City Council - Regular Meeting

Meeting number 43 will now come to order. Please stand for the playing of the national anthem.

Councilmember Green, would 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 Bishop Wayne Moore Sr., of the Greater Christ Temple Church to lead us in prayer. Pastor, thank you so much for being here. Bishop, thank you for being here.

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

Can I get a motion to submit for the reading of the journal? Clerk, please call the roll.

Thank you, Madam Clerk. There is a correction to the September 28, 2026 journal. As referenced by the City Clerk, in communication C0037-2026, there were two typographical errors identified in the following permits. Permit number 10020290-1, the permit holder's name was missing the letter R. and Minerva Carryout, LLC. And number two, permit number 06521509-213. The street name for the permit holder's address should be spelled East Campus, C-A-M-P-U-S, New Boulevard. If there are no other additions or corrections to the journal, the journal is approved. This week's communications received by th

Thank you, Madam Clerk. We will go around the dais for announcements and resolutions, starting with Council Member Bankston.

Thank you, Council President. Just one quick announcement. On Monday, October 19th at 9 a.m., I will be chairing a Finance Committee hearing to discuss numerous financial topics, including the current status of the city's operating budget, the impeding sale of bonds for the city's 2025 capital budget, legislative action related to the upcoming 2027 operating budget, and many more subjects. So there will be a comprehensive hearing on the finance committee, and we plan to be here for a while, but I want to make sure that we have a thorough conversation regarding the city's finances. To submit wr

Thank you, Council Member. Council Member Rosa de Padilla.

Thanks, Council President. So first, I'm excited to announce that today we're opening the next round of funding for 614 Beautiful Grants. So 614 Beautiful Grants are grants that we are providing to communities with a low barrier to access up to $10,000 for creating beautiful spaces all over Columbus. So that could be a mural. It could be a pocket park. We've hosted any number of events creative projects all over the city. So I think we're up to 18 projects now that we have sponsored. The applications open today. They are open up until November 2nd. So you can check my social media channels. Yo

Thank you, Mitch, and I'm proud to be a board member of GCAC, along with my colleague and fellow art connoisseur, Councilmember Remy. I'd love to give you the floor, Councilmember.

Thank you very much, Councilmember Barros de Padilla. It's so great to support this resolution this evening and celebrate October as Arctober. Celebrating our Columbus creative community is something that is incredibly important for the cultural fabric of this city, and so As she said, as a member of the board of GCAC, I'm especially proud of the work that GCAC has done to support local artists and making sure that we're connecting residents with the arts. From neighborhood murals to performances, the arts tell our city's story. They reflect our diversity. and bring people together. So thank y

Absolutely, and it's still the greatest time of the year, Latino Heritage Month, for 10 more days during Art Tuber, so you get an opportunity to celebrate both. So Columbus, consider this your invitation to get involved, support our local arts community, and discover the many ways that art tells the story of who we are as a city. With that, do my colleagues have additional questions, comments? If not, I move for passage.

Thank you, Councilmember. Councilmember Day-Ochauer.

Thank you, Council President. I'm going to respond this evening to remarks made by the mayor last week. On August 11th, an EF1 tornado struck Columbus. Amazingly, no one lost their life in this storm. It did, however, seriously damage community assets, including Barrick Community Center, Bush Park, Berliner Park, and the Fran Ryan Center. Today, council is presenting legislation to address the extensive damage by authorizing $2.5 million for mitigation and remediation of these facilities. This could have been an example of good governance where elected officials came together to address the af

Thank you, Council President. Just one announcement and resolution. Today is day 41 of the 60-day public comment period for the second phase of Zone In, our historic effort to rezone and modernize our zoning code. Council and the zoning team are still seeking public feedback from residents as we update this. Code that's covering about 40% of the city in the second phase. Residents have until October 24th to fill out that survey, which is one of the most efficient ways for folks to give us their feedback on how folks feel about that proposals for their neighborhood. Again, that deadline for the

You're seeing council members slowly back away.

