed here, some above. Why is the city department, so our planners, in support of this density level here tonight?

Sure. I really think the diversity of housing that they're providing on the site is a key factor. The preservation of the stream corridor protection zone is an important factor. The sidewalk network within the multi-use path that was mentioned on Hague, all key elements. But for us, a compelling factor is the three different forms of housing types that are being provided on this site. Is the applicant represented? The The sort of lower slung if you will housing that's facing tribute is sort of preserve that that view But the variety the variety was compelling to us.

Thank you, Mr. Dills Any other comments from my colleagues? I think we've talked a lot about this application here tonight. I think there's a lot going on here with regard to traffic improvements and the type of improvements that are coming with it. I know those answers don't satisfy everyone. I think to the point of the department regarding the The increase in density here, density is the most controversial thing that we talk about with regard to housing development. Where that should be, there's no perfect answer. I think there are times in which it can be higher based upon things like having different types of housing typologies being included. I think there are also times at a site, because of constraints on it, it may be lower. For this project in particular, I'm going to trust our folks from planning, saying that this is an appropriate density level. And because of that, I'm going to move for passage by voice at this time.

Bankston, Boros de Padilla, de Alcar, Dorrance, Green, Remy, Ross, Weitsch, President Hardin.

Thank you. Next, we have ordinance number 1923-2026 to rezone 1258 Oak Street being .36 plus acres like in the northeast corner of Oak Street and Wilson Avenue from LP1 Limited Private Parking District to CPD Commercial Plan Development District. This site consists of four parcels developed with a parking lot and propels rezoning will allow a mixed-use development containing 15 apartment units, 11 townhouse-style units, approximately 600 square feet of eating and drinking establishment. The board also approves from City Staff, Development Commission, and the Near East Side Area Commission. If there are any questions or comments, I move for passage.

Bankston, Burroughs, Sade Padilla, Dayakara, Dorans, Green, Remy, Ross, Weitsch, President Hardin.

Pass. Thank you. Next we have 1927-2026 to rezone 925 Hilliard and Rome Road being 2.0 plus acres located in the southeast corner of Hilliard and Rome Road and Fedner Road from C4 Commercial District to CPD Commercial Plan Development District. The site consists of two parcels. One developed at the fuel sales facility and one developed at the commercial building. Request of rezoning will allow the site to be developed with a new fuel sales facility across both lots. The role is approved by the City Staff Development Commission and the Far West Area Commission. I move for passage.

I'd like to please call the roll. Bankston, Borosa de Padilla, de Alcara, Dorans, Green, Remy, Ross, White, President Hardin.

Pass. Thank you. Next, we have the Council of Variances. We have Ordinance Number 1924-2026 of Grand Invariance Provisions, Section 3356.03, C4, Primitive Uses. 3361.02 permitted use of the Columbus City Council property located at 1258 Oak Street to allow ground for residential use in the CPD commercial plant development district. This is a concurrent variance to the rezoning we just considered this evening for proposed mixed-use development containing up to 26 apartments and 600 feet of eating and drinking establishment. The request to count the variance will allow ground for residential uses, which is not allowed in the current zoning district. Approval has approved from the city staff and the Near East Area Commission. I first move to accept the entire staff report into evidence as an exhibit. Clerk, please call the roll.

Bankston, Barroso, De Padilla, De Acara, Dorans, Green, Remy, Ross, Weitsch, President Hardin.

Accepted. Thank you. I just move to adopt the finance staff, the finance counsel. Second. Clerk, please call the roll.

Bankston, Barroso, De Padilla, De Acara, Dorans, Green, Remy, Ross, Weitsch, President Hardin.

Adopted. Thank you. Finally move for passage. Second. Clerk, please call the roll.

Bankston, Barroso, De Padilla, De Alcarra, Dorrance, Green, Remy, Ross, White, President Hardin.

Pass. Thank you. Next, we have Ordinance 1928-2026, the Grand Appearance Revision Section 34E20100A, uses 34E20.030C1, general requirements in 34E20090C, building placement, 34E20090D, building line, From 34E20090F, facade transparency, 34E20090G, parking, on-site parking in 34G.20.030, landscaping screen in the Columbus, Dakota. It's properly located at 3579 South High Street to Highway Self. Storage facility with reduced development standards in the RAC Regional Activity Center District. This site consists of one parcel developed at vacant big box retail store and the requested council variance will allow the existing building to be converted into a self-storage facility and also allow two single-story self-storage buildings adjacent to an out parcel on South High Street. Council variance is required because the current zoning district does not allow storage uses, including self-storage facilities. An amendment has been submitted to the clerk regarding the revised site map to include a flagpole section of an adjacent parcel, which allows access to South High Street. Proposal is approved by the city staff and the Far South Columbus Area Commission. I first move to accept the entire staff report and the evidence as an exhibit. Clerk, please call the roll.

Bankston, Barroso, de Padilla, de Alcázar, Dorans, Green, Remy, Ross, Weitsch, President Hardin.

Accepted. Thank you. Our next move is to adopt the finance staff as the finance counsel. Clerk, please call the roll.

Bankston, Barroso, de Padilla, de Alcázar, Dorans, Green, Remy, Ross, Weitsch, President Hardin. Adopted.

Thank you. I move to amend and submit to the clerk. Clerk, please call the roll.

Bankston, Barroso, de Padilla, de Alcázar, Dorans, Green, Remy, Ross, Weitsch, President Hardin.

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

Bankston, Barroso, De Padilla, De O'Connor, Dorrance, Green, Remy, Ross, Weitsch, President Hardin. Passed.

And finally, we have Ordinance 1929-2026, a grant of variance provision, Section 3356.03, C4 Commercials, District 3332.039, R4 Residential, District 3312.03D, Administrative Requirements 3312.21, ABD landscaping and screening 3312.25 maneuvering 3312.27 parking setback line in 3312.49 C required parking in 3321.05 to vision clearance 3321.09 B screening 3332.11 screening the mechanical systems 3332.25 required side yard. 3333.27 in Breer Yard and 3356.11 C4 District Setback Line for the property located at 887 North Nelson Road to allow single and multi-unit residential development in a non-accessory parking lot with reduced development standards in the C4 Commercial District and R4 Residential District, respectively. The site consists of 13 undeveloped parcels, and I request the Council of Governors to allow the site to be developed with a mix of attached and detached single-unit dwellings and a 25-unit apartment building and a non-accessory parking lot across the street. Requested council variances to administrative requirements, landscaping, screening, maneuvering, parking setback lines, required parking, vision clearance, screening mechanical systems, and building setback. Approvals from city staff and the North Central Area Commission. I first move to accept the entire staff report and do evidence as an exhibit. Clerk, please call the roll.

Bankston, Burroughs, De Padilla, De O'Connor, Doris, Green, Remy, Ross, White, President Hardin.

Accepted. Next move to adopt the final staff of the finance council. Clerk, please call the roll.

Bankston, Barossa, de Padilla, de Alcarra, Dorans, Green, Remy, Ross, Weitz, President Hardin.

I'll move the passage. Clerk, please call the roll.

Bankston, Barossa, de Padilla, de Alcarra, Dorans, Green, Remy, Ross, Weitz, President Hardin.

Passed. And, Council President, all we have today is only agenda. Is there a motion to adjourn? Move. Clerk, please call the roll.

Bankston, Barossa, de Padilla, de Alcarra, Dorans, Green, Remy, Ross, Weitz, President Hardin.

Meeting is adjourned. We'll reconvene in 15 minutes.

? ? ? Thank you. Bye.

Thank you.

Thank you. ¶¶ Bye. ? ? ? ? ? ? ¶¶

Chris did. Yes. Clerk, please call the roll.

Reconvene meeting number 33.

Meeting is reconvened. We'll now go to the Health and Human Services and Equity Committee. That committee is chaired by Council Member Green. Council Member, the floor is yours.

