Transcript

Meeting number five will now come to

order. Please stand for the playing of

the national anthem.

Heat.

Heat.

Heat.

Heat.

Counseling, will you lead us in the

pledge?

>> I aliance to the flag of the United

States of America and to the republic

for which it stands, one nation under

God, indivisible, with liberty and

justice for all.

This evening, council is grateful to

have the Reverend John Edgar, the

founding pastor of United Methodist

Church for All People here to pray with

us. Pastor, welcome to council. Back to

council.

President Harden and members of city

council, I appreciate the opportunity to

be with you this evening. Let us pray.

Almighty God, as we assemble for the

proceedings of this city council

meeting, we humbly ask that each of us

may feel your presence and be guided by

your righteousness. Tonight, pour forth,

O Lord, your whispered words of wisdom

into the waiting ears of our council

members and their president. Continue to

weave them together as an effective

force for positive change.

Guide them in their deliberations,

ensuring that they make decisions that

provide and promote the unfolding of

your kingdom here in the city of

Columbus, even as it is in heaven. May

your amazing grace flow outward, washing

over all who have gathered in these

chambers. Be especially close to those

who make presentations or speak about

various matters. Temper their words with

civility and shape their requests to be

in harmony with your desires.

Awaken us aresh, dear God, to the truth

that we are stewards of the manifold

resources you have entrusted to us.

Guided by your grace, may we share

forward the best we have received,

trusting that you, oh Lord, will take

whatever we offer and use it to further

build an opportunity rich community

where all may thrive. Direct each of us,

council members and individual citizens,

to do everything we can to care for

those who are vulnerable and most at

risk.

All this we pray trusting that your Holy

Spirit is already at work within each of

our hearts and souls. Amen.

>> Amen. Thank you, pastor. Clerk, please

call the role.

>> Thanks. Timber Rosa de Padilla de Akawa

Dorren Green Reie Ross Weiss President

Harden. Any person who takes any action

to obstruct or interfere with the

conduct of tonight's meeting may be

charged with disturbing a lawful meeting

pursuant to Columbus City Code 2317.12.

Any person who enters those areas of

city council chambers reserved for city

officials or invited guests may be

charged with criminal trespass pursuant

to Columbus City code 2311.21.

>> Can I get a motion to the reading of the

journal?

>> Cler, please call the role. Bankston

Barosa de Padilla de Akawa Dors Green

Remy Ross Weiss President Harden

>> are there any additions or corrections

to the journal hearing none the journal

is approved this week's communication

received by the city clerk's office are

listed on the agenda will be published

in the city bulletin are there any other

uh communication be read into the record

>> madam clerk

>> no not at this time

>> before we go around the dis um want to

take a moment to uh reflect on the life

of and celebrate the service of longtime

city auditor uh and a person of service,

Mr. Hugh Dorian. Uh Mr. Dorian served

our city for more than 50 years. Um and

they they truly don't make them like

that anymore. Um Mr. Dorian would be

someone who would not want a lot of

fanfare, but because of the person he

was, how much humility he had, how he

served without wanting um the focus on

him, I think it's important that we

actually do put the focus on him, not

just to celebrate his service, but to

remind us who currently serve and those

who will serve after us what true

service, um humble service, um people

first service is really like and that

was Mr. Dorian. Um we will over the next

week as we celebrate Mr. Dorian um have

many different opportunities, but I

wanted to turn the floor over to Tom

from uh Mr. Dorian's office or from this

the auditor's office. Yeah, it was Mr.

Dorian's office uh to say a few words.

Tom,

thank you. President Harden, Pro Tim

Dorens, members of council, and city

colleagues. On behalf of Auditor Kilgore

and the staff at the Columbus City

Auditor's Office, we would just like to

express our condolences to the Dorian

family, but also celebrate the life of

former auditor Hugh Dorian. Mr. Dorian

was a shining example of a public

servant whose career was defined by

service, integrity, and an unwavering

commitment to the people of Columbus.

For more than five decades, Mr. Dorian

dedicated his life to this city. Until

his retirement, he was the only auditor

most of us in the city had ever even

known and was a constant stabilizing

presence. Mr. Dorian served with six

mayors, 10 council presidents, 51

council members, and four city clerks.

His steady leadership helped Columbus

maintain the strongest financial

standing, including the highest possible

credit ratings through disciplined and

careful management of public resources.

It is said that we stand in the shade

because someone before us had the

foresight to plant a tree. Well, to

extend that metaphor, we are living in a

forest due to Mr. Dorian's

far-sightedness and watchfulness. The

city of Columbus is a better place from

his sage advice and guidance and has

been shaped by his devotion and passion

for making Columbus a fantastic place to

live, work, play, and raise a family.

Mr. Dorian had his hand in nearly

everything related to the city's

infrastructure and finances, overseeing

the issuance of billions of dollars in

bonds and ensuring that the borrowed

funds were used to build and sustain the

essential systems our community depends

on. Much of what Columbus residents see

today, the growth of our neighborhoods,

the strength of our utilities, and the

stability of our services exist because

of his careful financial stewardship and

long-range vision. Those who worked with

him knew a man guided not by politics,

by a simple principle. Always consider

what is best for the community. Mr.

Dorian was the wise and steady leader

that helped steer Columbus through

crisis and prosperity. He is a role

model and the truest example I know as

to what the public service can be when

exercised with honesty, purpose, vision,

and passion. His legacy is not only

found in balanced ledgers and strong

credit ratings, but in a city that was

built, protected, and sustained through

decades of his faithful service.

Columbus is stronger because Hugh Dorian

chose to serve and to serve the city he

loved dearly with integrity. To the

Dorian family, please accept not only

our heartfelt sympathy for your grief,

but also the gratitude of an entire city

for his influence on our lives. May you

find peace and comfort in knowing he

lived an impactful and perfectful soul

life. To Hugh, Dorian, we simply say

thank you from a grateful city. Well

done, good and faithful servant.

>> Yeah.

>> Someone who's worked with Mr. Dorian for

almost two and a half decades. I'd like

to thank council for the opportunity to

make these remarks.

>> Well, thank you. This council um just

gives a big hug to uh the auditor's

office. A lot of folks who grew up under

um

of course our auditor uh was mentored by

Mr. Dorian and so many else so many

others in that office and so we are

thinking about your office. We are

praying for you and supporting um the

Dorian family as well.

May we please uh have a moment of

silence for the life and legacy of Mr.

Hugh Dorian.

Thank you.

Like I said, we will be celebrating Mr.

Dorian and I know uh uh proclamation day

is coming up. He was a true Irishman. So

uh council will be full with a lot of

Dorian I believe uh in a in a week

couple weeks or so uh as we also

celebrate him then. Um with that we'll

go around the DAS. Council Bankston.

>> Uh thank you uh council president and

again as you said truly lost an icon and

a giant. Um I had the pleasure of

knowing Mr. Dorian and working with him

directly. I ran the 2016 bond package

campaign. I was just reminiscing of some

of those times with my team of how uh

when you know you wanted to call record

a rooc call. You did not just send Mr.

Dorian a script and ask him to do it.

You had to go to his office, dial the

number for him and help uh him through

it because he was just, you know, uh

classic in that way. Uh and he had a way

with uh people that I think that uh is

just lost in today's politics. And so,

uh, definitely praying for him and his

family, but he definitely served this

community well and so many of us are

thankful for it. I know that I am and I

learned a tremendous amount, uh, in 2016

working with him. Uh, just uh, a couple

announcements. Uh, the rental uh,

registry hearing. Uh, as a reminder,

next Thursday on February 19th at 4

p.m., I will be chairing a the third

hearing to discuss the proposed creation

of a rental registry. The hearing will

share updates on the framework of the

proposal along with draft language for

the ordinance. Uh all persons wishing to

speak during the hearing in person must

fill out as the speaker request form by

Wednesday, February 18th at 5:00 pm. The

form can be accessed via my council uh

social media pages, council's web page,

or by contacting Jonathan Brown in my

office at jb browncolus.gov.

Written testimony must be emailed to

Jonathan Brown at jbbr columbus.gov with

the subject February 19 hearing

testimony with your name and address by

5:00 PM on February 18th. A document

highlighting the changes between the

last version and the newest version is

live on uh the uh council web page uh

under um uh my council web page

specifically. Uh the meeting will be

livereamed on the city's YouTube channel

and uh council Facebook pages and again

each speaker will be limited to their

remarks lasting no longer than three

minutes. Uh really want to thank all

folks that have engaged and lean in on

this rental registry. Again, the third

hearing and we will continue uh to

engage with the the community. So reach

out to my office if you have any

questions or have difficulties uh

accessing um that document. Uh and with

that, Council President, that's all I

have.

Uh, thank you, Council President. Uh, we

were going to do this during my piece of

legislation, but I thought we'd do it at

the top of the meeting, uh, when we have

the most folks here in attendance. So,

uh, winter has come. It is here. It

feels like it's not going to go

anywhere, but the temperature, mother

nature, is going to turn a corner and

work in our favor. So, um, first I want

to say thank you again to our snow

warriors. And just a reminder to folks

that I think it's very easy when um it

is snowing outside for us to lose the

joy that we once had as children when

there is a snow day because of the

inconveniences that it provides to us.

But um our snow warriors are friends and

neighbors who um for some of you may

have seen on a line I took a uh I went

out with one of our snow warriors and

she was sharing about how she had done

12-hour shifts from the time that the

snow started. And so um because uh we

have gotten the winter we have not

gotten for the past almost 20 years uh

we got it all at one time. So, I wanted

to hand it over to the director to just

give us a bit of an update on where we

are, um, what has happened since our

last council meeting and what folks can

expect. So, director, the floor is

yours.

>> All right, President Harden, chair

Barosa Padilla, other members of

council. Uh, we have had uh quite a few,

you know, um quite a week or two with uh

the snow and ice. Um we are working

through you know we had um gone through

the entire snow plan all 4600 miles. Um

we had hit all of our priority threes

you know we we aimed to hit them twice.