Well, thank you, director. As the old dad joke goes, I'm only half crazy. We're doing the half marathon this year, not the full, but there's so many folks across our entire region. And we've got folks coming in from all across the country and certainly folks coming from all over the place to run this race. And I think it's a, Such a great cause, but also just a great way to showcase our city. I did want to pause and see if my colleagues have any comments, other than we won't see you at 6 a.m. here in a couple weeks.

You might see us at 6 a.m., but the problem was you already gave us medals, so you took away the... The incentive for us to do that. I just wanted to say thank you. I think, you know, I remember last year, I think it was last year, the day after I was in the airport and there were all the marathon runners and we had heard great stories around like two sisters that travel around the country and do it. And it's a great way for us to bring in. We talk about economic development. We talk about inviting people in. We were just having a frat conversation the other day. I mean, this is another way fo

We just want to give him all the shine. Well, thank you.

And with that, I move for adoption of Resolution 0227X-2026. Please call the roll.

Hey, Council President, it's all I have. Thank you, Presbyterian. Council Member Green.

Thanks so much, Council President. I just want to let everybody know, in case you're on the edge of your seats, we had our sixth annual Franklinton v. Hilltop charity softball game this weekend, and the Hilltop remains victorious two years in a row. So congratulations to my neighbors on the Hilltop. Let's give that a round of applause. Yes, yes. I will not be running the marathon. My body is broken after just the most minimal amount of physical activity this weekend. So best of luck to you, Council President Pro Tem. And that is all from me.

Congratulations. Council Member Remy. Council Member Ross.

Thank you. I just want to say I went to the Hilltop v. Franklinton game and realized that I just need to join Team Franklinton. So congratulations. Watch out. Just a couple announcements today. Last week I had the opportunity to participate in the third annual City Hall Illumination in honor of Domestic Violence Awareness Month. I certainly want to thank City Attorneys Zach Klein and our partners at the Office of Violence Prevention and also City... Franklin County Prosecutor Shayla Favor for hosting the event and inviting me there. With that, we are excited to have our next hearing for the Co

I think I have the date wrong. It is in October, though. We'll get the date to you. So please make sure it is open to the entire public. So if you are interested in coming, the last zone and gallery that I hosted was specific for District 7 residents. This one will be open to the general public. And if you want to come out, hang out with me, learn about Phase 2, provide public comment, then we will have the date and time later for you. That is it.

Thank you, Council President. Just one quick announcement. This Wednesday, October 7th from 5 to 7 p.m., I will be at the Zoning Gallery for my next open community hours. It is Wednesday, October 7th, I'm aware. We'll be discussing all things environmental conservation and sustainability issues pertaining to Zoning Phase 2. This event is open to all. The Zoning Gallery is located just down the street from City Hall at the Coleman Parking Garage at 141 North Front Street. You can learn more about that opportunity and all of my office's upcoming events at bit.ly slash Wednesdays with Whitech. Th

Thank you, sir. Well, real quick, first I want to recognize, I see Dr. Stenta's class here from OSU. Councilman, would you help me welcome them to City Hall and City Council Chambers? This is, I think, part of a field outing, a We will try to make the meeting just interesting enough, not too, so you can learn and observe and engage. But thank you so much for being here. Now I'd like to do something truly, truly special, because everyone is not blessed enough to get this type of a recognition. I want to call up overseer Michael Reeves and to come up, if you'd like, to the podium. recognize and

I just want to echo Council President's sentiments. I've known both of you. Maybe you've known me longer than I've known you. I believe I've known you my entire life. There hasn't been a day in my life in which you all have not been significant presents. You came out of Tridestone, which is my home church, and you have been such, such... an integral part of this community. I'm honored to be able to serve the district in which Corinthian sits in today, which is such a serendipitous moment for me. I remember hearing you in the mornings on the radio station, really literally lending your hand to

Well, Bishop, Doctor, I don't know which title I'm supposed to use today. I definitely want to say, echo what my colleagues said and say congratulations. But I just wanted to say that when we tell the Columbus story, you will not be able to tell it without the name Michael Reeves. and or the institution of Corinthian Missionary Baptist Church. And I say that because it's often we talk about the work we do with our parishioners and the soul work that is so critically important to the ministry. But really what we're called to do is impact community. And so I think that it's more apropos to talk

With that, I'm going to turn it over to you, obviously, and First Lady.