Thank you so much, Council President. Tonight in our Health, Human Services, and Equity Committee, we have three ordinances, one second reading. And as I introduce this first ordinance, I'd like to invite Christy Hayes from Make a Day, our last soldier standing back there. Thank you so much for hanging in with us, Christy. to the podium to speak when an introduced ordinance 1952-2026 to authorize the city clerk to enter into an advanced payment grant agreement with the 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 an expenditure of $125,000 within the neighborhood initiative sub fund. You know, here at City Council and tonight, especially in this long zoning meeting we just had, we talk about the housing crisis a lot. And I think that this body and our city as a whole have really planted a flag to make it clear that one of our absolute top priorities is addressing this current housing crisis. And we know the solution to that problem. It's to build more housing at every income level. Unfortunately, here locally, we face a severe shortage of deeply affordable housing, especially for those households with no or very low income, with only 27 units available for every 100 families that need them. Our shelter systems currently operating above capacity, an average length of stay stretching 90 days or more. leaving those experiencing new and emerging housing housing crises with nowhere to go. So together, these realities contributed to a 43% increase in unsheltered homelessness just in the last year alone. That's hundreds more families, um, that don't have a roof over their head. Don't have a place to sleep at night that, uh, did a year ago. And so while these recent dramatic increases are not ones that we accept, We, and we are going to work tirelessly and urgently and intentionally to reverse course on these trends. They are in fact our current reality. And so you know, while we frequently talk about this issue simply as a housing crisis for those neighbors that are also caught in that log jam with nowhere else to go it's also becoming a public health crisis. And until enough housing exists, we must pursue a dual strategy, aggressively expanding housing while also addressing the immediate public health and safety needs of both our neighbors who are currently without a home or who might be living outside, as well as the broader community that's impacted by these challenges equally. Growing national consensus and evidence-based best practices have affirmed that communities like ours can achieve better public health and housing outcomes when those communities pair long-term investments in affordable housing like the ones we're making through our affordable housing bond dollars, zone in, and other big picture strategies. When we pair those long-term affordable housing investments with evidence-based, person-centered public health approaches, that support the immediate health and safety needs of our neighbors experiencing unsheltered homelessness and the broader community in the immediate term. It improves health and well-being. It allows our neighbors experiencing housing crises to stay better linked to health and other social safety supports. And we achieve better outcomes with successfully connecting those in need to long-term, stable, supported living. So this legislation takes those best practices into consideration through three practical steps to put those principles into action. First, the largest, most substantial piece of this package will dedicate $100,000 to partner with our current outreach organizations, Make a Day being one of those, under the direction and supervision of the Columbus Coalition for the Homeless to establish pilot programs on the south side and the west side that will provide regular trash collection at known encampments throughout those communities. This service will help address one of the most frequent concerns that we hear both from traditionally housed and unhoused residents alike, concerns about sanitation, environmental hazards associated with encampments. And truthfully, I think all of us could agree that if the trash stopped coming at a regular cadence to all of our homes in all of our neighborhoods, I imagine that sanitation would probably quickly devolve. in any community. And so these are the challenges that our neighbors that are without a home are having to try to navigate every single day. So with this pilot program, we'll provide these essential health and safety supports to proactively address these concerns and support our neighbors rather than waiting until it's become hazardous for sheltered and unsheltered neighbors alike. Second, it dedicates $10,000 to fund the construction of a mobile shower unit with our partner, Tent City Showers, so that we can bring critical hygiene services directly to our unsheltered neighbors. Access to hygiene shouldn't be a luxury. It should be a right. And it's fundamental to all of our health, wellness, and dignity. And from a practical perspective, access to fresh water, hygiene, showers, haircuts, clean clothes is also so critical in helping folks who are on their journey towards stability by ensuring that they have access to the basic essentials that all of us need to achieve and maintain employment and reduce our barriers to both economic and housing stability. And finally, the last and third piece of this legislative package dedicates $15,000 to establish two secure storage hubs so that our neighbors experiencing homelessness have a safe place to keep their documents and belongings that are so essential in helping them rebuild their lives, things like birth certificates, marriage certificates, identification cards, medical records, family photographs, things that make it possible to apply for housing, obtain employment, access benefits, or simply to hold on to the memories of the people you love. These proposed initiatives, I just want to be very clear, they're not novel. This isn't new. They reflect a growing national consensus that communities can achieve better public health and housing outcomes when they pair investments in housing with these types of public health strategies together. It's also work that supports our current efforts around investments in housing and expanded outreach and supporting the community shelter board integrates really nicely with our clean and safe corridors initiatives that also are along those same Regions will be hosting these pilot projects and builds on smaller pilots that we've done here in this in the city in the past You know I think importantly to to note the last thing I'll say about this because I know this is long meeting Is that you know? This work is good for the people that are experiencing these hardships, but it's also just good governance. These types of interventions improve neighborhood conditions for everyone. Access to hygiene for everyone helps prevent illness. Protecting someone's IDs and legal documents makes it easier, not harder, for them to access housing and other types of services instead of having to start over from scratch if something gets lost, stolen, or destroyed. These investments don't just reduce harm. They help our entire system work better. And so I want to be very clear that this legislation is not about accepting homelessness as inevitable. It's about refusing to abandon people and our communities while we likewise work as aggressively as we can to end it. Public health, public safety, stability, our ability to weather storms and hardships are all strengthened, not weakened. when every resident has access to the most basic necessities. So at this point in time, I'd love to turn it over to one of our partners who has been engaged in helping us plan and design this work, Chrissy Hayes from Make a Day. The key part of this that she will be managing and overseeing is the waste collection on the south side of Columbus. This is mirroring a pilot with another one of our partners who was here tonight but had to leave. that was done really successfully on the west side of Columbus back in 2023. And so we'll be learning from that initial pilot, expanding it to the south side. And I know that Jennifer at Jordan's Crossing on the west side and Christy are going to be working together to make sure that we're modeling this similarly in both communities and building on strengths and evolving. So Christy, with that, I'll turn it over to you.

Thank you, Council Member. Good evening, Council. I am Chrissy Hayes, Executive Director at Make a Day, a mobile outreach and housing navigation organization here, and also a member of the Columbus Coalition for the Homeless. I had Jennifer from Jordan's Crossing and Al from Tent City Showers with me, and I know they both wish they could have stayed, but we will honor them with other words. We are all here in support of Ordinance 1952-2026. Close to 700 of our neighbors currently live outside in Columbus right now. Getting someone into housing treatment and other supportive environments takes time, often months to years. I literally met a family last June who I saw again today for the first time and they're still unhoused and dad has three kids. So like that's a real thing that happened today. In the meantime, they're living outside without trash pickup, safe storage or access to a shower. Waste accumulates, belongings get scattered, including critical documents that they need to attain housing and employment. Those conditions are hard on the people that are living in them, they're hard on the neighbors and the businesses nearby, and they're hard on our city systems that respond to the results. This investment that we're talking about doesn't wait for housing to solve that problem and addresses the conditions that we're experiencing right now. The designated resources will fund trash removal, add encampments on the city's west and south sides, save storage for people to be able to keep their belongings, and hygiene access through showers. Cleaner, better maintained encampment sites are better for the people living in them. They're better for the neighborhoods around them. And when people have access to hygiene, safe storage, and maintained sites, they will rely less on emergency rooms, first responders, and city cleanup crews. The investment has the potential to reduce pressure on those systems while keeping people more stable and connected to services as they navigate towards housing. The organizations that are carrying out this work are not new to these communities. They're not new to working with the folks that we're speaking about. They are coalition member organizations, including myself. I'd make a day in Jordan's Crossing in tent city showers who already have trusted relationships with the people that this investment will reach. That means cleaner sites and the people and support systems already in place to help them move towards stability. We've designed this program to track outcomes and demonstrate that the investment produces results. This is just a starting point. We recognize that, and we are committed to building on that. The people living outside in Columbus's west and south sides are our neighbors, so are the residents and businesses around them. All of us deserve to have cleaner, safer environments. We need trash pickups. a place to store belongings and access to a shower, which is the same basic conditions all of our Columbus residents deserve. So we appreciate the opportunity for this investment and thank you.

