New Development on McNaughten Road

I got this message from Skip Dodson of the McNaughten Road Neighbors for Safety a public group on FaceBook.  It seems that a developer wants to add a 320 unit apartment building on McNaughten Road, which would increase traffic and provide us with another eyesore.  Read the release and email any questions to Skip.

To: McNaughten Road Corridor Coalition Residents

From: Steering Committee

Subject: Important McNaughten Road Zoning Meeting, June 14, 2022

Location: Jerry Hammond Center, 1111 E. Broad St., 6:30 p.m.

The Far East Area Commission (FEAC) will hold a special hearing on June 14, 2022 at 6:30 p.m. to vote on a Developer’s Proposal for a 320 unit apartment development at 198 McNaughten Rd. (Across from the Fire Station).

The FEAC has chosen the Jerry Hammond Center so all community residents who want to express their opinion on the project can be heard. It is important that as many residents as possible attend this meeting to demonstrate vehement and organized community project opposition. Even if you don’t want to make comments or ask questions, please attend the meeting to demonstrate the amount of community opposition to the proposed plan.

Any resident will have a 3 minute opportunity to express their opinion and ask questions. If you can’t attend the meeting and want to express your opinion, please email the FEAC Chairman, Jennifer Chamberlain, jchamberlain@fareastac.org, with the subject title 198 McNaughten Rezoning.

What is the project—The 198 McNaughten Rd. Developer has acquired the Sisters of the Holy Cross Property and expanded his apartment project that was originally presented in 2019. The project now includes 20, two story, 16 unit, two bedroom apartments on 25.89 acres. There are no three-story buildings.

There are 320 apartment units yielding a development density of 12.35 units/acre. There will be approximately 500 parking spaces.  The developer says all residents will exit directly to McNaughten Rd. However, there may be an emergency exit to Daner Rd protected by knock down bollards. A preliminary site plan is attached to this email.

 The apartments will be market rate starting at $1,550/month. The developer says he does not intend to have any “affordable housing” units.

 What is the Steering Committee Doing—This property will be developed. The steering committee’s objective is to get the developer to design a project that is acceptable to the community. We have established the following criteria:

1. The Far East Area Land Use Plan adopted by the City of Columbus about six years ago specifies a development density of 6-10 units/acre. The average development density of all communities in the McNaughten Corridor is approximately 5-7 units/acre. The development density for this project should not exceed the average development density of the McNaughten Road Corridor.

2. The project design should be compatible with the surrounding community. That community is single family homes and condominiums. The current proposal is 20 “cookie cutter” 16 unit two-story buildings.

3. The tree canopy of the entire corridor is critical to the character of the area. The tree canopy has been carefully preserved in the other developments and it must be preserved in this development.

4. This is a beautiful site for an upscale condo or single family home community. That is what the community wants.

5. But if the developer’s request for apartments is approved, they should be designed to blend in with the community.

6. There should not be any vehicular access to Daner Road. All property exits, including emergency exits, must be to McNaughten Rd.

7. Quality construction materials must be used, i.e. Hardieplank, brick, stone…, no vinyl.

8. There must be adequate turning lanes on McNaughten Road so as not to interrupt the traffic flow while people are waiting to turn into the apartment development.

9. There must be a comprehensive McNaughten Road (Main Street to Broad Street) traffic impact study that assures that the 198 McNaughten Rd. development does not exacerbate the current serious safety conditions on McNaughten Rd. for cars, pedestrians, and emergency vehicles.

10. The traffic study must include an analysis of how the East Main Street Corridor Bus Rapid Transit (BRT) project will affect McNaughten Road traffic.

The steering committee is talking to the appropriate city officials, professional consultants, and advisors to accomplish these objectives.

Process:

1. The FEAC hearing is the first step on June 14. Any resident may speak for three minutes at this meeting.

2. Then the City Development Commission will hold a hearing. They will not hear the project until the FEAC votes, but they will hold a hearing even if the FEAC does not approve the project. That hearing could be as early as July 14. Three (3) residents will be allowed to make a three minute comment at this meeting.

3. Then the project will go to City Council, with or without Development Commission Approval. Three (3) residents will be allowed to make a three minute comment at the Council Meeting.

We will need a large number of residents attending these meetings to convince Council to limit the development density, preserve the tree canopy, ensure that the development blends in with the surrounding community, and properly address McNaughten Road traffic congestion and safety issues.

If you have questions or comments you would like to make, please send them to mcnaughten.corridor.coalition@gmail.com.

This is a meeting that's worth attending.  If even half the people who live in McNaughten Village showed up and objected to this apartment building, it's likely we could get it changed to upscale condominiums or single family homes.  Either of those developments would be much better for us than an apartment building.