So we went through all the streets

twice. Um some of the priority ones

priority twos got hit multiple times. I

mean this was an unprecedented storm for

us. uh wanted to thank publicly all of

the other departments and divisions that

helped uh with the auxiliary staff. We

had contractor help. We had help from

the Franklin County Engineers Office uh

to help haul out the snow from downtown.

So, that was a huge help. We had folks

um from other departments and within my

department um dispatching all night, you

know, and then working their day shift.

I mean it's it was quite an effort just

to to get it all done. U we are working

through all the bike lanes right now and

also helping to assist our friends at

Columbus Water and Power with any of the

water main.

>> So um first I want to see if my

colleagues have any additional questions

or other thoughts. Um again I just

wanted to say thank you for um I saw the

bike lanes on Broad Street especially

that were cleared out. I know that um

folks have been asking about the bike

lanes in particular and because of the

unprecedented amount of snow. Um I mean

I saw the operation on uh even down

Broad Street of us literally packing

snow into trucks and moving it into

another location which has not happened

um in two decades. And so um do I have

that right that stat? So uh again I just

want to thank everyone for their

patience. I want to thank everyone for

looking out for your neighbors. Uh just

a reminder to everyone that your

sidewalk in front of your house is your

responsibility. And so we've gotten I

know that a lot of the snow has gone to

that burm area, but if folks can clear

that path, especially for folks so that

they can get to school, get to the bus

stop, get around the neighborhood, walk

your dog safely, that is imperative. And

if your neighbor has not, uh this might

be the time to ask them. maybe they need

a shovel or maybe they need some

assistance um from uh neighbors or

entrepreneurial young people who might

be in the community um looking for an

opportunity. But I just want to remind

folks that these sidewalks are our

responsibility and this is how we can

ensure that we're creating safe passages

for people. So, thank you again,

director. Thank you uh to everyone who

reached out. Thank you for clearing your

sidewalks. Thank you for continuing to

pack your patience. Um I know that it is

no fun at this point. Snow was cute the

first couple days. Now it's not as cute.

So uh but um the temperature is going to

go up. So that will give us a bit of a

reprieve and folks will have safer

streets and hopefully safer sidewalks to

walk down. So thank you. That's all for

me.

>> Thank you council member. Thank you for

your leadership during that time as

well. Council Deakau.

>> Thank you council president. I have two

quick announcements. First, I want to

congratulate the Department of

Neighborhoods for putting on another

successful Reverend Dr. Martin Luther

King youth ortorial contest. It was the

25th year. Um had a great group of kids

going from kindergarten all the way

through 12th grade. Very excited um to

see our winners move on to the next

stage of the contest. So, job well done

to the department for that. And next,

I'd like to take a moment to

congratulate Director Ree and Columbus

Recreation Parks Department for

receiving five awards of excellence from

the Ohio Parks and Recreation

Association. This past week, the

department received awards for the

Solder Avenue Pedestrian Bridge, the

Fran Ryan Center, the SEA Soulfest.

Additionally, they were recognized for

their work in expanding equity and

opportunity through golf. and Millard

Morgan was named youth sports coach of

the year which was super exciting. So I

think I speak for all my colleagues when

I say we are so proud of the hard work

of our recreation and parks department.

You guys just keep doing a great job and

um you continue to be competitive on a

state and national level and so we're

all very proud of you and that's all for

me today.

>> Thank you council member.

Congratulations,

Preso Tim.

>> Thank you, Council President. Uh I don't

do a ton of resolutions at at council,

but I do have two tonight because

there's two uh anniversaries and and

recognitions that I want to make sure

that we had an opportunity to celebrate.

Uh so I want to call up Walker and Ann

Evans as I read resolution 0021-2026

to recognize and celebrate the 25th

anniversary of Columbus Underground. Um,

I remember moving to Columbus uh nearly

20 years ago and stumbling on to

Columbus Underground and it really

helped me navigate a new city, arts and

culture and the civic affairs of

Columbus and it's been so cool to watch

uh Columbus grow and change with the

city during that time. I think it's

become such an intricral uh part of

Columbus as we think about as we

continue to change, what does that mean?

And uh you all have done such a

interesting job and helping to reinvent

yourself over and over again in the

changing media landscape that we have

here in Columbus and having the

independent journalism that uh has the

ability to cover everything all the fun

things in Columbus, but also at the same

time asking really really tough

questions around uh affordable housing

and safety in Columbus and what are we

going to do with uh you know the amount

of development and changes that

neighborhoods are experiencing now and

into the future. Um, so as this

anniversary uh came and arrived, I

wanted to make sure we were we recognize

such a um important part of independent

journalism here in Columbus because I

know it's touched a lot of different

lives. Uh, and certainly uh for a kid

that moved here from Athens after

college, uh, you all were integral for

me figuring out how this city worked.

Um, and I know I'm not alone in that. So

wanted to make sure I had the

opportunity to to recognize you all for

for this accomplishment. So with that,

want to turn the floor over to you all.

>> Okay. Yeah, we want to say thanks to

council and for this recognition and

we're very grateful the community has

embraced Columbus Underground the way it

has over the past 25 years and it we're

just excited. It allows us to create

opportunities and jobs and cultural

experiences for people in our city and

we look forward to continuing to get to

do this work.

Yeah, I just wanted to say that we are

celebrating uh all year long, so we have

plenty of events and parties and things

uh to look forward to. But um ju just to

add that, you know, wi with our jobs, we

are, you know, our role is to shine a

spotlight on the people and the the

places, the businesses, the

entrepreneurs, the artists, the the

events that that make this city, you

know, a great place to live. Um and so

we don't always talk about ourselves a

whole lot. We don't we don't shine the

spotlight on ourselves. So, I just want

to say thanks for for doing this because

uh you know we we don't we're not in the

spotlight a lot. So, this this this

means a lot to us on a personal level.

>> So, thanks.

>> Uh want to pause to see my customer bro.

>> Uh so, fun fact, Walker Evans and I were

on the very first ever YP commission

>> for the city of Columbus. We're not

going to talk about how old the YP

commission is today because the people

who are real good at math that might

give a little bit more information than

we're willing to share with the

community Walker, but I just want to say

um I think to the point that you were

making prom, thank you for always being

a good partner. I think at any time

community based things that we've

reached out to to say, "Hey, can you do

a story? Can you shine a light on this?"

Or, "Can we talk about this?" you found

ways to do that and ways to really

uplift everything from stories about

fashion, about regular people or their

homes or art collections or things that

are happening in the city. You're always

my first stop to see like what's going

on in the city this weekend or what fun

thing can we do. And so, um, thank you

for always evolving and changing and

bringing fun stories and people stories

to life. And also, one thing that folks

also don't know is that you've been

involved in many efforts around the

city. when I think about independence

day and festival and other things in the

city because you are that quiet quiet

humble person that moves around that um

I think creates the kind of Columbus

that we want to live in and you have

been a part of that and a fabric of

that. So thank you both. Thank you for

all the contributions that you have made

together. You're the true definition of

a power couple.

>> Thank you.

>> Thank you.

>> Certainly a family business. Uh any my

any of my other colleagues? Uh seeing

none I move for P. All right. Adoption.

>> Clerk please call the row.

>> Bankston Barrosa Deodia de Akaw Dors

Green Reie Ross Wish President Harden.

>> Adopted.

>> Thank you. Um, next I want to invite Mr.

Dwayne Casarees as I read resolution

0022X-20226

to the podium uh to recognize and honor

him for his retirement from directions

for youth and family after 33 years of

service and leadership. U it is not

hyperbole to suggest that Dwayne has

touched tens of thousands of kids and

most importantly their entire families

uh through his work uh with young people

in Columbus. uh the ability for Dwayne

and his team of of everything that

you've done for young people in our

community really to address the the root

causes of trauma that so many

unfortunately young people in Columbus

have experienced in their lives uh with

such a broad and intentional work to

uplift them and to expand those services

um again we were just talking about this

before the meeting uh to other parts of

Columbus and um your leadership with

directions for youth and family has been

something I know I've appreciated and I

think every member of this council has

deeply deeply appreciated. Um, and then

you know, you decided to do the the

bigger thing and um, not only just stay

in the the one place on Ohio Avenue that

you knew you were welcomed and supported

and had that incredible impact, but you

looked what else could the organization

do and in the craziest of times raised a

boatload of money to uh, build a new uh,

center and invite even more families in

our community to receive the incredibly

needed resources that you and your team

u provided. So, um, this is really just

an opportunity for council to say thank

you for all of this work for so so many

years. Uh, to your wife who's here

tonight, thank you for sharing him with

the community for all these years. I

know this work has certainly uh takes a

toll on the on not only the person doing

it, but also their family, it's hard not

to bring that home at the end of the

day. Uh, considering all the things that

you were uh involved in with with our

young people in our community. Um, so a

welldeserved retirement and uh a month

in and it sounds like you already have

some things figured out. Although that

sounds like the gym is still the first

thing starts today. So good for you. Um,

but again, this is just a moment for for

myself and council just to say thank you

uh to you for for all the work that

you've done over the years. Um, I don't

know if any of my colleagues have

anything that they want to add before we

turn the mic over to you. I've I just

want to um second the the commemoration

of your service. I remember when we

first met and I was introducing to you

this new concept about um community

emergent and making sure our officers

had um intentional connection with young

people so they can understand um how to

be trauma informed in that work. and I

remember how visionary you were in

creating simulations for the officers

and the kids to engage with together.

Um, and I will tell you that has been

some very transformative work um, both

in our division and with the community.

So, thank you so so much for believing

in an idea that I had for being one of

our first partners to do it. um and

certainly look forward to continuing

working with directions for youth and

families as we continue to support our

young people in the community. So, thank

you. Thank you so much.

>> Thank you. Thank you for being part.