It's like my first day on the job. um yeah I think I think you know one thing that has been um sticking with me is a conversation that I had with um a person who was experiencing housing crisis and had you know absolutely nowhere to go the you know shelters had a 300 person waiting list it just was not working with them um and something that she said to me was about how literally how she does not feel like we see her as a neighbor. Those are her exact words, what you just said there, how she feels like she just thinks that her city wants her to go away. And, you know, my hope is with this initiative that, you know, number one, she knows that the city does care. We're a city that cares about people. Caring about people means investing in things. And, you know, that every person needs. And number two, that, you know, I think this legislation is responsive to needs across the spectrum. You know, concerns raised by business owners about, you know, some of our commercial corridors. And, you know, I think that, you know, caring for people's basic needs and, you know, supporting broader community, those two things are not in conflict with each other. They support one another really well. And so we'll be looking forward to working with you as we continue to sort of like finalize the details of how this model is going to operate in both of the communities and get to work here in the next couple of months or so.

Do any of my colleagues have comments or questions for Christy? I just want to say thank you for your work and thank you, Councilmember. I think every member of our community deserves dignity and respect, especially when they're going through some of the hardest challenges in their life. And, you know, I think that for whatever the circumstances are that brought someone to this place, they deserve that. And so I appreciate this approach. I appreciate this approach in caring for people and being intentional about showing them that dignity, especially as they work on the longer-term solution of taking care of themselves and the people that they care about, especially, I think, when we talk about families that have children and other folks who are not in control and don't control their situations and ensuring that they get the things that they need as well. So thank you both, and thank you, Councilmember, for bringing this forward.

Thank you, Councilmember. I appreciate the work on this, particularly when you talk about trash collection and encampment. I've spent my entire career working on cleaner Columbus and making sure that our streets are clean. And so this is obviously very complementary to that and making sure that we keep every neighborhood clean, including the encampment. So I appreciate your work on this. Thanks.

This is not necessarily a question for you, Emily, but also just thank you, Chair. I think we are in an environment where creative and different ideas and solutions are needed, particularly in the housing space. And I think you hit the nail on the head when you said, as we work toward housing, which is the solution to homelessness, we also have to grapple with the dignity of how folks are treated in the right now. And I think part of that and what I will encourage you and all of the partners who are connected to this work to do is to ensure that you're working together particularly with the coordinated response that we have in place already. I think it is important that as you engage with new folks who may not already be engaged with the homeless system, that we get them connected to the homelessness outreach system and that we are always looking toward taking that person one step further toward housing, which is the ultimate goal. So what I would ask, and I think you've already committed to doing, and that was part of my support of this ordinance is ensuring that we are sitting at the table with all stakeholders, including the Department of Development, including CSB, including all of those who are part of that coordinated response to ensure that whatever information we are collecting, whoever we are engaging with, we are still making sure that our ultimate goal is to get them further toward housing. Thank you for being willing to do this work. I know that it is thankless work. I know that oftentimes folks are not happy when they are engaging with you, and so I appreciate the effort and the creativity that went into thinking about creative solutions toward harm mitigation for our neighbors who are unhoused and would certainly encourage that continued coordination as we move forward.

Okay, well... Thank you so much again for hanging in here with us. Seeing no further comments or questions, I move for passage.

Amend.

Oh, I'm sorry. Yes, let me get to my notes. My bad, my bad. It's a little late. Okay, seeing none, I move to amend as submitted to the clerk.

Second. Clerk, please call the roll. Bankston, Barroso, de Padilla, de Acara, Dorans, Green, Remy, Ross, White, President Hardin.

Amend it.

Thank you. And now I move for passage as amended. Thank you so much.

Our second ordinance tonight is Ordinance 1536-2026 to authorize the Board of Health to accept a grant from the Ohio Department of Health for the Women, Infants, and Children, or WIC program in the amount of $7,409,412 in any additional funds to authorize the appropriation of $7,409,412 from the unappropriated balance of the Health Department Grants Fund to authorize the City Auditor to transfer appropriations between job classes. Franklin County WIC safeguards the health of approximately 26,000 low-income, pregnant, postpartum, and breastfeeding women, infants, and children up to age 5 who are at nutritional risk by providing nutritious foods, healthy eating information, and health care referrals. Franklin County WIC serves clients through clinics operated by Columbus Public Health and Nationwide Children's Hospital, which offer both scheduled and walk-in appointments Monday through Friday, including evening hours, and are located in high-risk neighborhoods, community hubs, and primary care facilities. Are there any questions or comments from my colleagues? Seeing none, I move for passage.

Bankston, Burroughs, De Padilla, De Ock, Howard, Dorrance, Green, Remy, Ross, Weitz, President Hardin. Passed.

Wonderful. And our last ordinance tonight is Ordinance 1938-2026 to authorize the Executive Director of the Office of Celebrate One to transfer cash and appropriations of $193,550. $69.54 within the Ohio Department of Medicaid Enhanced Maternal Health Program to transfer the appropriation of $12,590.32 from within the Ohio Department of Medicaid Enhanced Maternal Health Program to reallocate $145,506.97 within the Ohio Department of Medicaid Enhanced Maternal Health Program grant within the government grant fund to authorize not-for-profit contract with the new sub-grantee action for children for the Enhanced Maternal Health Program in Clemson Central Ohio to and expenditure of up to $145,506.87 from the Government Grant Fund and to declare an emergency. The Ohio Department of Medicaid has awarded this grant to the Office of Celebrate One to coordinate the Enhanced Maternal Health Program in Franklin County. Celebrate One has been designated as the primary grantee organization and administer for this grant here across the entire county. The original ordinance, Ordinance 1723-2022, established 12 contracts with community partners and the extensions added two additional partnerships for a total of 14 subgrantees. At the end, there was a remainder of funds that ODM has approved to be reallocated to the Action for Children organization to provide infant and maternal health programs. Emergency action is requested at this time in order to meet grant deliverable deadlines and provide time sensitive infant maternal mental health services to pregnant and parenting families within Columbus. Are there any questions or comments from my colleagues? Seeing none, I move for passage.

Clerk, please call the roll. Vangston, Borosa, Diode, Alcar, Doris, Green, Remy, Ross, Weitz, President Hardin.

Passed.

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

Thank you, Madam Chair. We're going to continue to go out of order, and I'm going to throw it to the Housing Chair. I know we have some special guests in the audience. I want to make sure that we respect their being here. So the next committee to come before Council is the Housing Committee, chaired by Councilman Ross. Councilman, the floor is yours.