NOW YOU KNOW YOU'VE BEEN CRYING ALL MY LIFE.

Pastor, would you invite folks to come out to the anniversary on Saturday so they know what we're doing with the program.

And I thank God for them. Stand up. That's just a few. My granddaughters are back there.

Well, congratulations on 50 years both for serving this community. We really, really are so much better off because you were here. Thank you, sir. With that, I move for passage. Please call the roll.

Are there any comments from the elected officials, from the city attorney's office, auditor, treasurer? Seeing none, may we now have a motion to waive the reading of titles of 30 legislation by the city clerk? Clerk, please call the roll.

Thank you. Will the clerk now read into the record the ordinance number of 30 legislation on tonight's agenda for first reading?

Thank you, Madam Clerk. Do we have any speakers on? We don't have any speakers. The following ordinance appear on our agenda as consent action. Would the clerk read those numbers into the record?

Thank you, Madam Clerk. Seeing no speakers on this portion of the consent portion of the agenda, are there any questions or comments from my colleagues? Hearing none, may I have approval of these items designated as consent? By voice. Is there a second? Clerk, please call the roll by voice.

Green? Yes, with the exception of Ordinance 2459-2026, from which I abstain. Ramey?

Yes, you have two. You have more than one, Councilmember?

President Hardin? Yes. Consent agenda passed with the noted exceptions. We'll now proceed with second reading, 30-day and postponed emergency legislation. First committee to come for council is Finance and Governance, chaired by Councilman Bankston. Councilman, the floor is yours.

Thank you, Council President. First up in the Finance and Governance Committee for second read, we have Ordinance 2505-2026. to authorize the issuance of limited tax bond anticipation notes in an amount not to exceed $19,165,000 for the purpose of refunding outstanding bond anticipation notes to authorize the appropriation of $19,165,000 in the Info Services Debt Retirement Fund to authorize the expenditure of $23,894,400 from the Info Services Operating Fund and the Info Services Debt Retirement Fund, and to declare an emergency. This ordinance authorizes the issuance of limited tax bond anti

Thank you, Council President. May I move to the Economic Development and Small Minority Business Committee? Thank you. Tonight in the Economic Development and Small Minority Business Committee, we have Ordinance 2538-2026 to authorize the Director of the Department of Development to enter into a grant agreement with Columbus Downtown Development Corporation in an amount up to $2 million to authorize the transfer of appropriation between divisions in the amount up to $675,900 and the expenditure in an amount up to $1,500,000 in the general fund to authorize the appropriation and expenditure in

Thank you, Bo, for being here. Any questions or comments from my colleagues? All right.

I just want to say, of course, thank you for all the work that you're doing. I had an opportunity to come out with you, Robin, and to to visit the center, and also to attend the latest community meeting that you hosted. And it was clear that what you are doing is helping to build community in the downtown area. And before that meeting was over, one of your homeless advocates was already out on the street talking, engaging, and conversing with our neighbors. And they know folks by name, they understand what the issues are, and they take really good care in trying to make sure that we are caring

And again, I just echo those. I want to thank you for being good partners. I think we've made it clear, and I say that downtown is everyone's neighborhood. And the work that you all are doing is not to simply say that this is just for a certain population, but working with our most vulnerable neighbors to ensure that we provide them the care that they need in the moment that they find themselves in. and also building the infrastructure that supports our small businesses, not just simply our large employers or corporate towers, but building that vibrancy that we want to see. And, of course, I t

Yes. Passed. Thank you. And that is all I have in my committee this evening.

Thank you. The next committee to come before council is the Public Service and Transportation Committee. Nope. Which one? is the Recreation and Parks Committee, chaired by Councilmember de Acar. Councilmember, the floor is yours.