Thank you for this recognition, too. And

thank you. I have to tell you from the

beginning,

Rob and I were talking about this. Seven

years ago is when I had first talked to

him about building the Kittin Center and

uh um he was so encouraging through that

whole thing and and co hit that set

everything back. But um city council has

just been so supportive throughout the

process. This is uh uh it's kind of

funny stand Toy Lord as you were on the

board for a little while. You know, I've

I've worked with so many of you in the

nonprofit world all along the way and

I'm just really grateful for it. Uh um

so thank you. It's an honor to be able

to serve Columbus uh um like all of you

and with all our fellow nonprofit

partners who really every day um go out

there to lift and and uh put smiles on

the faces and try to keep people safe

and keep them in homes and keep them fed

and um just the whole group of them. I'm

honored to be a part of it. and I was

honored to be able to to really live out

what I really think was my purpose um

and to find it and to be able to do that

and to do it with all of you. So, thank

you. Thank you very very much.

>> Any other comments my colleagues? Seeing

none, I move for adoption.

>> Clerk, please call the row.

>> Banks temporarosa de podia de a dors

green reie ros president Harden

>> adopt it.

Hey, Council President.

>> Thank you, President Pro Tim. Council

member Green,

>> Council Member Remy, Council Member

Ross.

>> I just have one resolution this evening.

If I could invite the Honorable Judge

James Edward Green to the front. And as

you are walking, I would like to

introduce resolution 0020x-2026

to recognize, honor, and celebrate Judge

James Edward Green on his retirement

from the Franklin County Municipal

Court. The Honorable Judge Green was the

most senior judge on the Franklin County

Municipal Court when retiring in

December of 2025. Judge Green was

appointed by Governor Voic to the

Franklin County Municipal Court in 1994,

where he served for more than 31 years,

making him the longest serving

AfricanAmerican judge on the bench and

earning him a place in history as the

second longest serving judge on the

Franklin County Municipal Court. While

on the bench, Judge Green presided over

more than 480,000

cases.

Green's service to the Columbus

community and to Franklin County also

includes serving as an assistant

Franklin County prosecutor, teaching at

the Columbus Police Academy, teaching at

the Columbus State Community College for

more than 20 years, pouring into

countless K through 12th graders with

scholarships, speaking engagements,

supporting sports teams, and celebrating

them at graduation. The judge is

passionate about mentoring and

encouraging young students interested in

the law. He has served as the mock trial

coordinator for decades. The city of

Columbus and the county and Franklin

County municipal court have truly been

enriched by Judge Green's commitment to

justice, public service, and humanity.

Prior to serving on city council, I had

the great honor of serving as an

assistant city attorney for nearly 10

years. And I truly truly am thankful for

all of the wisdom, whether I asked for

it or not, that Judge Green has given to

me. And even before then, remember

seeing him as a young kid at Corinthian

Baptist Church with his bow tie ushering

in the back of the sanctuary. Truly has

always been a lifelong servant of this

community and it is my great honor to

recognize you today. Um, do any of my

colleagues have comments?

>> All right, with that, I'll move for

adoption.

>> Oh. Oh, I'm sorry, Council Member

Bangston.

>> You got to watch the subtle cues with

me. I don't I don't speak out of ter. I

I wait to be recognized by the chair. Um

Judge Green, I just wanted to say, you

know, congratulations. Uh you know, we

go back a ways. Uh and what I will say

that I hope folks take away from your

service is that of civility. I think

that we are increasingly in a time that

uh partisan politics has weaved its way

through everything and the theater of it

all. sometimes uh can block out the

work, but you are someone who did the

work uh with no fanfare. We're always a

straight shooter. Uh and I will say that

one of the things that stood out to me

the most uh when I had a chance to come

uh visit you in your chambers. uh you

were someone who nominated me for a

recognition that and of and with an

organization that I had no connection to

uh with the Simon Kenton Council um Boy

Scouts of America as the uh Whitney M.

Young awardee for that year. And what

you said to me was that folks are always

watching

>> even folks that you don't know. And that

stuck with me because I think sometimes

uh in this work folks want to be out

there and be out front, but sometimes

the work will speak for itself. Uh and

so you always reminded me and that

sticks with me to this day that it's not

about the fanfare or the recognition,

but it's about rolling up our sleeves

and doing the work. That's why we raise

our hand uh for public service. And so

just want to say to you, job well done

uh my friend. looking forward to what

you're going to do in your next because

I know we just talking you only been

retired for a couple days but you're

already on to something else uh and

looking forward uh to seeing how you

will continue to impact the community

but congratulations congratulations uh

and thank you uh for pouring into me for

pouring into so many other uh folks in

this community and for serving us so

well. Congratulations.

>> Any other comments from my colleagues?

Well, I'd be remiss if I didn't give the

good judge an opportunity to speak um

before council before I move for

adoption.

>> You know, not to give me a microphone.

>> I want to thank you for the recognition.

Um I've had a heart for service. I'd say

my entire life and what oftent times now

is being referred to as retirement. I'm

calling it retooling.

>> Okay.

>> I'm not going anywhere.

I'll continue to serve as a visiting

judge at a courtroom near you

and I've started a business where I'm

going into life coaching so I can

continue to try to pour into those in

the community that are going through

various transitions. So, I'm excited

about the next chapter. Uh my wife is in

the back, Risa, and we are being uh

called into service as a team

>> to hopefully do some neat things yet in

the community. So, again, thank you. I

appreciate what you do and uh it's been

a good run. It's been a good run.

>> With that, I move for adoption.

>> Second.

>> Clerk, please call the role.

>> Banks, Bar Rosa, de Padilla, Deau,

Dorren, Green, Remy, Ross, Wiss,

President Harden,

>> adopted.

That's it for me.

>> That's awesome. Council member White.

>> Thank you, Council President. Um, I just

want to piggyback off of my colleagues

comments related to the weather. As we

know, the challenge at first was moving

it out the way, and we have still been

dealing with the impacts of just the

cold temperatures over the last two

weeks. And I know residents have

expressed concerns just related to water

main breaks and leaks that have occurred

and so wanted to give the department a

chance to provide an update on where

things stand at this moment. So, Deputy

Director,

>> thank you, President Harden and Council

Member Wash, members of council. Yeah,

the last two weeks have been very

strenuous on our water maintenance

distribution crews. Our seven crews have

been working 12-hour days, seven days a

week. Um thankfully, due to the mayor's

um authorization of emergency um

spending, we were able to add five more

crews to that. So, we have 12 crews out

working now uh to repair those lines. Um

it's it's the cold. It's that extended

cold that really slows us down. It's

it's these this the staff is in trenches

with wet gloves and it just slows the

process down. But with our 12 crews,

we're getting ahead of it. Um luckily

we've got some temperatures rising here.

Um when I left the office today, we had

completed uh 70 mainline breaks. Uh

about the same service line breaks, too,

and we're down to six

ones we have to investigate. So, we're

glad to see that single digit finally

appearing on future breaks to um to

investigate. Uh big thanks to public

service. Not only do they remove snow,

they we now know they can remove ice and

lots of it. So, thank you.

Thank you for that. And a big thank you

to everyone at Columbus Water and Power

and DPS for all the work that has been

put in over the last two weeks. We as a

city truly appreciate the time and

attention that folks have dedicated to

make sure that we can safely move about

the city, safely drink the water that we

bring in. So, thank you for all the work

that you all are doing as well. And glad

to hear we're below single digits and

every day getting better. So, we're all

praying for the deluge of water from

snow melting on Wednesday when we hit

hopefully 39 degrees, but uh we'll see

if the snow is still around by the end

of the week. So, thank you. That's it

for me, Council President. Thank you,

council member.

Well, I get the honor of bringing up uh

all these athletes in the back of the

room. Uh so, as I start to um uh read,

uh could the young men of the uh 8U and

9U level of legacy youth come forward?

These are champions, and I'll explain

what they are champions of when they get

up here.

That's impressive.

You want to sit that on the dis? Yeah.

Sit up there so so folks can see it.

You hear that clink cling? That's That's

>> sounds like winners in here.

>> Oh, we got two trophies.

>> We might need to do two rows. Actually,

Keep

going. Keep going down right there. Keep

going. Keep going down.

>> So, as our young men are assembling and

parents, you can come up and get a

better picture of our

young champions.

>> So, these young men were the 2025

American Youth Football Division 2

National Champions. and

national champions,

national champions

right from Columbus, Ohio. And they went

down and they won this honor uh down in

Naples, Florida,

>> uh last fall. Um these young men are

from the 8U and the 9U level, and

they're the Gators. Uh this achievement

reflects months of discipline working

with their coaches, working with their

community. Um they represented us so

well. Um, we could not let this pass

without bringing all of them down to

celebrate them, to celebrate their

coaches, Dominic. Uh, the work that

you've done with not just these young

men, but all the young boys that you

work with and then all the parents that

we have in the back. Um, it is enriching

our community uh and and really pouring

into our future. And so, we are so so

proud of each and every one of you uh

for your your accomplishment. I'm going

to turn it over to uh Dominic and then

I'm sure a couple my council members

want to say some few words.

>> Yes. Um first off, man, I just want to

give can can we get these young men a

round of applause one more time, please?

>> Thank you. Appreciate it.

Yes. Um

first and foremost, um I want to say

thank you to all of our city council

members. um you know for allowing us to

be here today. You know, taking time to

recognize us um our student athletes and

our organizations truly um you know

truly means

truly means more than you know. Um I

want to start off by also giving a

special thank you to uh Councilman Nick

Bangston um you know for his continued

support of Legacy U from day one. I feel

like you know picking your brain and

just um actually following through. So,

I appreciate the support from day one

and helping getting these young men year

after year uh there. Also want to uh

congratulate newly elected um you know,

Councilwoman uh Tiier Ross. Um thank you

for your years of support and

partnership um and collaboration um

Tiara first uh introduced legacy you to

the community emerging

program today bridging the gap between

officers and our boys that's here uh

today. Uh, Councilman Remy, thank you

uh, for always showing up, answering the

phone, coming on the southside, you

know, to the buildings, etc. We really

appreciate you and every everything that

you contributed to us as well. Um, and

lastly, but certainly not least, uh,

Council President Harden, um, you know,

thank you for just believing in the

vision from day one. Um, as we stood

before you, you always answered our

phone. Um, you've always showing up. Um,

you've never just talked the talk, but

you've actually walked the walk. Um, I

think that we can appreciate that. um

you know and our families can as well.