Thank you, Council President Hardin. We have five pieces of legislation coming on second reading out of the Housing, Homelessness, and Building Committee. The first is... Ordinance number 1696-2026 to authorize the director of development to enter into a grant agreement with My Brother's Keeper in an amount up to $3 million for My Brother's Keeper to act as a pass-through entity with Mount Hermon Senior Phase I LLC in support of the development of 54 units of new affordable apartment homes with Mount Hermon Senior Phase I project to authorize the appropriation of funds within the income set-aside sub-fund and the affordable housing bond fund. to authorize the transfer of cash between the income tax set aside sub-fund and the affordable housing bond fund, to authorize the expenditure in an amount up to $3 million within the affordable housing bond fund, and to declare an emergency. This project... which is set to conclude construction in the fall of 2027, will provide 54 residential rental units in a single three-story elevator building with a mix of one to two-bedroom style units. All units will be set aside as low-income housing tax credit units, including six fully accessible units. Thirteen of the units will be for those at or below 30% adjusted median income. Twenty-seven units will be for those at or below the 50% adjusted median income level, and 14 units will be at or below the 60% adjusted median income level. The units will range from 700 square feet to 900 square feet with an in-unit washer and dryer set, Energy Star appliances wired with broadband infrastructure for digital accessibility. My Brother's Keeper, a nonprofit supportive services provider, will be the minority general partner in the development and will also provide on-site services for senior residents that will include but are not limited to assistance with daily living needs, including housekeeping, meals and transportation, financial literacy, job search, job training, and placement assistance. Other services that are included will be the monitoring of life safety alarms, health, nutrition, and wellness support. I would like to take a moment to recognize the visionary behind this project, Bishop Donald J. Washington, pastor emeritus of the Mount Hermon Missionary Baptist Church, who is present here with us today. and say thank you for your leadership in ensuring that we are supporting one of the most vulnerable sectors of our demographic here in the city of Columbus. As we know, seniors are the fastest growing demographic into homelessness and to have housing support for our seniors is critical. in meeting the healthy housing continuum in which we seek to meet in our community. So thank you to the great Bishop. I appreciate you for your visionary leadership here, and I will pass it to any of my colleagues that have further comment or questions with regard to this legislation before moving for passage. Councilmember Bankston also would like to thank you for your wonderful visionary leadership. He would also like to say that if it was not almost 11 p.m., he would have so much more to say with regard to how much he loves and appreciates your service to this community. Thank you also to Larry Price, who is here with us today in support of this legislation. If there are no further questions or comments from my colleagues, I will move for passage.

Thank you.

Next is ordinance number 1812-2026 to authorize the Director of Development to enter into a grant agreement with Seton South Columbus Incorporated in an amount up to $1 million of a $3 million commitment for Seton South Columbus Incorporated to act as a pass-through entity with Seton Square South and West Limited Partnership IN SUPPORT OF THE RENOVATION OF 108 UNITS OF AFFORDABLE APARTMENT HOMES WITH THE SEAT IN SQUARE SOUTH AND WEST PROJECT TO AUTHORIZE THE AMENDMENT TO THE 2025 CAPITAL IMPROVEMENT BUDGET TO AUTHORIZE THE APPROPRIATION OF FUNDS WITHIN THE INCOME SET ASIDE SUBFUND AND AFFORDABLE HOUSING BOND FUND TO AUTHORIZE THE TRANSFER OF CASH BETWEEN THE INCOME TAX SET ASIDE SUBFUND AND THE AFFORDABLE HOUSING BOND FUND TO AUTHORIZE THE EXPENDITURE IN AN AMOUNT UP TO ONE MILLION WITHIN THE AFFORDABLE HOUSING BOND FUND AND TO DECLARE AN EMERGENCY. This ordinance is for the second portion of the commitment of this project that is a small residential neighborhood in Northeast Columbus defined by its triangular shape formed by rail lines Fifth Avenue and I-670. This is a growing residential community where Habitat is actively investing in high quality affordable housing. My apologies, that is a different project. The Seton project is a multi-family affordable housing renovation project that is aimed at revitalizing the community through substantial rehabilitation while maintaining affordability for its residents. This project is 100% project rental assistant contract subsidized, ensuring that the housing remains accessible to low-income individuals and families. OK. It looks like I actually have a speaker who is here to speak in support of ordinance number 1696-2026. So I apologize, I'm gonna stop and go back to the previous ordinance and ask Mr. Nathaniel Wilkins to come up to the stand. Welcome back to council, Mr. Nathaniel Wilkins, and my apology for overlooking. And thank you.

16 12 I'm not gonna take all your time here. Um, I just need some backlog records of this How long is this the first time that my brother's keeper has doing something like this for the very first time? I like to Really scale this as a more bigger problem since we have a howling housing shortage. Okay, I To my knowledge, this don't indicate for the multidisability visually impaired population. Even though we have a housing shortage here, there's a lot of times you'll talk about housing, but we still leaving out the entity of vacant property that's not idolized or not being paid in time. I'm not going to take any more of your time here, but I want to get going on the process I have here. 1457 Arlington Avenue is an old piece of property. There's 10 houses down from my block. And with my brother's keeper doing something as a great opportunity for the elderly population, but that doesn't give any indication for the disability, visually impaired, and blind folks. So again, I would like to see up to $975,000 for this. And again, I will yield my time to a later time, but I do want to thank you for keeping me at this long time. Senator Hardin, I just want to thank you for your time, but I have to get going. Thank you.

Thank you, Mr. Wilkins. All right. I'm going to start over. I'm going to read this ordinance again. It is Ordinance Number 1812-2026 to authorize the Director of Department of Development to enter into a grant agreement with Seton and South Columbus Incorporated in an amount up to $1 million of a $3 million commitment for Seton South Columbus Incorporated to act as a pass-through entity with Seton Square South and West Limited Partnership in support of the renovation of 108 units of affordable apartment homes. I'm going to go back. within the seat in Square South and West project to authorize the amendment of the 2025 capital improvement budget to authorize the appropriation of funds within the income set aside sub fund and the affordable housing bond fund to authorize the transfer of cash between the income tax set aside sub fund and the affordable housing bond fund to authorize the expenditure in an amount up to $3 million with the affordable housing bond fund and to declare an emergency. This ordinance is for the second portion of the commitment of this project that is a small residential neighborhood aimed at revitalizing communities through substantial rehabilitation while maintaining affordability for its residents. The project is 100% project rental assistant contract subsidized, ensuring that the housing remains accessible to low-income individuals and families. The renovation is substantial in scope and will focus on enhancing both the interior and exterior of the properties to improve the quality of life for residents. Renovation will substantially improve the living conditions for residents while preserving the affordability Renovations include but are not limited to updating critical systems, enhancing interior spaces, and improving exterior amenities. Project aims to create a safer, more comfortable, and more vibrant community for current and future residents. Any questions or comments from my colleagues? Seeing none, I'll move for passage.

Please call the roll.

Next is ordinance number 1897. Is that an 18? I can't see.

1697-2026 to authorize the director of the Department of Development to enter into a grant agreement with Habitat for Humanity Mid-Ohio in an amount up to $1 million for the development of a 14-unit affordable housing development for the final commitment to the Devins Triangle project for a total of $2 million to authorize the amendment to the 2025 capital improvement budget to authorize the appropriation of funds within the income set aside sub fund and the affordable housing bond fund to authorize the transfer of cash between the income tax set aside sub fund and the affordable housing bond fund to authorize the transfer of funds between projects within the affordable housing bond fund to authorize the expenditure in an amount up to $1 million within the affordable housing bond fund and to declare an emergency This ordinance is for the second portion of the commitment of this project that is a small residential neighborhood in Northeast Columbus defined by its triangular shape formed by rail lines Fifth Avenue and I-670. This is a growing residential community where Habitat is actively investing in high quality affordable home ownership opportunities by developing its first multi-family project. Multi-dwelling units in Devon's Triangle neighborhood will address the need for affordable housing in the city of Columbus for low to moderate income families that are at or below 120% of the area median income limits set by HUD. Are there any questions or comments from our colleagues? Seeing none, I move for passage.

Bankston, Barroso, de Padilla, de Alcara, Doris Green, Remy, Ross, Weitz, President Hardin.

Next is ordinance number 1899-2026 to authorize the director of the Department of Development to enter into a plan modification of a grant agreement with the Tony R. Wells Foundation, increase funding in an amount up to $2,835,000, and to continue to act as fiscal manager for the RHI Resilient Housing Initiative Program in providing financial assistance to eligible residents facing eviction, homelessness, and helping them find new housing to authorize the expenditure in an amount up to $2,835,000 to authorize the modification of the scope of service in an amount up to $10,000 to allow fuel-only cards to be issued to participants to authorize the appropriation and expenditure in an amount up to $10,000 within the Neighborhood Economic Development Fund to authorize the advancement of funding on a predetermined schedule and to declare an emergency. Any questions or comments from my colleagues? Seeing none, I move for passage.

