City Council

200 South Hamilton Road City of Gahanna Gahanna, Ohio 43230 Meeting Minutes City Council Jamie Leeseberg, President Nancy R. McGregor, Vice President Karen J. Angelou Merisa Bowers Brian D. Larick Stephen A. Renner Michael Schnetzer April Beggerow, MPA, CMC, Clerk of Council Council may caucus at 6:45 p.m. Monday, December 7, 2020 7:00 PM Virtual Meeting Meeting Call-in Details: 513-306-4583 Conference ID: 212 677 951# Hearing of visitors - email your request not less than 1 hour before the meeting starts to: april.beggerow@gahanna.gov A. CALL TO ORDER - Invocation, Pledge of Allegiance, Roll Call Gahanna City Council met in Virtual Session on Monday, December 7, 2020, via Microsoft TEAMS. President of Council, Jamie Leeseberg, called the meeting to order at 7:00 p.m. Vice President of Council, Nancy McGregor, delivered an Invocation followed by the Pledge of Allegiance. Agenda for this meeting was published on December 4, 2020. Present 7 - Jamie Leeseberg, Stephen A. Renner, Michael Schnetzer, Brian D. Larick, Nancy R. McGregor, Karen J. Angelou, and Merisa Bowers B. ADDITIONS OR CORRECTIONS TO THE AGENDA. Due to technical difficulties with the video streaming, the request was made to amend the agenda to move item M. Executive session to the next item on the agenda. M. EXECUTIVE SESSION: to go into Executive Session under authority of Section 5.40(a) of the Council Rules of Procedure to consider the appointment, employment, dismissal, discipline, promotion, demotion or compensation of a public employee, official, licensee or regulated individual unless such public employee, official, licensee or regulated individual requests a public hearing. City of Gahanna Page 1 City Council Meeting Minutes December 7, 2020 Motion to enter into executive session by Schnetzer, Second by Renner. The Motion carried with the following vote: Yes: 7- Schnetzer, Renner, Bowers, Larick, Leeseberg, McGregor, Angelou C. HEARING OF VISITORS. Mayor Jadwin introduced 2 new police officers Brenda Johnson and Douglas Reisinger. Chief Spence stated that they would be attending the next Columbus police academy and would graduate in July and are expected to be on the street by November. Both Brenda Johnson and Douglas Reisinger introduced themselves and Council welcomed them. Brenda Hoffman: I find it is absolutely ridiculous that this project has been ridiculed by our council members in the manner that they have. I would remind you, again, to pass projects during the last administration and we were informed by the city attorney at the time that the city of Dublin had been sued for eight million dollars for exactly the same behaviors. When we had the zoning planning project rollout, we were all told, no matter what we ended up with, that this was not a Bible, that this could be amended over time, that it would be amended over time. So it happened and it happened to me. And down on Morse Road, you're putting in a storage facility and it's going to be tall and it's going to affect the traffic on Morse Road, just like the daycare center did, just like the side lot to Kroger did, just like we see our traffic backing up. We need the money. We may not be broke, but we need the money. And I find it ridiculous that this poor developer is getting attacked. I would sue you in a heartbeat if I was that guy. Issue number two is in regards to the money I keep hearing everybody talk about reserves. We have been pulling out of our money funds and dropping them into capital now, almost every budget I've attended and now all of a sudden, because there's one percent dedicated funds, it's a problem for you guys. I don't find it to be a problem. We are in a very, very deep financial crisis. We are in an emergency situation. It's not unprecedented. No, we had a pandemic. The problem with our society is we forgot about the last pandemic and we've gotten very cushy about how we live. I don't believe in credit. I live very well without using a lot of credit, you know, and I don't approve of credit. But we are in a situation now where credit might be the only thing that saves us. Finally, in regards to the sidewalk maintenance program repair program, I would draw your attention to the page that says program term and target areas. Under that, you write where John wrote or the program wrote target area established annually following previous street programs proposed by administration, approved by council. I would warn you that that is wrong and it will be very wrong because what City of Gahanna Page 2 City Council Meeting Minutes December 7, 2020 is going to do to your citizens is it's going to split these jobs up and piecemeal them so they will be expensive, a zone by zone approach, which is what the ADA truly calls the middle of the road program, is the most effective program to 1. Accomplish the full task 2. to keep the price low for the residents. We all know by or see that we as residents have been responsible for our sidewalks since ORC started. We know that 729.01 went into play on January 1st of 1962, it set out all the requirements regarding sidewalk maintenance, repair, it talked to municipalities about how to do it, the manner, the times, the cost. And furthermore, it calls out the issuance of bonds, notes, proceeds that shall be used for paying for construction. It even calls out the procedures of assessment. Since 62, we haven't done a darn thing. In 1975, we had another piece of code in 1975 729.12 talked about new curves that had to be ran for handicapped. Still wasn't being done twenty years ago and places in the city when I moved here, well when Carroll moved here and I would come over, I guess you guys know we were married, divorced, remarried. My came over here to see my children quite often. Now we have another problem. The DOJ, ADA went into play in 91, title two. Now this is not on Laurie Jadwin, this is not on the current administration. It is heavily on the