We're gonna do push-ups.

>> What?

>> Relax. Catch a bubble.

>> Going to do push-ups.

Um

but we thought it was important to get

our kids down here to be quite honest.

Um you know, for many of our kids, this

is their first time and our family

members, this is their first time in

this building. Uh many of them have

probably driven past here multiple times

without really knowing what happens

here. um or feeling like this space

wasn't for them. Um but today that

changes. Today they get a chance to see

that this building actually belongs to

them as well. Um we thought uh obviously

too that you know not only are we just

celebrating a championship, but it goes

beyond the field. Um you know they're

just eight and nine years old, but

they're very impressionable, right?

They're developing who they are and what

they want to be. And so being able to

get them here, again, it it extends

beyond just the uh sports um because

it's bigger than that. Um there are a

ton of data that also supports that and

show that young people who are engaged

in extracurricular activities uh

specifically sports um teaches

discipline, accountability, teamwork,

resilience. Um there's also strong data

points that shows that um in sports

specifically decreases young men's

chances of being uh incarcerated. You

know, so the work that a lot of our

coaches are doing and they're not all

here right now. um our team moms, our

team admins. Um you know, this is the

work that goes into making sure that

they're able to be champions in life in

general, right? Um so I want to make

sure I show them love for that. Um we've

been intentional about keeping kids in

um engaged and creating structure um you

know, just holding up a standard um and

we want to make sure we continue that uh

you know, so we appreciate the

collaboration and I want I couldn't go

by without thanking the Department of

Neighborhoods, uh Director Douglas, um

Mr. there. I think he's here right here

as well. Uh Karem um for trusting us. Uh

Nick Jones, I don't know if he had a

chance to show up. He was busy, but Nick

Jones from Children's um he he he him

and his team overseas and make sure we

get over 300 Wellness exams during the

summertime. Make sure our families don't

have to get appointments. They can get

shots to go back to school, whatever

they need. So, um you know, it's truly

taking a village, you know, to get these

boys here. Could Could all my parents

stand up in the back? They already

recording. You know what I'm saying?

Let's give him a round of applause. Tell

us give your parents a round of

applause.

Um, last thing I'll say about that, I

think that um, you know, in in this day

and age where I think parent support um,

is premium, something that we we push.

And I think sometimes, um, you know, our

young black and brown boys, uh, you

know, not only do they don't get the

recognition they deserve, but I think

it's a picture that's painted that they

don't have support, you know. So, I want

to make sure that we are uh celebrating

um the adults that are putting in the

time and energy and volunteering their

time uh to make sure they're celebrated.

So, thanks for having us here today. We

appreciate it.

>> Thank you, man. Uh thank you, Coach DJ,

um for what you do and all the coaches

who have been pouring into um these

young men. You you started off right and

that's why it is important to have the

the young men here today. We we say that

this is the people's house. This is the

people's house and this literally is the

people's living room. And uh it's where

we come to have tough conversations, but

it's also where we come to celebrate. Uh

and so it's so fitting, young men, that

you know that this is yours. Um that uh

this space, this community space, this

building literally is here to make sure

that you succeed and that you have

everything you need to thrive in our

community. And uh I hope you are feeling

like you are taking up the space because

it is yours. It is yours. And so we um

are so excited uh to have you here uh

and so excited and so grateful um that

this was more than just a a sport, but

this was um development uh that you have

been given and uh we're just really

grateful. Um do my colleagues have

council member Bankser?

>> I I'm gonna be really quick. I just want

to thank y'all uh because we got another

team that didn't bring home a national

championship, but y'all did it. So,

y'all the redemption. So, we appreciate

y'all for bringing national championship

back to Columbus.

>> Thank you.

>> That's no shade to Ohio State. They

going to get there next year. But y'all

delivered the national champ two

national championships to us. So, we

appreciate it. But no, congratulations,

guys. And know this. I think uh DJ said

it well. you have all of those folks in

the back rooting for you, but you have

all of these folks up here, we are

rooting for you uh as well. Um we have

your back just as long just to know that

when you go out and you do this, why we

recognize it is because you're not just

out there playing football. You're

representing Columbus. You are

ambassadors uh to uh the rest of this

country. That's what you did. So you put

your city on your back and know that we

going to have continue to have your back

as you guys metriculate through life. So

make sure you're listening to mom and

dad. Make sure you're listening to coach

DJ and make sure you're doing those

push-ups so we can continue to bring

home these championships. All right,

congratulations guys.

>> Thank you.

>> That's that's how we make sure they

listen to him is doing those push-ups.

What are you talking about? Um so first

of all, I just wanted to say um echo

what my colleague said. I love whenever

young people come here. This is my

absolute favorite because these are core

memories that you're building. And I

think that for the parents, for DJ, for

your coaches, I think um I'm the mom of

two athletes. And first to our parents,

I see y'all. I know it's a lot to drive

them to practices and fundraising that

you have to do and travel that you have

to do, especially with teams like this.

And so, I just want to say thank you to

the parents for pouring into your young

people and making that investment and

making those sacrifices. Um, and to all

of the leaders of the program. I mean,

this is, you know, sports give our young

people an opportunity to be part of a

community and it teaches them such

valuable life lessons. How to work with

different kinds of people, how to push

yourself, how to overcome obstacles, how

to believe in yourself, how to continue

to be inspired, how to like move your

bodies and understand the power that you

have um both by yourself and then also

collectively. And then to our young

people are here. I know y'all are antsy

because this was a long meeting and all

of it's not fun, but I just want to say

thank you for blessing us today because

I think anytime that we have the

opportunity to enjoy your success,

right? That you got y'all went out to

that field every day. You got to travel.

You got to bring home this championship.

understand that all the people in this

community are behind you and that we are

rooting for you and that this is one of

many opportunities that I hope that you

continue to take because there's many

opportunities that this community will

offer to you that are yours for the

taking so that we um continue to invest

important to your success. So, thank you

and congratulations.

>> Thank you. Appreciate it.

>> Sure.

>> Sure. So, I just want to echo all the

comments that my colleagues uh mention

and then shout out to the entire village

that made this happen. I just want to

see the bling. I see the rings. I ain't

see them. If you can put them up like we

got to see that. Yeah, y'all doing it

big.

I'm echoing and and concurring with all

of my colleagues comments, but I do just

to the parents and to DJ and to all of

the facilitators who helped to make this

happen. Thank you for providing safety.

That's what you are doing for our young

people.

um you are providing safety to children

who may not get it every day.

So, so thank you for standing in the

gap. I know that the work is difficult.

I've talked to you about the difficulty

of the work. Thank you for staying

strong for our young people. Thank you

parents. Thank you facilitators. Thank

you to all of you for everything you do

for our community.

And council members, we are giving uh

each one of these young men a resolution

uh so signed by all of us uh to

celebrate them as national champions uh

in for 2025. Uh could everybody stand

and celebrate these young men?

Oh, hold up. Wait, Q. Hold up.

>> We need some We are the champion music.

>> Thank you.

>> Thank you. Appreciate it.

>> Miss Linda has everybody's uh

certificates, right? There we go.

>> Give it to

>> What do you say?

>> You can sing.

>> Y'all can't let us hold on to those. No.

Ours

look a little more exciting.

>> We need like a hall of fame where we can

put that on display here. I

give them a few minutes to transition

out.

All All right. Are there any uh other

comments by our elected official offices

from city attorney's office, auditor,

and treasur's office? Seeing none, at

this time, may we have uh may we remove

uh ordinance number 00074-2026

from the housing, homelessness, and

building committee. Are there any other

uh requests by members of council uh for

removal? Seeing none, may we now have a

motion to wave the reading of title 38

legislation by the clerk.

>> Clerk, please call the role.

>> Bang. Stamper Rosa de Padilla de Akawa

Dorins Green Remy Ross Weiss President

Harden

>> thank you will the clerk now reading to

the record the ordinance numbers of

30-day legislation on tonight's agenda

for first reading

>> in finance and governance committee we

have ordinance 111 159 164 1929

221 and 223-2026

and public service and transportation

committee we have ordinance 146 and

294-2026

neighborhoods recreation and parks

committee ordinance 118 18-2026

Health, Human Services, and Equity

Committee. Ordinance 312-2026

Public Safety and Criminal Justice

Ordinance 213-2026

Housing, Homelessness, and Building

Committee. Ordinance 364-2026.

Public Utilities and Sustainability

Committee. We have ordinance 34, 40, 53,

60, 104, 120, 139, 141, 158, 162, 169,

174, 179, 186, 191, 194, 196, 215, 238,

244, 249, and 279-2026.

>> Thank you, Madam Clerk. We don't have

any speakers on the first reading

portion of the agenda. The following

ordinance appear on our agenda as

consent action. Will the clerk please

read those into the record?

>> Resolutions of expression 30X, 31X, and

29X-2026.

In Finance and Governance Committee, we

have ordinance 90, 129, 151, 163, 171,

181, 182, 200, 220, 233, 239, 282, 303,

306, and 386-2026.

Ex, I'm sorry, economic development and

small and minority business, we have

ordinance 225-2026.

and public service and transportation

committee. We have ordinance 3502-2025,

ordinance 45, 113 and uh 190 and

302-2026.

Neighborhoods recreation and parks

committee. We have ordinance 335,

336 and 389-2025.

We have ordinance 72 and 78 79 80 119

124 125 127 and 273-2026.

In workforce education and labor

committee we have ordinance 150-2026.

In health human services and equity

committee we have ordinances 102 176 two

and 201-2026.

Public Safety and Criminal Justice

Committee, we have ordinance 19, 15, and

289-2026.

In Housing, Homelessness, and Building

Committee, we have ordinance 83, 109,

115, 157, 224, and 284-2026.