Bankston, Perosa de Padilla de O'Connor, Dorrance Green, Remy Ross-Weich, President Hardin.

Next, we have Ordinance Number 1904-2026 to require the Director of the Department of Development to provide and adhere to a transparent process on an annual basis for the allocation of affordable housing bond dollars, including an overview of the forthcoming year's goals for the affordable housing bonds, the details of a fair, transparent, competitive process for allocation of funds, participation on an annual basis, in an annual public hearing on the affordable housing bonds and an annual publication reporting on the allocation in the prior year. I'm going to pass it to Council President Hardin for comment.

Sure. Thank you, Madam Chair. This legislation is part of a process Council has been undergoing over the past year and a half to bring more transparency around our housing initiatives. In 2025, when Columbus updated the community reinvestment area policy, In housing incentive program, we included a requirement for a public-facing website showing where those incentives are being used and the outcomes that they are helping to achieve. I'm pleased and appreciative the Department of Development is now moving forward with that website. Last November, Columbus voters made a historic investment in the future of our city by approving this bond package. It represents one of the largest commitments to affordable housing in our city's history. With an investment of this magnitude comes a responsibility, not only to spend these dollars wisely, but to ensure that the public can clearly see how they're being used and invested to make the noted change. Earlier this year, the Housing, Homelessness, and Building Committee held a public hearing and conducted a community survey to hear directly from residents, housing providers, advocates, and other stakeholders. The message was clear and consistent. People support this investment but also want a stronger public process. They want regular updates, accessible information about where these dollars are going. and opportunities to stay engaged as the work continues. This legislation is a direct response to that feedback. So tonight, council is voting on legislation that strengthens transparency and public accountability for Columbus's $500 million affordable housing bond. It establishes regular public reporting process, so council and the public receive updates on bond-funded projects, expenditures, and the progress we're making toward expanding housing affordability. Transparency isn't a barrier to building housing. It builds public trust. It strengthens accountability and ultimately helps ensure that these dollars have the greatest possible impact. I thank you, Chair, for your partnership on this and look forward to working with the department as we continue to move forward in our shared goal of building more affordable housing in the transparent way in our city.

Thank you, President Hardin. Are there any questions or comments from my colleagues? Seeing none, move for passage.

Clerk, please call the roll.

Bankston, Borosso, De Padilla, De O'Connor, Dorrance, Green, Remy, Ross, White, President Hardin. Passed.

Awesome. That is it for me, Council President. Thank you. Do I have a move? Oh, right. I'm sorry. Council President, may I move to page 15?

Yes, ma'am. No.

All right. We have lastly, for real this time, Ordinance Number 0813-2026 to authorize the Director of the Department of Public Utilities to modify and increase the contract with BBCO Design LLC for the Space Planning Study Project to appropriate funds in the Department of Development Operating Fund to authorize an expenditure of up to $754,633 from the Sanitary Operating Fund and the Department of Development Operating Fund to pay for the contract modification. Any questions or concerns from my colleagues? All right. Seeing none, I will move to amend as submitted. Second.

Clerk, please call the roll. Bankston, Barrosa, de Padilla, de Alcarra, Dorrance, Green, Remy, Ross, Wright, President Hardin. Amended.

Thank you. I move to pass as amended. Second.

Clerk, please call the roll. Bankston, Barroso, De Padilla, De Ock, Howard, Dorrance, Green, Remy, Ross, White, President Hardin. Pass.

Thank you. That is it for my committee.

Thank you, Madam Chair. We're going to attempt to go back in order now. So the next committee to come for council is the Finance and Governance Committee, chaired by Council Member.

Thank you, Council President. First in the Finance and Governance Committee, for second read, we have Resolution 0128X-2026 to adopt 2027 tax budget and authorize and direct the city auditor to submit said budget to the county and to declare an emergency as mentioned last week 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 as in years past during the second reading of this piece of legislation tonight council will conduct a public hearing this evening with the presentation given by our city auditor jackie lewis so at this time i will turn the floor over to auditor lewis

Thank you, Council President Hardin and members of council. I'm here before you this evening with very brief remarks concerning the 2027 tax budget. As you know, the tax budget process is an annual function provided for by Ohio Revised Code Chapter 5705. Pursuant to that chapter, the city auditor is required to prepare a tax budget, which council must approve by resolution to establish the city's estimate of resources for the upcoming fiscal year. Upon your approval, my office will submit the tax budget to the County Budget Commission on or before July 20th as statutorily required. The County Budget Commission will then review the tax budget and must provide its approval to the City along with the certified tax rate and expected property tax revenue by September 1st. Council will then be required to adopt a second resolution accepting the rate and amount by October 1st. In conclusion, as Councilmember Bankston just stated this is a statutorily required process that informs the city's upcoming operating budget cycle. With that, I respectfully ask for council's approval of the 2027 tax budget.

Thank you, Auditor Lewis. Are there any questions or comments for the auditor? Seeing none, I move for adoption.

Bankston, Barroso, de Padilla, de Alcala, Dorns, Green, Remy, Ross, Weitsch, President Hardin. Adopt.

Next, we have Ordinance 1127-2026 to authorize the City Auditor to make payment to the Water Works LLC for services rendered prior to execution of a purchase order in an amount not to exceed $49,307.49 to authorize the Finance and Management Department to enter into a contract with the Water Works LLC to allow for the reimbursement of four expenses incurred during the City's UTC lapse period starting March 1, 2026. to authorize the expenditure from the general fund to waive the competitive bidding provisions of Columbus City Codes and to declare an emergency. The Facilities Management Division in our Department of Finance manages over 89 city-owned facilities with over 4 million square feet of space. The Division is responsible for the repair, maintenance, cleaning, and upkeep of these facilities. The Water Works LLC provided plumbing services to the city pursuant to the terms of the city's then effective UTC for plumbing services after and after it expired, said UTC. This ordinance seeks to reimburse the Water Works LLC for expenses incurred during the UTC lapse period and enters into a new contract and a waiver of competitive being is necessary for the period when There was no universal term contract available. Are there any questions or comments from my colleagues? Seeing none, I move for passage.

Second. Please call the roll. Bankston, Barossa, De Padilla, De Ockhar, Dorrance, Green, Remy, Ross, Weitz, President Hardin.

Next, we have Ordinance 1618-2026 to authorize the Director of the Department of Technology on behalf of the City Attorney's Office and the Department of the Inspector General to enter a contract with Matrix Point Software, LLC, for software maintenance and support services with the option to renew for five additional one-year terms to waive the competitive bidding provisions of Columbus City Code and to authorize an expenditure from the Department of Technology Information Services Operating Fund. This legislation reflects a sound and fiscally responsible approach to maintaining critical software infrastructure. By continuing our existing relationship with Matrix Point Software LLC, the city avoids substantial costs and operational disruptions associated with onboarding a new software platform. Given the established working relationship with this contractor and the value of continuity and service delivery, it is in the city's best interest to proceed with the ordinance through a competitive bidding waiver. Are there any questions or comments from my colleagues? Seeing none, I move for passage.

Clerk, please call the roll. Bankston, Borosa, de Padilla, de Alcarra, Dorrance, Green, Remy, Ross, Weitz, President Hardin.