Thank you, Council President. There are two ordinances in the committee this evening, and for the first ordinance, number 2237-2026, I'll turn the floor over to my colleague, Councilmember Borrosa de Padilla. Thank you.

You had it almost right, Council President. Thank you, Chair. Ordinance 2237-2026 to authorize and direct the city clerk to enter into grant agreements with community refugee and immigration services incorporated Jewish Family Services and Ethiopian Tewahato Social Services to authorize an appropriation and expenditure from the Neighborhood Initiatives Sub-Fund to authorize the payment of non-food related program expenses and to allow food or non-alcoholic beverage expenses incurred after the effective date of the ordinance. When our federal government is creating uncertainty for immigrant and

Thank you for your support. Back to you, Chair.

Thank you. Our second ordinance is 2461-2026 to authorize the various fiscal actions needed as a result of emergency expenditures authorized for the remediation of storm damage at Barrett Community Center, Bush Park, Berliner Park, and the Fran Ryan Center. To authorize the appropriation of $500,000 within the Recreation and Parks Permanent Improvement Fund. To authorize the transfer of $2,500,000 within the Recreation and Parks permanent improvement fund and voted bond fund to authorize the amendment of the 2025 capital improvements budget and to declare an emergency. Following the catastroph

Okay, thank you. So there is anticipation that we will receive hopefully something from the insurance company. We know how long that takes. But the only ones that have insurance, you said, are which properties that we can apply for?

Okay, so Berliner and Barrick, and then we're waiting to hear from FEMA. Okay, thank you very much. Anyone who has ever filed an insurance claim knows how long it can take And so it's important that we begin the work immediately instead of waiting for the insurance company to come through. Are there any questions or comments from my colleagues?

Thanks, Chair. I do have a question, and I'm not sure if this is for development or for the director, but what is our timeline, in particular with Barrick, since the facility suffered so, I mean, Berliner's a little bit different because folks can still use the park outside. But, you know, I think as the District 8 representative, we've certainly gotten some questions about Barrick and when that will be back in use. So, Director, do we have any sense of that?

And if we moved around those dollars for those other projects, are we thinking about reimbursement for those projects? If we get in the insurance, FEMA, et cetera, that then that would go back to pay for whatever holes. We're essentially Robin Peter to pay Paul for these projects, right? So when we get that reimbursement, then that would go back into the coffers to then address those other projects, right?

Yes. And for the benefit of the community or folks who may be watching, I know we say this because we always have our friends from the media here, and as they're reporting on stories, where can our District 8 community members from that area, that is an incredibly popular location, they do amazing programming at Barrick, where are folks going and where are we directing them for some of those recreational opportunities?

Got it. Is Schiller one of the alternatives for folks since it's right up the street?

Thank you. And I just want to, I mean, to the point that you were making before, Chair, I think it's just important for folks to understand. I think in an environment where, you know, folks want to advocate, knowing the proper ways and the right ways to advocate, we have different It just makes it confusing, I think, when we're not factual about where dollars go, right? Addressing the concerns at Barrick, we were already doing that. What's in the capital budget is separate from that, and I just want to put that out there because I think it's important, again, as folks are coming to us and sayi

doing all it can to get Barrick up and running. It's just that there are things that are outside of control when you're dealing with that kind of extensive damage. Uh, council member green, did you have a comment?

Yeah. Thank you, chair. Um, I'm just so deeply disappointed to the point that council member versus APD had just made and Nancy, uh, counselor chair, they all coward just made, um, It was disingenuous. It was misleading, as it was intended to be. And it doesn't have to be that way. There's a lot of people that are counting on us to do big and important work, like making sure that they have their rec center back open, work that was already underway. And we want to be a partner in this big and important work with all of you. I do have one question, and I think actually, Director Long, this one m

And would you be willing and able to notify us of the status of those insurance claims as we have updates on them and as we have kind of final actions as well?

Any other questions or comments? Seeing none, I move for passage.