Public Utilities and Sustainability

Committee, we have ordinance 3458-2025.

and ordinances 38 39 44 47 51 59 91 100

117 130 and 333-2026

and rules and policy committee we have

appointments 1617 and 18-2026

>> thank you madam clerk there are no

questions or comments on uh the consent

agenda is there a motion to approve

>> clerk please call the role

>> thanks Rosa de Padilla de Akawa, Dorne,

Green, Remy, Ross W, President Harton.

>> Consent agenda is approved. Thank you,

madam clerk. We'll now uh uh proceed

with the second reading of 30-day

postponed and emergency legislation. The

first committee to come before council

is the finance and governance committee

chair by councelor Benson. Council floor

is yours.

>> Thank you, council president. Tonight in

the Finance and Governance Committee, we

have ordinance uh 29-2026

to authorize the city auditor to

appropriate and expend up to

$4,598,972.20

within the debt retirement fund for

reimbursement to the River South

Authority to make lease payments to

authorize the city auditor on behalf of

the Department of Public Service to

expend up to 1,841,000

within the Mobility Enterprise Fund to

the River South Authority to make lease

payments. Uh, this ordinance is a

routine annual appropriation that funds

lease payments for several properties

via the River South Authority, who

manages several downtown properties

slated for redevelopment that the city

has a stake in. Uh, it's really more of

a a financing mechanism uh to repay back

uh debt service uh for redevelopment

efforts that the River South Authority

is doing in conjunction with the city.

Are there any questions or comments from

my colleagues? Uh, seeing none, I move

for passage.

Banks Timber Rosa de Podia de Akawa Dors

Green Remy Ross vice president Hart

>> pass.

>> Uh thank you. Next, we have ordinance

274-2026

to authorize the finance and management

director to associate all general budget

reservations resulting from the

ordinance and to establish various

purchase orders for automotive parts for

the fleet management division per the

terms and conditions of various

previously established universal term

contracts to authorize the expenditure

of $2,800,000

from the fleet management operating fund

and to declare an emergency. Uh, this

ordinance authorizes the establishment

of purchase orders related to automotive

parts for use by the fleet management

division. The fleet management division

fuels, maintains, and services city of

Columbus vehicles. These parts are

included in the terms and conditions of

previously established universal term

contracts and will be used to service

and repair city vehicles. Seeing no

questions or comments from my

colleagues, I move for passage.

>> Click, please call the role. Banks Roso

de Podia de Akawa Dors Green Reie Ross

White President Hart

>> passed. Thank you. And lastly, in the

finance and governance committee, we

have ordinance 323-2026

to authorize the director of finance and

management on behalf of the office of

construction management to modify and

increase the professional cont the

professional construction manager at

risk service agreement with Gilbane

Smoot for the new municipal court

building project to authorize an

expenditure up to 10,988,461

within the construction management

taxable fund and the construction

management capital improvements bond.

comp fund to provide for payment of

prevailing wage services to the

department of public service to amend

the 2025 capital improvements budget and

to declare an emergency. Uh this

ordinance authorizes a modification for

an existing uh cm contract with Gilbane

Smoot for demolition services related to

the new municipal court building

project. This represents the initial

construction phase whereby the existing

James A. K's building located at 410

South High Street will be demolished.

This demolition as well as certain

modifications to the existing Franklin

County parking garage are necessary

prior to construction of the new

municipal court building. Future

legislation will be advanced later in

2026 for site excavation and

foundations. Construction of the new

municipal court building will commence

in 2026 and anticipated completion in

early 2030. Are there any questions or

comments from my colleagues? Seeing

none, I move for passage.

>> Please call the role.

>> Banks temporarosa de padilla de a dors

green remy ros president Harden.

>> Pass.

>> Thank you council president. So I have

my committees this evening.

>> Thank you Mr. Chair. Uh the next

committee come before council the public

service and transportation committee

chair by council Rosia. Council the

floor is yours.

>> Uh thank you council president. I have

four items on second read this evening

in public service and transportation.

I'm very excited about these because the

majority of these are meeting what

people love the most, which is

sidewalks, which meets all of our goals

around uh around vision zero and

ensuring that folks can move um safely

through their neighborhoods. So, first

is uh ordinance 0054206

to authorize the city attorney to file

complaints in order to immediately

appropriate and accept the remaining fee

simple and lesser real estate

necessarily to com to timely complete

the UIRF South Linden sidewalks 2017

project and to authorize an expenditure

of $3,973

from existing ACDI2495-10

the urban Infrastructure Recovery Fund

or URIF will support sidewalk

installations in the South Linton area

requiring city acquisition of property

to allow DPS to timely complete the

project. The city's acquisition of the

real estate will help make improve or

repair certain portions of the public

rightway located in the vicinity of

South London Avenue which will open to

the public without charge. So, um my

colleagues uh know this. UF

grants usually take a while. You can see

this one's from 2017, but we are finally

here creating these sidewalks on

portions of South Lynden. There'll be

more information to come. This is just

so that we can obtain some of the uh uh

public rightway so that we can build

those sidewalks. Director, is there

anything that you want to add to this

particular ordinance?

>> Uh, Council President, Chair Baria,

nothing to add.

>> Great. Thank you. So, do my colleagues

have additional questions or comments?

Very excited about sidewalks in South

London. Uh, seeing none, I move for

passage. Second.

>> Click, please call the role.

>> Bankston, Barrosa, Deodia, de Akawa,

Dorance, Green, Remy, Ross, White,

President Harden.

>> Pass.

>> Thank you. Next, we have ordinance 0063

20226 to amend the 2025 capital

improvement budget to authorize the

transfer funds within the streets and

highways bond fund to appropriate funds

within the streets and highways bond

fund to authorize the director of public

service to enter the contract with

complete general construction company

for the pedestrian safety Wford Street

Charbot Drive and Northtown Boulevard

sidewalks project to authorize the

expenditure of up to 1,887,5

$56

uh85

from the streets and highways bond fund

for the project and to declare an

emergency. This project will install

sidewalks on sections of Wford Street,

Charbot Drive and Northtown Boulevard

using funds from the streets and

highways bond fund. Installation of

sidewalk will include curb ramps and

drive approaches. So, these sidewalks

will begin near the Morse uh near Morse

Center and run across Morse Road to new

uh nearby grocery stores and other

businesses. Director, is there something

you would like to add to this ordinance?

>> I would just add that this is a really

important project that connects a lot of

multifamily housing. Um it fills in some

really important gaps to allow uh that

housing to be, you know, get supported

by the businesses along Morse Road.

>> Yeah. Especially when we see the density

along Morse Road and giving folks a safe

passage, especially if they're on, you

know, scooters, bikes, mobility devices,

walking, even though we want them to be

in the street, but I'm just thinking

about kids and other folks. This just

gives them a safe passage across Morse

Road to get to those critical businesses

to meet the needs of their families. Do

my colleagues have additional questions

or comments? Seeing none, I move for

passage.

>> Second. Go

>> ahead. Please call the role. Bankston

Barrosa Deodia de Akawa Dorn screen Remy

Ross White President Harden

>> pass.

>> Thank you. Next we have 0073 20226 to

amend the 2025 capital improvement

budget to authorize the director of

public service to enter into contract

with Strawer Construction Incorporated

for the resurfacing 2025 slurry seal

crack seal project to authorize the

expenditure of up to 1,832,84.38

from the streets and highways bond fund

for the project and to declare an

emergency. So this project will repair

over 100 city streets including crack

sealing asphalt repair using funds from

the streets and highways bond fund. This

contract also includes the cracked

ceiling of 86 city streets and slurry

micro sealing ceiling of 27 streets and

asphalt rejuvenation of 12 streets.

Director, there's there's a lot of crack

sealing, slurrying asphalt. What is what

do all those things mean in simple terms

and what can our residents expect?

Good evening. Again, all of those terms

mean that we're doing preventative

maintenance to make sure that our

resurfacing lasts as long as we possibly

can. Uh all those little black lines

that you might see drawn all over uh

pavement, it's to keep the the cracks

from happening and water from getting

into that pavement and, you know,

cracking apart. It just helps make our

resurfacing last longer. So, it's

preventative maintenance.

>> Thank you. Um, also I I want to remind

folks, we talked about this before, but

especially now because of the salt,

because of the beet juice, because of

other things that we use to treat the

roads, you might see more potholes, you

might see more things. Use 311 to report

all of those. This is part of our

previous resurfacing project, but we

will address those um those bigger

issues that we see after the winter kind

of sweeps past us we head into the

spring so that we can then go back and

make our roads safer for everyone. So,

do my colleagues have additional

questions or comments? Seeing none, I

move for passage.

>> Second.

>> Clerk, please call the role.

>> Berosa de Podia de Akawa Dors Green Remy

Ross W. President Harden

>> passed.

>> Great. And this one I'm very very

excited about. Any southsider who is

here or who travels uh along one of our

main arterials on the southside will be

very excited as well. This is ordinance

00892026

to authorize the director of public

service to request that the director of

the Ohio Department of Transportation

establish a reasonable and safe perma uh

speed on Parsons Avenue from East

Whittier Street to East Broad Street to

repeal any and all speed limit

ordinances and resolutions on said

roadway. So this is about decreasing the

speed limit from 35 miles per hour to 25

miles per hour on Parsons Avenue from

East Whittier to East Broad Street. The

this um authorizes our director to go

back to uh ODOT. So director, can you

talk a little bit about why this portion

of the street and how we came to

lowering the speed to uh those 10 miles?

>> Yep. Good evening again. So this

legislation is to reduce the speed limit

as you said on Parson's Avenue to 25

miles per hour. Um this is a part is

part of our vision zero Columbus action

uh to prioritize safety for everyone who

travels along Parson's Avenue whether

you are walking on a bike, driving or

taking the bus. We know that speed is

recognized as the fundamental factor in

crash severity. It's especially true for

vulnerable road users like people

walking and biking.

