ThisWeek CW 01/15/2015

http://www.thisweeknews.com/content/stories/canalwinchester/news/2015/01/12/park-and-ride-council-approves-rezoning-for-cota-project.html

Canal Winchester City Council unanimously approved a contentious rezoning request Jan. 5 that will allow the Central Ohio Transit Authority to take the next step toward building a new Park and Ride.

About 20 residents from the Winchester Pike area adjacent to the proposed site of the Park and Ride attended the meeting to ask council one last time to deny the rezoning request. Two residents voiced support for the project.

City Law Director Gene Hollins said the vote only provides COTA with the ability to begin the next phase of planning, which is to get site plan approvals.

“COTA has submitted a number of detailed materials to provide what their intention would be if they move forward, but they have done that for informational purposes, to give council as much information as possible for a vote,” Hollins said.

“We appreciate that information, but this is not the vote for the development plan. They will still have to go through planning and zoning for site plan approval.”

The Canal Winchester Planning and Zoning Commission originally voted against the rezoning, which is what prompted the legislation to move to council.

Development Director Lucas Haire explained that during the planning and zoning hearings, residents had brought forward many of the same issues they brought to council.

“The concerns raised at planning and zoning were the same as raised here, and that was what swayed the decision to move this to council,” Haire said.

“Since that meeting, there have been a number of additional items provided to the city, including the fact that Columbus is willing to do a traffic study and would change the intersection if the criteria is met.”

A primary concern for residents along Winchester Pike was an increase in traffic, that could cause longer wait times at the intersection of Winchester Pike and Gender Road.

COTA representative Mike Bradley provided further testimony and documents showing two other Park and Ride locations that adjoin residential properties. At the second reading of the legislation, Bradley had provided one other similar example, as well as documentation addressing health and safety and other operational questions council had.

“The reason we chose this site is that most of it is already commercially zoned with just a couple parcels that we’re trying to get rezoned,” Bradley said. “Regarding Park and Rides in residential areas, I (have information on) two more, one on West Broad Street that is about 15 feet from apartment buildings.

“The other one on North High Street has a residence at 18 feet and another at 42 feet, and we don’t get any complaints from those residents,” he said. “The Park and Ride is very quiet most of the day and the reason most are very supportive is that it is not all-day traffic.”