Pass. Thank you. Next, we have Ordinance 1986-2026 to authorize the issuance of unlimited tax bonds in an amount not to exceed $173,760,000 for health, safety, and infrastructure-related projects to authorize the appropriation and expenditure of $4 million from the Debt Retirement Fund for cost of issuance and to declare an emergency. This ordinance, along with the following eight companion ordinances, grant authority for the City to issue bonds in connection with the 2025 Capital Improvement Budget. This ordinance also includes funding for the cost of issuance for ordinances 1986-2026 through 1996-2026. In total, these nine bond sale ordinances seek authority for the issuance of bonds not to exceed $514 million in municipal bonds. These bond issuances maximize infrastructure investments by the city and are paid by the 25% set aside from the city's income tax collections as well as from Columbus Water and Power Ratepayers Fund. All that being said, tonight I will be moving to refer all of these ordinances back to committee as we work with the administration and the city auditor to shore up a plan for the upcoming capital improvements budget. Are there any questions or comments from my colleagues? Seeing none, I'm sorry.

No, thank you, Chair. I appreciate your leadership and I appreciate you working with the administration and our auditor. After last week's hearing and ongoing conversations, I do think it's prudent for us to send these ordinances back to committee until we get more answers on our operating budget deficit and our capital budget plans. And to be clear, this does not reflect on the merits of any of the city's current capital priorities. There are a lot of important projects in the pike, and I believe that those will still move forward. But I think we consider the city's AAA credit rating to be our city's crown jewel. And it's something that we need to defend and maintain. The administration has said they're going to prepare a report in late July on the city's budget. I'm going to ask our staff to send a memo to the administration with specific questions that we want to make sure that that plan addresses. And I look forward to reviewing that plan. Council can then take up these ordinances when we return in August. And once we've had an opportunity, review it and see that plan go into effect. I did want to ask the auditor, is there anything you want to comment on? Specifically, can you comment on if postponing this legislation two months will negatively impact whatever kind of bond sale that you would plan to do this fall?

Thank you, Council President Hardin. No. In terms of the timing, When you go out to market for a bond sale, there's a schedule associated with the offering. And you basically just want to have your authorizing ordinances approved prior to your conversation with the rating agencies. Of course, you have to have the bond ordinances approved prior to the sale of the bonds. So we can work with our municipal advising firm, PFM, to come up with a schedule. Our initial plan was to price sometime in September. We can still do that. A rating agency conversation would have to be had sometime early September, late August. So I don't see a particular issue with waiting until sometime in August after recess for the ordinances to be approved. We can work with that schedule.

Thank you, Madam Auditor, and thank you for continuing to work with the Chair and with the administration as we work through these issues together. Thank you, Mr. Chair.

Thank you. Any other questions or comments from my colleagues? Seeing none, I move to refer this ordinance back to committee. Clerk, please call the roll.

Bankston, Barroso, De Padilla, De Acauer, Dorrance, Green, Remy, Ross, Weitz, President Hardin.

Refer back to committee. Next, we have Ordinance 1987-2026 to authorize the issuance of unlimited tax bonds in an amount not to exceed $45,955,000 for recreation and parks-related projects and to declare an emergency. We did have one speaker on this ordinance this evening, so I did just want the record to reflect that Mr. Montillo did sign up to speak in favor of this piece of legislation, but I know he is no longer with us. Are there any questions or comments from my colleagues? Seeing none, I move to refer this ordinance back to committee.

Second. Please call the roll. Bankston, Barroso, De Padilla, De Acara, Dorrance, Green, Remy, Ross, Weitz, President Hardin.

Thank you. Next, we have Ordinance 1988-2026 to authorize the issuance of unlimited tax bonds in an amount not to exceed $87,435,000 for public service related projects and to declare an emergency. Seeing no questions or comments from my colleagues, I move to refer this ordinance back to committee.

Click, please call the roll. Bankston, Barroso, De Padilla, De Alcar, Doris Green, Remy, Ross, Weitz, President Hardin. Refer back to committee.

Next, we have Ordinance 1989-2026 to authorize the issuance of unlimited tax bonds in an amount not to exceed $59,980,000 for neighborhood development-related projects and to declare an emergency. Seeing no questions or comments from my colleagues, I refer this ordinance back to committee.

Clerk, please call the roll.

Bankston, Barossa, De Padilla, De Alcala, Dorrance, Green, Remy, Ross, Weitz, President Hardin. Refer back to committee.

Next is Ordinance 1990-2026 to authorize the issuance of unlimited tax bonds in the amount not to exceed $98,315,000 for public utility-related projects and to declare an emergency. At this time, I move to refer this ordinance back to committee. Clerk, please call the roll.

Bankston, Barroso, de Padilla, de Alcázar, Dorrance, Green, Remy, Ross, Weitsch, President Hardin. For our back to committee.

Ordinance 1991-2026 to authorize the issuance of limited tax bonds in an amount not to exceed $11,260,000 for construction management-related projects and to declare an emergency. At this time, I move to refer this ordinance back to committee.

Clerk, just call the roll.

Bankston, Barroso, de Padilla, de Alcala, Dorrance, Green, Remy, Ross, Weitz, President Hardin.

Refer back to committee. Ordinance 1992-2026, to authorize the issuance of limited tax bonds in an amount not to exceed $5,800,000 for fleet management-related projects and to declare an emergency, I move to refer this ordinance back to committee.

Second.

Clerk, please call the roll.

Bankston, Barroso, de Padilla, de Ockhart, Dorrance, Green, Remy, Ross, Weitsch, President Hardin.

Refer back to committee. Next we have Ordinance 1993-2026 to authorize the issuance of limited tax bonds in an amount not to exceed $23,915,000 for economic and community development related projects and to declare an emergency. I move to refer this ordinance back to committee.

We refer back to, clerk please call the roll. Bankston, Barroso, De Padilla, De O'Connor, Dorrance, Green, Remy, Ross, Weitz, President Hardin.

Refer back to committee. Next, we have Ordinance 1994-2026 to authorize the issuance of limited tax bonds in the amount not to exceed $8,250,000. For information services related projects and to declare an emergency, I move to refer this ordinance back to committee. Please call the roll.

Next, we have Ordinance 1995-2026 to authorize the issuance of unlimited tax general obligation bonds in

one or more series in an amount not to exceed $682,395,000 for the purpose of providing funds to refund certain outstanding general obligation bonds of the city and to declare an emergency. This ordinance seeks authority to issue unlimited tax bonds in order to refund up to $682,395,000 in previously issued unlimited tax bonds From time to time, the city will seek a bond refunding to capitalize on favorable market conditions. By refunding previously issued municipal debt, the city can reduce interest costs and, in some cases, reduce the time to maturity. This does not represent new debt, but rather is a restructuring of existing debt to terms more favorable to the city. That said, similar to the previous ordinances, I will be moving this ordinance and the next ordinance back to committee for the same purpose. Are there any questions or comments from my colleagues? Seeing none, I move to refer this ordinance back to committee.

Please call the roll.

Next, we have Ordinance 1996-2026 to authorize the issuance of limited tax general obligation bonds in one or more series in an amount not to exceed $35,835,000 for the purpose of providing funds to refund certain outstanding general obligation bonds of the city and to declare an emergency. Similar to the previous ordinance, this ordinance seeks authority to issue limited tax bonds in order to refund $35,835,000 in previously issued limited tax bonds. Again, this does not represent new debt, but rather is a restructuring of existing debt to terms more favorable to the city. Seeing no questions or comments from my colleagues, I move to refer this ordinance back to committee. Clerk, please call the roll.

Bankston, Verosa, De Padilla, De Ock, Howard, Dorrance, Green, Remy, Ross, Weitz, President Hardin. Refer back to committee.