Thank you, Castle President. May I now quickly jump over to rules and policies on page 14 to read my one ordinance there as well? Please. Thank you. Ordinance 2206-2026 to enact new Chapter 924 film permits to establish permitting requirements for commercial and non-commercial filming photography by the Department of Recreation and Parks. One of the many responsibilities of Recreation and Parks is to issue film permits to those interested in filming videos or taking official photographs at city parks and facilities. This is not a major revenue source for the department, but making the process

Thank you, Madam Chair. The next committee to come before Council is the Health, Human Services, and Equity Committee, chaired by Council Member Green. Council Member DeFleur is yours.

Thank you so much, Council President. Tonight in our Health, Human Services, and Equity Committee, we have two ordinances on second reading. Two ordinances. That was weird. Our first one is Ordinance 1537-2026 to authorize the Board of Health to enter into contracts with Nationwide Children's Hospital for the provision of WIC clinics at their facilities to authorize the expenditure of $1 million from the Health Department's grant fund. I'm sure that all of you are familiar with our absolutely incredible WIC program that CPH administers every year. The Board of Health has been awarded a grant f

Thank you. Our second ordinance tonight is 2595-2026 to authorize and direct the Board of Health to enter into a contract with 3SG plus LLC to provide document conversion services to waive the competitive bidding provisions of the Columbus City Code to authorize an expenditure from the Health Department Grants Fund and to declare an emergency. CPH is, you know, continuing to go through the process of changing their, converting all of their physical HR documents to a digital format and transferring them to the on-base digital platform. So this contract period in order to complete this work is N

Thank you, Madam Chair. Next committee to come in for council is the Housing Homelessness and Building Committee, chaired by Council Member Ross. Council Member Flores, yours.

Thank you, Council President. The sole ordinance coming out of Housing Homelessness and Building is Ordinance Number 2757-2026 to authorize the Director of the Department of Development to enter into a non- not-for-profit service agreement with the Mid-Ohio Regional Planning Commission to administer an energy-efficient home repair program to authorize the expenditure within the development taxable bond fund, to authorize the appropriation and expenditure within the neighborhood initiative sub-fund, to authorize the advancement of funding on a predetermined schedule, and to declare an emergency

Thank you, Chair Ross. I'd like to invite Robert Williams, Senior Director of Residential Services at the Mid-Ohio Regional Planning Commission, up to the podium to briefly speak about the program.

Thank you, Robert, for being here and for the work that you all are doing to kind of support homeowners in Columbus and in the region as a whole. This ordinance was originally drafted with the income cap at 200% of the federal poverty level. So I'll be moving to amend to correct it to 100% of the area median income. 100% of the area median income is roughly $110,000 for a family of four. And as Robert mentioned, most assistance programs are set up with income thresholds based on the federal poverty level. which is roughly 33,000 for a family of four and is drastically out of touch with the cos

uh so with that i will move to remember real quick before i just wanted to say um i'm actually on the morpsey executive committee robert scott's work with this weatherization program and we often talk about part of the challenge that we actually experience is that because those numbers are so out of touch there's literally dollars that are left on the table because people, because it's so out of touch with what the need actually is. And so I just want to say thank you to you both for bringing this forward because we have this conversation all the time that folks, these programs are not attaina

Appreciate that, Councilmember. I think the most heartbreaking story that I've heard in my tenure on council It was our very first year. It was wintertime. There was an older woman who was too young to qualify for the senior programs and made too much to qualify for low income programs. She was literally living in our house in the middle of winter with no furnace and just struggling. I mean, you know, I applaud my staff who worked tirelessly for six months to find someone to help and support her. But that should not be the circumstance in Columbus. And so we hope that this starts to begin to p

Amend it. Thank you. And with that, Chair, I yield it back to you.

Thank you. Thank you. Appreciate you, Council Member Weish, for recognizing the acute needs of our community. If there are no additional questions or comments from my colleagues, I'll move for passes.

Clerk, please. Pass as amended. Is there a second? Clerk, please call the roll.

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

Thank you. Madam Chair, the next committee to come for Council is the Public Utilities and Sustainability Committee. That committee is chaired by Council Member Weiss. Council Member, the floor is yours.

