Review E. California & N. High St. Development

We, the undersigned, are opposed to the variances for a proposed development at 3124 North High Street. The variances are due to be voted on at the October 27th meeting of the BZA.

The proposal calls for a 4-story building on High Street, and a 3-story building on E. California consisting of 26 apartments and 6,500 s.f. of commercial space with only 37 parking spaces. Access to the parking lot would be through a one-lane alley with a steep grade. The proposal ignores an existing curb cut on High Street and diverts traffic and parking onto E. California and E. Pacemont, both of which are heavily parked today.

We oppose these variances for the following reasons:

First, the plan is too dense of a development for the neighborhood. The variances seek to increase the height of the building to maximize density on the lot. It nearly doubles the dwelling unit density guidelines found in the Clintonville Neighborhood plan.

Next, the variances minimize the infrastructure requirements on the developer. They seek to reduce the number of parking spaces, the size of those spaces, parking lot screening, and green space requirements. The developer’s plan accounts for 4 reserved parking spaces for the entire 6,500 s.f. of commercial space, three of which need to be handicapped; therefore both customers and employees will be parking on the neighborhood streets. 26 parking spaces will be reserved for all 26 apartments. Any unit with more than one person is another car that will be taking commercial parking space or parking on neighborhood streets.

Finally, the planned development is not appropriate for a residential neighborhood. We are not a commercial strip, we are a historic preservation neighborhood that is pedestrian-friendly and quiet. The buildings fit in other areas of Columbus, such as the Short North, but not in Clintonville.

Not one of these conditions constitutes a hardship on the owner. There are no special circumstances or conditions that apply only to the property in question and not generally to all properties similarly zoned along High Street to justify any variances.