Thank you, Council President. May I move to the Economic Development Small Minority Business Committee? First up in the Economic Development Small Minority Business Committee, we have Ordinance 1173-2026 to authorize the Director of the Department of Development to enter into an Enterprise Zone Agreement with DuPont USA LLC for a tax abatement of 75% for a period of 10 years. consecutive years in consideration of the enterprise investing approximately $30 million, which includes $14 million in new construction, $15 million in machinery and equipment, and $500,000 in furniture and fixtures, and $500,000 in stand-alone computers. The creation of 60 net new full-time permanent positions with an estimated annual payroll of approximately $3,071,300 and the retention of 28 full-time jobs with an associated estimated annual payroll of approximately $1,987,742. Tonight we have really a package of economic development incentives and there will be seven for consideration. These incentives represent six projects across a variety of neighborhoods, developers and employers. These incentives range from proactive development on the east side and south sides to the expansion of the largest manufacturing facility in our region that has created generations of jobs, to an engineering firm in a downtown office steps away from City Hall. In total, these incentives secure a commitment to at least create 188 new jobs, but more importantly, to also retain 1,299 jobs here in the city. This also represents at least $10.7 million in new payroll and $99.4 million in retained payroll. These incentives also secure nearly $350 million in real property investment across the six projects. Director Stevens, I want to ask you just to speak broadly. I know we're going to maybe have questions of some of these as we go along. I know the hour is late, but if you could just talk about this package in general, the mix of tools that we have here, how we came to some of those assumptions, and then we will see if there's any questions or comments from my colleagues.

Good evening, President Hardin, Chair Bankston, members of council. We have used through these different ordinances pretty much all the economic development tools that we have in place to incentivize investment and job creation. It's a mixture of both property tax abatement through the enterprise zone program where we're abating 75% of the new value while the levy agencies will continue to receive the current property tax they have, as well as growth by 25% on the investment. We're also using our performance incentives, so the downtown office incentive, which is based on job creation and revenue created, as well as the job creation tax credit. All of these require some level of investment or job creation. Later on, you'll be asked to dispose of legislation with regards to revenue sharing with the school districts. So when we do our enterprise zone agreements, once we hit a million dollars in payroll, we share revenue with the school districts and that that revenue is not used against their or it's not factored into their school funding formula so that is extra dollars on the top all of these will go through our tax incentive review council to make sure the commitments that are made around investment and jobs are met and i'd be happy to answer any questions

uh thank you director actually you hit a lot of my questions around turk and i think a lot of the levers that we have in place to make sure that we're holding folks accountable you know one thing that sticks out to me and i think it's something we talk about often but i think sometimes folks don't hear me get to talk about is not just simply job creation but also retention it's not just simply about i think attracting new jobs of course we want that But it is about being competitive to ensure that we're not losing that strong income base. So can you talk a little bit about this particular package and how a lot of it is really focused on expansion of current existing businesses and also that retention number, not just the creation number?

Yeah, we have two pretty significant deals in this package that are really focus on retention. It's two globally, internationally owned companies and HICMA and I'm blanking on the other one, I apologize. All I know is they make ice cream cones. So two international global companies that can invest throughout the world and looked at other sites not only here in the United States but across the world and chose to invest here so to continue to maintain the jobs we have as well as add new jobs. Thank you for that.

Any questions or comments for Director Stevens at this point about this package? Okay. All right. We will not belabor the point and get straight to it. So again, with this ordinance, 1173-2026 specifically authorizes an enterprise zone agreement for DuPont USA. They plan to expand their manufacturing facility in the north central neighborhood, investing $30 million and creating at least 60 new jobs. The Columbus City School District is estimated to receive an additional $600 $44,690 over the term of the abatement. And again, just to clarify, they will continue to receive their current tax distribution through the abatement period as well. They will receive approximately $3,223,450 over a 20-year period as a result of the aforementioned project. So once that abatement, which is a time-stamped period, This property, because of that investment, will be rising value and will be beneficial to the district over time. All 60 new full-time positions are above the city's $20 an hour wage threshold with full benefits. And I do want to point out that is up for review this year and looking forward to that discussion. Any questions or comments from my colleagues? Seeing none, I move for passage by voice. Oh, no, sorry. I just moved for passage.

Bankston, Burroughs, Sudeik, Padilla, Day, Ock, Howard, Dorans, Green, Remy, Ross, Weitsch, President Hardin.

Thank you. Next, we have Ordinance 1174-2026 to authorize the Directorate Department of Development to enter into an Enterprise Zone Agreement with TCG Carina owner to LLC for a tax abatement of 75% for a period of 10 consecutive years. in consideration of the enterprise investing approximately 21 million in real property improvements and the creation of 23 net new full-time permanent positions with an estimated annual payroll of approximately $998,400. This ordinance authorizes an enterprise zone agreement in support of a project on the far east side. The developer proposes a $25 million investment in a proactive industrial development committing to creating at least 23 new jobs. It's important to point out here when we talk about proactive, that means that there's not a tenant that has been identified yet. Typically, when a tenant is identified, it definitely goes above and beyond that 23 job number. And whoever the tenant is that's selected will have to assume that job creation number as well as the minimum wage that goes with it. Gehenna Jefferson Public Schools are estimated to receive an additional $879,340 over the term of the abatement and approximately $4,396,681 over a 20-year period as a result of the aforementioned project. Eastland Fairfield Career and Tech Schools are estimated to receive an additional $36,690 over the term of the abatement and approximately $183,609 over a 20-year period because of that investment. All 23 jobs, again, are well above the $20-hour wage threshold with full benefits. Seeing no questions, Council President.

Thank you, Mr. Chair. And I will say that when we had our briefing on this package, one of the things that I'm looking forward to is the review period that we're coming into. I think one of the things that we talked about and I had a question about is could we look at especially for these proactive incentives, having the the number, the pay grow as in between the time in which we make the vote on it and we find a actual tenant to go in there. And so I just look forward to council being a part of that conversation. I think it's an important conversation as we see what that level of wage that works for our city to make such investment. These should be tough conversations about what makes sense. But I just appreciate your, Director, your willingness to have that conversation. And I don't know if you want to say anything that we're open to these parts. We're very articulate after 11 o'clock. Awesome.

Thank you, Council President. Clearly I have been too. You know, a couple years back, Council Member Ramey really pushed us to change the number of jobs we put in these proactive development deals to really reflect kind of a historical trend, more so than what the Ohio Rise Code asked for. Per our discussion, when we actually get a user in there, let's say it takes two years before a user goes in there and our minimum wage threshold has increased significantly, whatever number, we would make sure that in that time period that that company would fall under that new minimum wage and not come in under what the $20 level we're at now. So I'm just as inarticulate at 11 o'clock, but we're committed to that.

Thank you. Thank you. Any other questions or comments from my colleagues? Seeing none, I move to pass by voice.

Bankston? Yes. Barrosa de Padilla? Yes. De Acar? Yes. Dorans? Yes. Green? No. Remy? Yes. Ross? Yes. Weich? Yes. President Hardin? Yes. Ordinance is passed.

Thank you. Next, we have Ordinance 1304-2026 to authorize the Director of the Department of Development to enter into a community reinvestment area agreement with TCG OCP CPOZ owner, LLC, for a property tax abatement of 75% for a period of 15 consecutive years on real property improvements in consideration of the proposed total investment of approximately $60 million in real property improvements and the creation of 25 net new full-time permanent positions with an estimated annual payroll of approximately $1,040,000. This authorizes a commercial community reinvestment area agreement in support of a proactive industrial project in the Rickenbacker area, so similar to the last type of project we just talked about. The developer proposes investing at least $60 million to build a nearly 1 million square foot facility and to create at least 25 new jobs. The Columbus City School District is estimated to receive during the abatement period, again, what they currently receive on that parcel, which is empty lot at the time. They will continue to receive that. and also during the abatement period will receive an estimated $4,144,376 over the term of the abatement and approximately $12,332,951 over a 30-year period as a result of the aforementioned project's level of investment at $60 million. Are there any questions or comments from my colleagues? Seeing none, I move for passage.

Clerk please call the roll. Bankston.

I'm sorry. I'm sorry about that. Yes.