Yeah, I don't really give me a lot of time, but we're going to make this work in three minutes, everybody. So with that, Public Utilities and Sustainability Committee have Ordinance 2235-2026 to authorize the Director of the Department of Finance and Management to enter into a contract with Bobcat Enterprises Incorporated for the purchase and delivery of one New Holland vehicle. small articulating loader for the Department of Public Utilities to waive competitive bidding of Columbus City Code and to authorize an expenditure of $63,106.23 from within the Water Operating Fund. This loader will b

Thank you. Next, I have Ordinance 2313-2026 to authorize the Director of Columbus Water and Power to enter into a construction contract with Danbert Incorporated for the Blueprint Miller-Kelton Kent Fairwood Permeable Pavers and Kent Fairwood Waterline Improvements Waterline Improvements Project to authorize amendments to the 2025 Cattle Board Improvement Budget to authorize the appropriation and expenditure of of up to $12,600,862.73 from the Water Pollution Control Loan Fund and the Water Fresh Water Market Rate Loan Fund for the contract to make this ordinance contingent upon the Ohio Water

And last, I have Ordinance 2582-2026 to authorize the Director of Columbus Water and Power to enter into a contract with Trimble Incorporated for software licenses associated with the Trimble Unity AMS system to authorize the expenditure of $1,014,322.21 split between the Electricity, Water, Sanitary Sewer, and Stormwater Operating Funds to waive the competitive bidding provisions of Chapter 329 of Columbus City Code, to repeal Ordinance Number 1559-2026, and to declare an emergency. This software enables Columbus Water and Power to better track and manage assets across the entire department,

Thank you. That is all I have for my committee this evening. Thank you, Mr. Chair.

The final committee to come before Council is the Rules and Policy Committee. I chair that committee. And the last piece of legislation is Ordinance 2622-2026. It's to amend Sections 179.03, 179.04, and 3902.02 and to refill the existing versions of Sections 179.03, 179.04, and 3902.02 2.02 of the Columbus City Code to clarify the enabling provisions of the Columbus LGBTQ Plus Affairs Commission. The Columbus LGBTQ Affairs Commission is a newly formed commission with important work ahead of it. And I'm glad to see this body taking shape and having listening sessions out in our community. The l

Passed. Seeing no further business to come for council, is there a motion to adjourn? Clerk, please call the roll.

Meeting is adjourned. We'll reconvene for zoning in 10 minutes.

Now come to order. Clerk, please call the roll.

Can I get a motion to submit for the reading of the journal? Clerk, please call the roll.

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

Thank you, Council President. Good evening. Welcome to a unique meeting of the Columbus City Council Zoning Committee here tonight. We will not be reviewing or voting on any traditional zoning ordinances. Instead, the purpose of this committee hearing is to hear oral arguments on a quasi-judicial matter. the appeal of a decision by the Downtown Commission regarding the certificate of appropriateness for a demolition permit. As Council President Pro Tem and the chair of the Zoning Committee, I'm opening this hearing for the administrative appeal number 0001-2026, Downtown Commission case number

Mr. Dunn, can I go back to, I think, the meat of the argument around the second prong about, I want to summarize this and see if we're on the same page, is that it sounds like basically from your briefs and your arguments here tonight, you would acknowledge that even in that situation of the submission of the maintenance plan, that there's certainly The downtown commission certainly still has the discretion to basically interpret the guidelines to see whether or not that maintenance plan meets those guidelines. Is that fair or no?

Certainly. And I want to drill down to a couple parts of this. So the guidelines themselves specifically call out disfavoring vacant lots, disfavoring surface-level parking. And I know in this instance, we're talking about reseeding. You've mentioned reengineering. I just want to be able to draw the distinction between those guidelines make very clear reference to a vacant lot. How does this maintenance plan differ from what would necessarily be considered essentially a vacant lot?

So it's... It's your argument here that whether or not a maintenance plan is or is not meeting those guidelines, it's a position that you've taken that was not within the deliberation based upon the process itself. Correct. So wouldn't it make more sense to send that back to the downtown commission for them explicitly to deliberate on whether or not that plan meets those requirements under the guidelines?