This reduced speed limit on this section

of Parsons will enhance safety and it

will align with the existing 25 mile

mile per hour speed limit in place south

of East Whittier Street. The city's

lowering of the speed limit to 25 miles

per hour along other corridors is

reducing crashes. So I wanted to spend

just a minute talking about where this

has actually worked in other parts.

Approximately a year ago, the speed

limit on North High Street from Goodale

Street to King Avenue through the Short

North was reduced to 25 miles per hour.

Data collected for the same time frame

before and after indicates the number of

crashes dropped from 62 to 47 along that

section of High Street. Similarly, when

the city implemented a lower speed limit

through of 25 miles per hour through the

downtown business district in March of

2023, we saw a drop from serious and

fatal crashes that fell from 19 down to

nine. So, we've seen that this is

working in other places. So, our current

Vision Zero action plan includes an

important strategy to transform the

built environment of our transportation

system by reducing vehicle speeds. We

continue to work with our Vision Zero

partner, the Ohio Department of

Transportation, to refine the speed

study process so that more factors in

urban environments are considered when

this request is made to reduce a street

speed limit. For example, the presence

of people walking and biking along a

street are potential factors to weigh

when studying a street for the

recommendation to lower its speed limit.

In coordination with ODOT, communities

must perform engineering studies to

reduce the speed limit as part of the

process. Ohio Revised Code sets

statutory speed limits for all roads.

Our partnership with continues to be

with ODOT uh to create a safe speeds and

prevent serious crashes on Columbus

streets. The lower speed limit on

Parsons Avenue from Broad to Whittier

will be implemented 30 days from this

passage.

>> Thank you, director. First, I want to

pause. So, my colleagues have questions,

comments. I just want to say um again, I

want to thank you for your leadership,

director. I want to thank the

department. Um, this was a lot of

advocacy from the folks who live along

that Parson's a corridor, the businesses

that live along there or that are along

that. Well, they do live around there,

but um but also I know that we

implemented some um flashing beacon uh

crosswalks along that area because of

the density that that is there and the

density that is coming and we see the

increased traffic and so this is going

to be a change for folks. Um but I know

that there's been lots of advocacy. I

mean this is certainly a stretch that we

have received lots of calls about and

that folks have been concerned and so um

I want to thank uh everyone for ensuring

that this happens. I think as we talk

about reducing speeds it's not always

easy but we have done several speed

reductions um even during my time as

chair um with in areas where we know

that it will make a difference right in

those part of the high injury network.

So again, I want to thank you for your

leadership. Uh in 30 days, we will let

folks know about the changes that are

coming to Parsons about reducing that

speed um so that they know as they're

coming along that stretch of the road to

slow down and to watch for that

increased traffic of folks who are

moving um in in a multitude of ways. So

>> um with that, I move for passage.

>> Clerk, please call the role. Bankston

Barosa de Podia de Akawa Dorren Green

Remy Ross White President Harden

>> passed.

>> Thank you. That's all for me this

evening.

>> Thank you madam chair. Next committee

come before council is the neighborhoods

recreation and parks committee. That

committee is chaired by council member

day. Council member Flores.

>> Thank you council president. We have two

exciting projects in our committee this

evening. Both having to do with

connectivity and mobility in the city.

Our first ordinance is Z103-2026

to authorize the Director of Recreation

Parks to enter into a grant agreement

with the Central Ohio Transit Authority

for design of the East Side Rail Trail

Project and accept a grant in the amount

of $100,000 to authorize the

appropriation of $100,000 in the

recreation parks grant fund and to

declare an emergency. The Eastmore Rail

Trail will create a 17.5 acre linear

park on the city's east side, spanning

three miles through the Eastmore and

Lynwood communities along an abandoned

rail corridor. Over 17,000 residents

live within a few minutes of the

abandoned corridor. Four neighborhoods,

eight schools, and six parks are nearby.

The rail corridor runs from East Broad

Street to south of East Livingston

Avenue, ending at I7. After several

years of negotiation with the owner,

Recreation and Parks acquired the

corridor in 2024 with clean Ohio funds.

The department has been working with the

M East Area Commission, Whiteall, and

Regional Transportation Planners at Kota

to integrate the East More Rail Trail

into the larger Transit and Central Ohio

Greenway Trail Network. This grant

agreement legislation tonight includes

important COD link US grant program

assistance of $100,000 for design of the

trail in linear park. During the next

few months, public engagement will be

done as well as coordination with rapid

transit and new affordable housing

developments occurring along the line.

This legislation will provide $100,000

of links transit supportive

infrastructure grant money to begin

detailed design of the trail and the

linear park. Construction of the first

phase of the Eastmore rail trail is set

to begin in late 2027. The first phase

will be a 1.5 mile section from East

Main Street near Barnett Road to East

Broad Street. The East Main section will

tie into a rapid transit station. In

2027, the Linkas TSI grant fund will be

providing an additional $1.1 million

towards this construction. Construction

of the entire Eastmore rail trail is

expected to be completed by 2029. I'm

extremely excited about this project.

Not only does this project mean the city

gets another linear park connecting

neighborhoods, but it also demonstrates

how the link dollars that residents

voted on in 2024 is going to more than

just bus rapid transit. This project

proves how committed we are as a city to

investing in transit supportive

infrastructure building these networks

of connectivity to ensure residents

always have options to get around our

city be it by bus, bike or greenway. Are

there any questions or comments for my

colleagues?

Seeing none, I move for passage.

>> Bank stamperosa de padilla de a dors

reie ros president Harden.

Thank you. Next, we have ordinance

0126-2026

to authorize the director of recreation

and parks department to enter into

contract with Access Civil Construction

LLC for the Alum Creek Trail Mock Road

connector project to authorize the

transfer of $711,459

within the recreation parks voted bond

fund to authorize the amendment of the

2025 capital improvements budget to

authorize the expenditure of 3,917,7

$79.16

from the recreation and parks grant fund

and voted bond fund and to declare an

emergency. Keeping with the theme of

connectivity, this project aims to

complete a 3.5 mile east west pathway

that would connect the Alum Creek Trail

to I71. The new 8 foot wide paved path

will stretch 1.2 miles starting at Alen

Creek Trail at Sunbury and Mock Road

heading west and feeding into the new

Hudson Street Greenway. This new

connecting trail will link over 6,000

residents in northeast Columbus to our

ever growing trail system, putting them

within 10 minutes of walking and biking

connectivity to parks, schools, retail,

and jobs. This project will be partially

funded by a $485,000

grant from ODNR Clean Ohio Trails Fund.

Construction is anticipated to be

complete by summer 2027. Are there any

questions or comments from my

colleagues?

>> Seeing none, I move for passage.

Bankston Barrosa Deodia de a dors green

remy Ross swish president Harden

>> thank you council president that's all

in my committee this evening

>> thank you madam chair uh the next

committee to come before council is the

workforce education and labor committee

that committee is chair by press the

floor is yours

>> thank you council president I have

ordinance number 0032-2026

to authorize human resources interim

director to enter a contract with August

20 LLC in support of professional

services for the city's strategic

roadmap and central service department's

modernization efforts, including the

support of modernization standard of our

citywide employee onboarding to

committed bidding provisions Columbus

City codes to authorize a transfer from

the general fund um to the employee

benefits fund of $28,500

to authorize the appropriation of

$28,500 with the employee benefits fund

to authorize expensure of $258,500

from the employee benefits fund to

authorize expensure of $200,000 from the

information services operating fund. or

so much there may be necessary to pay

the cost of set contract and declared

emergency. Um, this ordinance makes

certain appropriations uh for a contract

with August 20 as the city begins

modernizations for department of human

resources and other essential services

departments. Uh, interim director Martin

is here to share with us a little bit

more about this ordinance as well.

Interim director, floor is yours.

>> Good evening, President Harden, Council

President Pro Tim Dorren, and other city

council. Um so we are requesting this

legislation so that um we can continue

to implement the citywide strategic

roadmap and improve coordination across

the departments of finance and

management, human resources, technology,

civil service, and the office of

diversity and inclusion. Um essentially

this contract will replace the numerous

contracts that we already have um with

one single contract that will support

the city's central services departments

specifically in the areas of city

strategy and operating system deployment

central HR and culture enterprise change

management and department of technology

talent and IT portfolio. Um additionally

um we've had to pause some of the work

that we've already started in 2025. um

that's been supported by August 20 and a

new contract is necessary for us to

start that again. So, we don't want to

miss important um deadlines and dates

that are critical to the success of

citywide departments. Lastly, um the

waving of a competitive bid will also

ensure that the continuity of August

20's work in areas including the design

and rollout of a central services

support model and modernization of the

city's employee experience can continue.

Thank you.

>> Thank you, interum director. Any

questions, my colleagues? Seeing none, I

move for passage.

>> Second, please follow.

>> Bankston Barrosa de I'm sorry, you have

to uh amend that's submitted to the

cler.

>> Oh, I apologize. Um

>> about that. I'd like to amend this

minute to the clerk.

>> Second, please call the ro.

>> Bankston Barrosa de padilla de a dors

green reie ros president Harden.

>> Amended. Thank you. And now move for

passage as amended.

>> Second.

>> Clerk, please call the role.

>> Banks bar roa de padilla de a dors

green. Remy Ross white president Harden.

>> Pass. Thank council president. All I

have at this time.

>> Thank you Mr. Chair. The next committee

coming for council is the health and

human service and equity committee. That

committee is chaired by council member

green. Council member floor is yours.

>> Thank you so much council president.

Tonight in our health, human services

and equity committee, we have three

ordinances on second reading. The first

is ordinance 0005-2026

to authorize the board of health to

enter into a contract with Crosby Drugs

DBA CDI long-term care LLC for

pharmaceut for pharmaceutical

distribution services for the period of

January 1st, 2026 through December 31st

of 2026 to wave the competitive bidding

requirements of the Columbus City codes

to authorize the expenditure of $110,000

from the health department grants fund

to pay the cost thereof and to declare

an emergency. Uh Columbus Public Health

is a need to provide tuberculosis

medication distribution for clients

receiving treatment from the Ben

Franklin tuberculosis grant program.

