Republic file photo Columbus City Hall.
The Columbus City Council gave final approval to amend the city and county zoning ordinance and official zoning map to create a new zoning district on the west-side at Columbus’ I-65 front door entryway.
Council members passed the second reading of an ordinance 7-0 to make the changes. City officials have said the goal of the move is to ensure cohesive development in the area using a uniform set of architectural guidelines.
Council members Frank Miller, R-District 4, and Jerone Wood, D-District 3, were absent.
The ordinance includes three amendments to the city and county zoning ordinance— one to create a new “Columbus Front Door Overlay Zoning District,” another to include properties near the I-65 and Jonathan Moore Pike intersection in the new district and a third to rezone Columbus Crossing from PUD (Planned Unit Development) to CR (Commercial: Regional Center).
The Columbus Plan Commission on May 8 unanimously voted to forward a favorable recommendation to the city council on the proposed new district.
City/County Planning Director Jeff Bergman said the ordinance is an effort to improve and make the current requirements applicable in the Columbus Crossing PUD more developer friendly “and then also extend them to that larger front door area to really create some equity around how those properties are regulated.”
The architectural guidelines would make “a road map for successful, thoughtful development” and affected buildings would not be required to meet every guideline, according to Senior Planner Jessie Boshell.
The creation of the district would give the plan commission additional oversight through the site development planning process and commissioners would weigh the guidelines when considering approval of new buildings, planning staff said.
Topics addressed by the guidelines include building facade materials and features, roof top mechanical equipment, downspouts, building orientation, screening signs, and accessory/incidental structures.
Boshell previously said there are 13 vacant parcels in the area where the new guidelines would apply, but there could be more in the future.
The proposed amendments won’t require any changes to existing buildings, but will apply to property that is vacant or that will develop in the future, according to the planning department.
Remodeled buildings would not have to meet the guidelines, nor would any current building destroyed by natural disaster, Boshell told the council.
However, if a business not meeting the current guidelines decides to expand in the future, the expanded portion would need to meet the guidelines, according to Boshell. In other words, if a building’s footprint is not being expanded, it would not have to adhere to the proposed guidelines.
Boshell said that the guidelines were based off what has been built within the Columbus Crossing PUD and the properties directly north along State Road 46.
The Columbus Crossing Planning Unit Development (PUD) was created in 2003 to provide a framework and basic architectural design guidelines for the development of the Menard’s and surrounding properties. The proposed new overlay district is intended as a replacement of the Columbus Crossing PUD, according to the city.
A PUD is a custom set of zoning regulations that are negotiated on a case-by-case basis between a developer and the city for new, unique development projects.
Council Vice President Kent Anderson, R-District 5, said the change is an improvement from a developer-perspective.
“They key thing I like about this is the current PUD is a little unpredictable,” Anderson said. “If you come in as a developer, you’re not quite sure what you’re facing. So you’re eliminating uncertainty for developers. If there’s one thing that developers like even less than overbearing standards, it’s unclear standards.”