Certainly, but the Downtown Commission has more expertise in interpreting their guidelines than certainly this body does, considering those guidelines were passed in 2013. And I don't know how often we consider those guidelines as we're not exercising that authority because we've delegated it to that commission.

Council, can I ask you a few follow-up questions with regard to that? You said the city is seeking receivership and seeking demolition. Has there been an adjudication as to that yet?

But there has been no determination that the building must be demolished?

Can you also confirm, I know that the building, the Department of Building and Zoning issued a notice, and in the language of that notice it said you either got to rehabilitate or demolish. Is that your understanding of what the notice said?

Has your client made a determination that it is not economically feasible to rehabilitate versus demolish?

Sure, I read that. Has there been a determination that it is economically unfeasible to rehabilitate?

Thank you, Mr. Dunn. Next, we'll hear from Counsel for the Appellee. Please approach the podium, say your name for the record, and you may begin when you're ready.

So, Mr. Cartier, let me ask you some follow-ups on that. I asked Mr. Dunn a moment ago about the actual analysis that went into... I think he acknowledged that the Downtown Commission has the discretion to determine whether or not a maintenance plan meets their guidelines. There's two ways to get there. That is the second prong here. He acknowledged that they have the discretion to say whether or not folks have met their obligation under those guidelines. He did not believe, based upon his presentation here tonight, that there was actual deliberation over whether or not a maintenance plan was

Are there all... How many members serve on the downtown commission?

I just have one question. There was some discussion, I think, in the transcript and also discussion by the Appellant's Council about health and safety of the community. Are there... Let's say the the building is demolished. There's a vacant lot There's just grass and they're maintaining or they're committing to cut the grass Are there other considerations?

Let me ask you, so if this was deemed you know, unsafe publicly and that sort of thing, what would be the course, what would be the way forward at that point?

And at that point, would they have to do another application or would they just be ordered to take it down? What would be the...

Mr. Cartier, I want to ask you a follow-up question on that, my colleague's question. So again, a separate process. Again, we have not had the chief building official take the action that would require this. But from the practical standpoint, if that were to happen under my colleague's question, essentially you'd be talking about the same type of lot where the requirements to cap utilities, seed, that in essence would be the same. So I guess going back to is there things within the record itself that point to more things FROM A STANDARD HERE THAT LOOKING AT THE GUIDELINES, I'M CURIOUS FROM A C

And again, bottom line, you would still, so absent that whole process, which has not happened yet, whether or not that's from an environmental court standpoint or the chief billing official, again, if the The only other way to do this is for the downtown commission to say, we agree with your plan, and here's your certificate of appropriateness. Absent any of those things happening, the property or the building would not have the legal, or the owner would not have the legal authority to bring it down.

Mr. Cartier, I just have one question. Is it ever taken into consideration intentional neglect of a property to get there in one's determination? And is there anyone else in the code that would suggest that? Because it seems to me the applicant knew the condition of the building when they purchased it, and it has seemed to deteriorate under their watch.

to affirm the decision of the downtown commission. Wow. Well, that was dramatic. Thank you, Mr. Cartier. We'll try to avoid time for Mr. Dunn here in a second. I'd invite the appellant back to the podium for his reserve time.

We'll make sure we get your timer set up, and we'll start from there. I don't want to start you off too... Sure. Sure. How long do we have? Three minutes? He reserved three minutes. Four is yours.

Before you move on, really quickly, unsafe for occupation?

Why not list it as will tear down upon purchase?

Thank you, Mr. Dunn. Thank you, Mr. Cartier. This concludes the oral arguments of the Downtown Commission. Case number COA 2600161. I want to thank both the gentlemen here tonight representing Town Hall Plaza LLC and the City of Columbus Department of Development Planning Division. both for their briefs and their arguments here tonight. As I stated at the beginning of the hearing, the zoning committee will not be taking a vote this evening. Council will take the arguments presented alongside the official record under advisement. We will issue a formal written decision with a reasonable amount