These services are provided at CPH at

240 Parsons Avenue and the contract runs

from January 1st of this year through

December 31st. Emergency designations

needed as pharmacy services are

currently ongoing with Crosby drugs uh

for patients that are currently in

treatment and a discre a disruption to

those services would be harmful to

patients who are receiving care through

the clinic. Are there any comments or

questions for my colleagues? Seeing that

I move for passage.

>> Thanks Deborah Rosa de Padilla de AOA

Dorren Green Remy Ross White President

Harden.

>> Our second ordinance tonight is

ordinance 0052-2025

to authorize the board of health to

enter into initial contracts with the

following qualified vendors. AIDS

Healthcare Foundation, Equitas Health,

Heart of Ohio Family Health Centers, the

Resource Institute at Nationwide

Children's Hospital, Columbus

Neighborhood Health Center, DBA Primary

One Health, and the the Ohio State

University to authorize the board of

health to modify those contracts if

portions of previously appropriated and

encumbered funds are unused and

reallocate unused funds amongst the

initial vendors without the need for

additional legislation for the Ryan

White Part A HIV care grant program for

the provision of services allowable

under the grant for persons with HIV or

AIDS in central Ohio to authorize the

expenditure of up to 3,149,139

from the health department grant fund to

pay the cost thereof to wave the

competitive bidding and contract

modification provisions of chapter 329

of the Columbus city codes and to

declare an emergency. Ryan White Part A

pro uh providers service low-income

individuals living with HIV who reside

in Franklin, Madison, Union, Delaware,

Marorrow, Licking, Fairfield, and

Pickaway counties. Uh these providers

deliver comprehensive HIV outpatient

ambulatory care for treatment and viral

suppression of HIV infection.

Additionally, mental health and

substance use services um are accessible

to help individuals uh navigate

potential barriers that can lead to

adverse health outcomes if left

unsupported.

as a network. These service providers

also offer case management to help um

care coordination uh with clients um and

link them with identif uh identified

social determinant of health needs,

assistance with medical transportation

and wraparound support services

including emergency housing, utility and

food pantry assistance. ordinance is

submitted um as an emergency much like

um our last ordinance to ensure quality

Medicare uh medical care continues to be

available with people without disruption

um and timely payment to providers. Are

there any other comments or questions

for my colleagues? Seeing none, I move

for passage

a dors reie ros president Harden

>> pass. So,

>> Madam Chair, you're you're aware we had

a speaker on the first uh ordinance. Um

Mr. Wilkins. Oh, well, Madam Chair, is

it all right if we

>> Yeah. Yeah, please. Yeah, please. Let's

return back. I apologize about that, Mr.

Wilkins. Um, so we will return back in

time um to uh

ordinance 005 00005-2026

um accepting a uh contract into Crosby

Drugs for support for pharmaceutical

services. Um

>> Mr. Wilkins, I'll turn the floor to you.

>> 1612 Arlington Avenue, Mr. Leanne George

Wilkins, a 20-year resident of North

London. Um, I would be in support of

this. I'd just like to see this

for the term to start uh January 1st,

2026

all the way to December 31st of 2027 or

2028. Thank you for your time.

>> Thank you so much, uh, Mr. Wilkins.

Um,

okay.

Our last ordinance is ordinance

0106-2026

to authorize the board of health in to

enter into a contract with Imperata,

Inc. for software services for the

period of February 1st, 2026 through

January 31st of 2029 in an amount not to

exceed $165,93

uh to authorize the expenditure of

$165,93

from the health department grant fund to

wave the competitive bidding

requirements of the Columbus City Code

and to declare an emergency. Um,

Columbus Public Health has a need for a

single sign on solution for user access

for enhanced security to access the new

Epic electronic medical record system.

Um, essentially

essentially this funding in layman's

terms to deviate from my uh from my

notes here. So, we've had a slew of

legislation related to the new

transition to the Epic Medical record

system that is being adopted at Columbus

Public Health by a wide variety of their

providers. this um this uh request is to

help us assist through that transition

so that CPH employees are able to access

records through cloud-based systems um

because this service is traditionally

being provided through OSU. So there

needs to be ability to integrate our

side of uh providing care with their new

system through Epic. Um and I don't know

Dr. Roberts if you would want to say

anything else about that. If anyone has

any questions we'll direct them to Dr.

Roberts and if not um I move for

adoption. Second clerk please call the

role.

>> Banks temporarosa de podia de aawar dors

green screen remy ross president hard

>> passed.

>> Thank you so much council president.

That's all for me tonight.

>> Thank you madame chair. I think we will

uh go ahead and break for zoning. Is

there a motion to uh recess? Cler please

call the role.

>> Thanks Denver Roso de podia de a dorc

screen reie ros vice president Harden.

>> We are in recess. will reconvene after

the director's rearrange.

Hey,

hey,

hey. Hey,

hey,

hey.

Young.

Hey.

Down.

Heat.

Hallelujah.

How are you?

baby.

Baby.

Heat. Heat.

Heat.

Heat.

Heat. Heat. Heat.

Heat. Heat.

Once upon a time

there was an old man.

He went

Banks Timber podia de a dorsreen Remy

Ross Weiss President Harden.

>> Can I get a motion to uh dispense with

the journal?

>> Clerk, please call the role.

>> Banks Tim Rosa de Podia de Aawower Dorne

screen. Remy Ross White President

Harden.

>> Are there any additions or corrections

uh to the journal? Hearing? None. The

journal is approved. We'll now go to the

zoning committee. Council member uh

Dorne chairs that committee and all

serve on it. Council member, the floor

is yours. Uh thank you, Council

President. Uh before we begin tonight's

agenda, first a little bit of

housekeeping. Will the clerk please read

the numbers of legislation in the zoning

committee this evening that require

waiver of second reading?

>> Under reszonings, we have ordinance 3000

uh-20225,

ordinance 242, 243, 276,

287-2026.

Under variances, we have ordinance

3001-2025

and ordinances 275, 277, 283, 285, and

288-2026.

>> Thank you, clerk. I now move to wave

second reading on those items.

>> Clerk, please call the role.

>> Banks Barrosa de Padilla de Akawa, Dors,

Green, Remy, Ross, Swiss, President

Harden.

>> Waved.

>> Thank you. Um, now allow me to briefly

explain our rules. Speaking before

council on reszonings and variances, we

only hear a staff presentation for

ordinances that have a disapproval from

recommending body or if we have a public

speaker assigned to speak against an

ordinance. We permit three speakers on

each side of an ordinance, three

proponents, three opponents. We ask that

speakers limit the remarks to three

minutes for the standard rules of city

council. All speakers in the council

variance, including city staff, area

commissioners, applicants, and member of

the public will be sworn in before they

give testimony. Representatives in area

commission are always able to speak on

ordinance. You do not need to fill out a

speaker slip, but you we do ask you

alert city staff of your intentions to

speak at this committee hearing. Uh I

will now uh we do have two public

speakers uh signed up to speak on

legislation here this evening on the

advice of the city attorney's office and

will now swear in city staff. Please

stand and raise your right hand be sworn

in. Do you swear affirm the testimony we

have to give shall be the truth nothing

but the truth that you shall answer

under pain of penalty of perjury. If so,

please say I do.

>> I do.

>> Thank you. U please let the record

reflect that Tim Dietrich and Alysa

Saltzman from the Department of Building

and Zoning Services. Christopher Lur

from the division of planning, Dan

Blushman from the division of traffic

management in the department of public

service and deputy director for housing

strategies, Aaron Proer from the

department of development have been

sworn in. First we have ordinance

3000-2025

reszone 1100 Georgeesville Green being

1.8 uh 7 plus acres located in the

northeast corner of Georgeville Green

Drive and Hall Road from LC3 limited

commercial district to AR1 apartment

residential district. site consists of

one undeveloped parcel and the applicant

request to resoning will allow for a

multi-unit residential development of up

to 48 units. A concurrent council

variance is included with this project

and be considered um later on our

agenda. Proposal has approved some city

staff and development commission a

disapproval from the hill greater

hilltop area commission. Due that

disapproval, we'll now hear a staff

presentation. Uh starting with Miss Miss

Saltzman. Floor is yours.

>> Good evening, Chair Dorans, President

Harden, members of council. The 1.87 87

acre site consists of one undeveloped

parcel in the LC3 limited commercial

district. The applicant requests the AR1

apartment residential district to allow

for a multi-unit residential

development. North and west of the site

are single-unit dwellings in the R2

residential district. East of the site

are undeveloped parcels in the LC3

limited commercial district. South of

the site are condominiums in the LLD

limited apartment residential district.

Companion CV25-054

has been filed to vary the minimum

building line along Hall Road to allow

water vaults and hot boxes within the

building setback and commits to a site

plan with up to 48 dwelling units. The

site is within the planning boundaries

of the Hilltop land use plan which

recommends low medium density

residential land uses at this location.

The requested AR1

district will allow multi-unit

residential development that is

compatible with the density and

development standards of adjacent

residential developments west and south

of the site of the subject site and is

aligned with the city's objective to

provide more housing in all

neighborhoods. staff note that the

existing LC3 district allows multi-unit

residential units above first floor

commercial uses with no density

limitation and therefore city

department's recommendation is for

approval.

>> Thank you, Miss Alzman. And just a

couple clarifying questions to make sure

uh everyone's following. Um, so when

we're talking about the the change of

designations here, so, uh, the current

zoning district would could potentially

allow a project with, uh, with

residential built into it, again, if

there was that first floor commercial

space included. Is that is that fair?

>> Yes.

>> And there's existing parcels that are

either adjacent or very nearby that are

also zoned for commercial purposes as

well. Is that correct?

>> Yes.

>> Thank you. Um, and you mentioned there's

uh sort of the adjoining areas. There's

both sort of diversity of there's single

family zoning that's nearby, there's

multif family zoning that's nearby, and

there's also some zoning that allows for

condominiums there as well. Correct.

>> Yes.

>> Thank you. Um, any questions from

council colleagues at this time? CNN,

we'll move on. Uh, next we have, uh, Mr.

