Plain City has rejected a proposal to bring more than 100 apartments to the village.
At Monday night’s village council meeting, the body voted 4-2 to reject a rezoning request by Champion Apartments. Council members Shannon Pine and Sherry Heineman voted in favor of the rezoning with members Jody Carney, John Rucker, Kerri Ferguson and Darren Lee in opposition.
If approved, the ordinance would have rezoned 8.8 acres property on Jefferson Avenue and Perry Pike from business to multi-family residential. The rezoning would have paved the way for a 112-unit apartment complex, to be marketed to young professionals. The developer said the mostly one and two bedroom apartments would have rented for about $1,200 per month. The project would have wrapped around the Shell gas station on the corner.
Earlier this year, the developer, Champion Companies, requested 11.65 acres be rezoned because the project initially included a convenience store and gas station to be located on Jefferson Avenue. The company behind that store has since pull out of the development.
Residents and business owners packed the meeting room at the Pleasant Valley Joint Fire District stationhouse to have their voice heard on the matter.
While some expressed opposition to change or to renters in the village, many residents said they were not opposed to apartments, they just didn’t like them on that lot. Former Mayor Michael George, a real estate agent in the village, called the property, “the highest value piece of commercial/retail property we have in the village.”
George said the current comprehensive plan calls for the property to remain commercial. He offered several other available properties, away from the business district; he said would be better for the project.
“Apartments are not a bad idea, but putting them here is a bad idea,” George said.
Business owner Joe Craft said he was there for his in-laws. He said the development made more sense when it was mixed use. He said the site already has a tax abatement and is ready for commercial development.
“This development doesn’t belong there,” Craft said. “If approved, it will hurt the village financially and permanently change the look and feel of the village,” Craft said.
Opponents cited a variety of concerns including added traffic and the need for a turn lane into the complex, over crowding in the schools, a lack of jobs, a lack of green space in the development, a lack of water and sewer capacity and a hazard to the children because of a lack of activities for children and the proximity to U.S. 42.
While some residents were opposed, business owners spoke in favor of the apartments.
Jason Shumway said he needs customers and employees. He said the village will not get additional retail and commercial development until it gets more people. He said the last comprehensive plan was completed in 2003 and much has changed since then. Pine, who sits on the comprehensive plan committee, said the draft of the new plan, likely to be approved later this year, calls for the land to be mixed-use residential.
David Kell, economic development director for Madison County confirmed that while the land is valuable as retail and commercial, it has not been able to sell. He also addressed the idea that an office building would both provide jobs and bring people to the uptown restaurants. Kell said that office buildings are more interested in Hilliard and Dublin than Plain City.
“It is difficult to get that type of development out here,” Kell said.
He said retail developers have said they want to go where people are.
“With rooftops comes retail. With rooftops come restaurants. That’s what I continue to hear,” Kell said.
Mayor Darrin Lane expressed his support for the project. He said the complex would not receive a tax abatement on the residential portion of the land. He also said he spoke with officials from the school district who assure him the schools can handle the increase in children caused by the apartments.
Brian Hoar, with Champion Companies, said the residential project would bring less traffic and noise than a commercial development. An engineer with the project said the traffic study was based on national averages.
Pat Grabil, who is developing the land, said the lands would not develop commercially the way people want. He said it would be “chopped up” and not look like what people want. Designers said they would surround the property with spruce and pine trees on three sides. The Shell station and U.S. 42 will border the fourth side, the eastern side.
Mark Bennett said he was pleased to see so many people at the meeting. He said he has been involved with the comprehensive plan process. He suggested interested parties, on both sides of the issue, attend an open house for the comprehensive plan beginning at 5 p.m., Wednesday, at the Pleasant Valley Fire Station.
“You could still have your voice heard on this, “ Bennett said.