You want to?

I did want to also point out, again, all of those jobs are at the $20 wage as well as full-time benefits. I will be, again, moving for passage by voice.

Clerk please call the roll by voice.

Bankston.

Yes.

Barroso de Padilla. Yes. De Acar. Yes. Dorrance. Yes. Green. No. Remy. Yes. Ross. White? Yes. President Hardin? Yes. Ordinance is passed.

Thank you. Next, we have Ordinance 1858-2026 to authorize the Director of Department of Development to enter into a Downtown Office Incentive Agreement with Ann's GO LLC for a term of up to five consecutive years in consideration of the company's proposed capital investment of approximately $750,000, the creation of 13 net new full-time permanent positions with an estimated associated payroll of approximately $1,750,000, and the retention and relocation of 43 full-time permanent positions with an estimated associated annual payroll of approximately $3,664,800, as provided in Columbus City Council's Resolution No. 0088X-2027, adopted June 4, 2007. This ordinance authorizes a downtown office incentive to an engineering firm called Ann's Geo. They are relocating to a larger office downtown than their current brewery district location and bringing new employees to the region. They commit to creating at least 13 new jobs and retaining at least 43 positions. All 13 new full-time positions are above the city's $20 an hour wage threshold. with full benefits, and do just want to point out this one as well. One of those, again, opportunities for us to retain a current employer in downtown. This is really about protecting downtown and the office vacancy there. This is a company that could go anywhere else in the region, but we want to make sure that we are also ensuring that downtown remains vibrant and remains an employment center. Are there any questions or comments from my colleagues? Seeing none, I move for passage.

Please call the roll. Bankston, Burroughs, Sodebadea, DeAkara, Dorrance, Green, Remy, Ross, Weitsch, President Hardin. Pass.

Thank you. Next, we have Ordinance 1870-2026 to authorize the Director of Department of Development to enter into a job creation tax credit agreement of 45% for a term of up to six consecutive years with HICMA Pharmaceuticals USA, Inc., in consideration of the company's proposed total capital investment of $215,700,000.00. the creation of 50 net new full-time permanent positions with an estimated annual payroll of approximately $3 million, and the retention of 1,224 full-time permanent positions with an associated estimated annual payroll of approximately $93 million. $672,177. This ordinance and the next ordinance authorizes incentives for a large expansion project at HICMA in the West Scioto area. HICMA is the largest manufacturer in Central Ohio, and they propose a $215 million investment to renovate and expand their facility. They also commit to retaining over 1,200 jobs and creating at least 50 new jobs. All 50 new job positions ARE WELL ABOVE THE CITY'S $20 AN HOUR WAGE THRESHOLD WITH FULL BENEFITS. THIS ORDINANCE AUTHORIZES A JOB CREATION TAX CREDIT IN SUPPORT OF HICMA'S JOB CREATION COMMITMENT. I DO WANT TO HIGHLIGHT WHAT THE DIRECTOR SAID. HICMA IS AN INTERNATIONAL COMPANY AND I HAD A CHANCE TO GO ACTUALLY TOUR THE FACILITY AND IT WAS REALLY THANKS TO THEIR LOCAL LEADERSHIP AND WORKING WITH US THAT WE WERE ABLE TO SECURE THIS INVESTMENT. to make this investment, but their actual international team told them to stop and say we want to evaluate all of our sites, not just here in the U.S. or in Ohio, but across the globe for this type of expansion. And thanks to working with our team and working with other economic development professionals at the state level, we're able to secure this expansion right here in Columbus because they actually have another facility just down the street in Bedford, Ohio, So when we talk about that competitiveness, ensuring that this type of opportunity and this type of investment is here in Columbus, in one of our great neighborhoods, to be able to continue to employ folks is another great win for our city. Are there any questions or comments from my colleagues? Seeing none, I move for passage.

Please call the roll. Bankston, Barrosa, De Padilla, De O'Connor, Dorrance, Green, Remy, Ross, Weitsch, President Hardin.

Pass. Next, we have Ordinance 1871-2026 to authorize the Director of Development to enter into an enterprise zone agreement with Westward Columbus Inc. and Hickam Pharmaceuticals USA Inc. for a tax abatement of 75% for a period of 10 consecutive years. In consideration of the enterprise investing approximately 92 million in real property improvements, the creation of 50 net new full-time permanent positions with an associated annual payroll of approximately 3 million and the retention of 1,224 full-time permanent positions with an associated estimated annual payroll of approximately $93,627,177. Again, this ordinance is an enterprise zone agreement incentive for HICMA renovation and expansion project. The Hilliard local school district is estimated to continue to generate their current amount that they receive off of this property, and they will also receive an additional $4,505,000 $660 over the term of the abatement and approximately $22,528,312 over a 20-year period as a result of the aforementioned project and its investment. Tolles Career and Technical Center is estimated to receive an additional $143,130 over the term of the abatement and approximately $724,730 over a 20-year period as a result of the aforementioned project. Seeing no questions or comments from my colleagues, I move for passage.

Second.

Chair, please call the roll.

Bankston, Barroso, De Padilla, Day-Ock, Howard, Dorrance, Green, Remy, Ross, White, President Hardin. Passed.

Thank you. Next, we have Ordinance 1872-2026 to authorize the Director of the Department of Development to enter into an Enterprise Zone Agreement with Westbourne Flex LLC for a tax abatement of 75% for a period of 10 consecutive years, in consideration of the enterprise investing approximately $8,800,000 in real property improvements and the creation of 10 net new full-time permanent positions with an estimated annual payroll of approximately $500,000 at the aforementioned project. This is the last of the seven incentive ordinances up for consideration tonight, so thank you all for bearing with me. This authorizes an enterprise zone agreement for a proactive industrial development project on the far east side PIONEER DEVELOPMENT COMMITS TO NEARLY $9 MILLION IN REAL PROPERTY INVESTMENTS AND TO CREATE AT LEAST 10 NEW JOBS. AGAIN, THIS IS A PROACTIVE PIECE OF DEVELOPMENT, SO THAT JOB NUMBER SHOULD BE WELL ABOVE THAT ONCE AN ACTUAL LEASEY IS FOUND. GOHANNA JEFFERSON PUBLIC SCHOOLS ARE ESTIMATED TO RECEIVE AN ADDITIONAL $419,821 OVER THE TERM OF THE ABATEMENT IN ADDITION TO WHAT THEY CURRENTLY RECEIVE FOR THAT PROPERTY. and approximately $2,099,107 over a 20-year period as a result of the aforementioned project and its investment. Eastland Fairfield Career and Technical Schools are estimated to receive an additional $17,500 over the term of the abatement and approximately $87,500 over a 20-year period as a result of the investment. All of the jobs associated with this are well above the $20 an hour wage and also include full benefits. Are there any questions or comments from my colleagues?

One other thing that I wanted to mention, as we were sitting here, this was a whole package. And again, thank you for your leadership. And seriously, thank you to the director because you took a lot of time with our office. I think Council Member Ross was with me. We had a lot of conversations. One of the things that got me here, and I want to make sure that we're not having these conversations in silos, We look forward to, one, the larger conversation this fall around expecting more and asking more in terms of wage growth for these incentives. But we also should not be afraid to connect these conversations and be able to explain and have questions answered about their impacts on the schools. I keep thinking about the committee that Councilmember Dorrance and I chair. I told Councilmember Banks that I think that's an opportunity for Specifically, Council Member Bankston said he's really good at explaining this to come before the committee to ask questions, but we can't have these conversations in silos any longer. And that was something we talked about in our meeting on these pieces of legislation. But I do look forward to that combined work this fall of advocating for higher wages, but also understanding the impacts they have on schools as we continue. But thank you so much again for your leadership.

Thank you, Council President. Any other questions or comments? Seeing none, I move for passage by voice.