Christopher Laura from the division of

planning. Floor is yours, sir.

>> Thank you. Thank you, Chair Dorren,

President Harden, members of council.

Planning is supportive of the proposal.

Although the request exceeds the density

of the Hilltop Lane use plan

recommendation of lowmedium density

residential staff recognized the

proposal's consistency with the plan's

recommendation for residential as well

as existing multi-unit zoning to the

west and south as mitigating factors.

The site also currently is zoned for

commercial uses which is another factor

in staff support. Additionally, Columbus

citywide planning policies re recommends

that projects that are proposed at a

density higher than the recommended land

use may be supported if they include a

high level of sight and architectural

design. The proposed site plan and

elevations are consistent with C2P2

guidelines. Therefore, planning is

supportive of the proposed use. I'll

also note that this site is part of the

Columbus growth strategy that recently

passed which recommended mixed use one

which would have been uh consistent as

well once uh once that's in effect.

Thank you.

>> Thank you. And Mr. Lur when we there's

uh when we talk about mixeduse uh just

generally and I think this is as we head

into the next phase of zoning. I think

it's going to be something important for

us to talk more about. You know, mixuse

may mean residential and commercial or

retail existing in the same property,

but it also may mean only residential or

only commercial retail those properties

as well. Right.

>> Correct. It can mean uh mix of uses

within a given site. It can mean a mix

of uses typically along a corridor. It

allows for the flexibility for the

market to decide what's appropriate for

a given location.

>> And you sort of sold my next question

for you. So when you talk about that

flexibility, it's built in. It's more

along the lines of again what is sort of

market driven at that point. And so

again, rather than having sort of a

bunch of regulatory red tape to say you

only do this or you only can do that,

it's really allowing sort of that market

to really drive what is viable on that

site. Is that sort of a fair assessment?

>> Correct. Yes.

>> Thank you.

>> Thank you. Um our next speaker will be

Mr. Dan Blushman from the Division of

Traffic Management.

>> Thank you, Chair Dors, President Harden,

members of council.

With regards to our review of this

application, please be advised that this

proposed development site is anticipated

to generate 19 automobile trips, five

entering and 14 exiting in the AM peak

hour and 24 automobile trips, 15

entering and nine exiting during the PMP

hour. These traffic volumes are

significantly below the threshold to

require the preparation of a traffic

impact study.

Additionally, in consideration that

access to this site will only be from

Georgeesville Green Drive and in

consideration that the intersection of

Hall Road and Georgeesville Green Drive

already contains an eastbound left turn

lane and a westbound right turn lane to

service vehicles turning from Hall Road

onto Georgeville Green Drive. There is

not a need for a traffic access study to

be performed for this proposed

development site.

Also, upon reviewing the anticipated

traffic generation from this site, it is

unlikely that this site would generate

necessary traffic volumes to cause a

traffic signal warrant to be met at the

intersection of Hall Road and

Georgeesville Green Drive.

With these comments noted, the

Department of Public Service has no

further concerns regarding this

application, and I'll be happy to answer

any questions.

>> Thank you, Mr. Blushman. Question for

colleagues.

Council Green,

>> I do just have a quick question. Um, if

you So, if there's going to be 40 units

of housing on the site, how do you

arrive that there's only like 14 cars

entering or exiting in the morning and

nine arriving in the morning? That just

seems like kind of interesting math to

the way that I would think about this,

>> right? So um I'm sorry

that's based on empirical data from um

you know nationwide data from um trip

generation which is our a manual of yeah

a collected data and so I mean basically

it reflects that not everyone leaves and

comes home at the same time. there's

there's a window even, you know, during,

you know, typical peak times. Um, you

know, not all 48 units are going to have

people leaving at the same time. And so

that reflects the the general average of

of sites of multif family sites.

>> What would you consider what are what

are peak times then?

>> Those are the peak times that that I was

>> Oh. Oh, I'm sorry. Um, typically 7 to

9:00 a.m. or uh 4 to 6:00 p.m. are

typically the peak times we consider.

>> Okay. Thank you.

>> Other questions, Mr. Bushman? Um, Mr.

Bushman, could talk a little bit about

So, again, um, we have both two

different kinds of uh, traffic uh,

studies that are done. We have an access

study which is the the lower bar based

on the size of development and then we

have an impact study of much larger

developments look beyond sort of the

individual site sort of more um sort of

more neighborhood wise in this case

there's not a traffic you know access or

impact study could just u mention again

why that's the case here

>> uh I mean generally we when we have a

traffic study performed we either are

looking for uh quant quantifying those

impacts or determining what types of

improvements will be necessary to

mitigate uh in s for example a site

access point whether there's turn lanes

whether there's uh elements such as

traffic signals. So this is is below

that and and you know we have done our

own internal just you know evaluations

of you know looking at um the volumes

and that we're we have a comfort level

with with that without requiring the

applicant to go through a step to you

hire a consultant you know go collect

traffic counts do send prepare a report

which would likely give us the

information we already know. Thank you.

Uh, any other questions from colleagues

for traffic? Seeing it, I will move on

to deputy director for housing strategy,

Miss Paraser. Floor is yours. Thank you,

Chair Dorren, Council President Harden.

Members of council, the proposed

resoning of 1100 Georgeesville Green in

the Hilltop neighborhood supports the

Columbus Housing Strategy by expanding

housing options in a high demand area

where current housing infrastructure is

not meeting the demand, which is

increasing housing costs and

destabilizing existing residents. The

new units will relieve the pressure on

the overall market and allow for more

options for residents in the area,

slowing growth in rents and home prices.

Median home values in the zip code rose

10% faster than homes in the city of

Columbus since 2020. And the rents are

9% higher in this zip code than in the

city of Columbus, indicating a high

demand area in need of additional

housing to slow that growth in housing

cost. The bulk of the units in both the

census track and the zip code were

either built between 1970 and 1979 or

1990 and 1999 with only 1.9% of the zip

code uh homes in the zip code were built

since 2020 despite the fact that the

population has grown more than 7% since

2020 further constraining the existing

housing infrastructure. The current

vacancy rate in the census track is just

1.7% compared to 5.8% in the zip code.

Nearly half the renters, 47% in the zip

code, pay more than 30% of their income

on their household expenses, up from 43%

in 2020. And nearly a quarter of

homeowners with a mortgage exceed that

affordability metric. This indicates a

high desire for families to live in and

remain in this area, resulting in cost

burden families, which are at high risk

for housing instability.

Neighborhoods in high demand can either

change the built environment or they can

change their people and families. This

neighborhood saw a 10% loss since just

2020 of families staying longer than one

year in the census tract. The increasing

mobility indicates a constrained market

and the result is the loss of existing

residents in which which would be

relieved by the addition of housing

units, especially rental units.

New jobs are coming to central Ohio and

a significant of those are along that 70

east corridor and along the along 270 in

key job centers where employees will

need a place to call home.

Overburdened traffic, excuse me,

overburdened transportation networks are

not the result of localized trip

generation from an individual use, but

instead are the result of employees

facing ever longer commutes to access

jobs.

This adds to the economic and

environmental and health costs to a

community, not to mention the ensuing

gridlock resulting from adding

significant vehicle miles traveled to

the transportation network. We see the

negative negative outcome on trans city

transportation networks when there's a

significant spatial mismatch between

where employees live and where they

work. Adding housing near job

opportunities is critical to managing

the overall transportation system so the

roadways are safe and functional.

Excuse me. While housing scarcity will

drive up housing prices throughout the

region in these locations of high

demand, the expand with expanding access

to jobs, education, services, and

amenities, we expect to see accelerated

housing pressure as the market responds.

Therefore, adding new housing in this

neighborhood will be critical to

ensuring housing stability for the

current residents as well as continued

access for new families. Happy to answer

any questions.

>> Thank you, Miss Proer. Any questions

from my colleagues for deputy director?

See none. Thank you. I will now invite

the applicant's representative uh

forward, Mr. David Hodgej. Welcome back

to council.

>> Floor is yours, sir.

>> Thank you.

>> Uh thank you, Chair Dorren. Good

evening, uh Council President Harden. Uh

council members, appreciate the

opportunity to be here tonight. Um, I I

think that if I um so much of what your

what your staff just said is is so

spot-on. I don't want to be overly

redundant to to really some of the great

things that they just said. A a few

things though that that I will add. Um

the site plan that is that is a part of

this uh companion council variance

that's on the agenda later commits to

the northern 25 ft of this property

being uh either tree preservation or

augmentation of landscaping to provide a

really nice perimeter there between this

apartment residential opportunity and

the single family residential to the

north. Along that northern property line

will also be a six-foot uh boardon board

fence uh for additional buffering. Uh

this uh is also part of the city's CRA

and uh 30% of these units uh will be

offered at 80% of the area median

income. So there is an element of

affordability uh that comes with this

legislation. Um I think you you heard

Mr. Lure talk a little bit about um zone

in phase 2 and this being in a mixeduse

one category. So, uh, a, as that process

continues to play out here through the

summer and and potentially early fall,

the, um, apartment residential use that

is proposed here will be by right under

under this phase two. At least that's

what the expectation is. Um, traffic is

is certainly uh, an issue here that uh,

that we heard from some of the neighbors

on and uh, you heard from Mr. Blech

Schmidt that there's uh adequate

facilities here at Hall turn lanes into

Georgeesville Green and access to this

site whether it's commercial or or

apartment residential is going to come

uh from this uh from Georgeesville Green

uh here north of Hall Road. Um I can't

remember which which of the city staff

made mention of the fact that it's

currently zoned in an LC3 category. That

LC3 allows a a kind of a broad swath of

commercial uses. Uh it's always been my

instinct and and I I think I'm right

about this that those commercial uses

that are allowed here by right, no

process, no reszoning, no area

commission, no development commission,

no council are u uh more intense than

the apartment residential that's

proposed uh with this reszoning and

therefore uh uh potentially uh uh

detrimental to the adjacent single

family residential. Whereas this

apartment residential developer has done