last administration. It is on Tom Knewland's back. It is on Robert Preistess's back. And it is on Dottie Franey's back because I started talking to you in July of 2017 saying at some point in the program, people, we have to address this and I got told no and I got told I was wrong and I got told I was in error. When I said accessible pathway, I jumped on the program, had my sidewalk fixed. I got pushed by a promulgated rule by one of your code enforcement officers. That was an error. I got pushed. My neighbors didn't get pushed. I got pushed. I lost a lot. I lost a lot of my life in these last three and a half years. But I jumped on the bandwagon and I got the sidewalks fixed and a posted on Facebook with a big bright yellow balloon. And you know what happened to me? I got bombarded by disabled people in the city and it breaks my heart every time I read their comments that this has not been done. We could have done this years ago if Tommy one would have given me a minute of his day. Now, there is no reason that Robert Priest has had to sit in front of me as an engineer and tell me that accessible pathways do not apply to sidewalks when I provided him with the documentation that proved otherwise. So the situation we're in now is squarely on those two and three feet. And it was on every mayor we've had since 1962. And I may not be in the wheelchair yet, but it is a long known occurrence from my life that soccer is common. I've been in it before. You began this this program that we have going on, it looks really good. But there are problems. There are problems. And I expect us to be reasonable working them out. And when you say these are the standards and you write City of Gahanna Page 3 City Council Meeting Minutes December 7, 2020 severe cracking and falling, no, that's not going to cut it. A standard is a measurement. It is a scientific measurement that can be replicated. It says crosswalk. Nope, that's defined. There are defined terms for these negative pitch. Nope. They are defined terms for negative pitch, other conditions causing unsafe conditions. No, that's not acceptable to me. You have a maximum of a four 1/2 inch vertical offset and a maximum of a half inch horizontal offset. Do you guys even know what a strip is? What would an expansion strip is? Do you know how big expansion strips are and how wide they spread? It's ridiculous. This is this is a start. And I'll give you credit for a start. And at least we're underway. But guys, we got to get on this and it's got to be tighter than this. And the money. Yes, I expect you to take it out of reserve. I expect you to take it out of wherever you got because this city spent four million dollars and I don't care if part of it was matching grants on the footbridge. I should never as a citizen, as a girl from Indiana University with a Bachelor of Science and a perfect 4.0 in criminal justice, have to come to you and stand up and plead for police equipment, the radio, what is wrong with us that we put swimming pools and liner's in front of health and safety in front of taking care of our front line responders? Why do we not have what we need? Why are you willing to pay for dessert to get the votes, but you're not willing to pay for the vegetables and the meat? This is absolutely ridiculous. We have a mayor that cares. She shows up for the job. She wants to hire people. And you guys are acting like this is an emergency. We can't take money out of reserve. What a crock. If you can't take the money out of reserves, you deserve to be voted off. And Merisa Bowers of ours, you're out of this whole because you weren't on the council when this crap was happening. So is Ray Mularski. So is Mayor Jadwin. However, Robert Preistas, Shane Ewald were all in the mix with them. We struggled for three years and I still have people calling me on my phone telling me what happened to them because they but I get their children out of the house. We're in a pandemic people. There are people out on the street walking and playing, and there are kids out here. And we've had six residents fall on the same piece of concrete three and a half years later. Shame on you. Get it done or get sued. That's my final comment. Thank you very much.. Kevin Dengel, 956 Cordero Lane, Gahanna, Ohio 43230: Speaking on behalf of the participating organizations for the 2020 Give to Gahanna Program You’re probably used to hearing from me as President of the Gahanna Area Arts Council. Tonight, I’m coming to you on behalf of not just the Arts Council, but five other non-profit community groups, too - the Gahanna Parks and Recreation Foundation, the Gahanna Historical Society, the Gahanna Foundation, Make Gahanna Yours, and Gahanna Residents in Need (GRIN) - about a pilot program we call Give to Gahanna. By City of Gahanna Page 4 City Council Meeting Minutes December 7, 2020 combining forces, we’ve made it easier than ever to make an impact here at home, by keeping your donation dollars local. With just one click at www.givetogahanna.org, you can now donate to any of the participating charities, or you can choose to split your donation equally amongst all groups. When you donate through this program - no matter to whom, and no matter how much - you’ll receive a ‘We love Gahanna’ yard sign to celebrate our community and encourage generosity. How can you help? First, you can donate by visiting givetogahanna.org . Second, you can help us spread the word. The goal is to grow the program year after year, so that residents have more opportunities to meaningfully engage with our local nonprofits and civic groups. I’m sure I don’t have to tell you that this has been an especially difficult year. The Historical Society wasn’t able to hold their annual Flea Market fundraiser, The Parks and Rec Foundation was forced to cancel Hops and Vines, and the Arts Council couldn’t hold many of the programs on which we rely for revenue. At the same time, nearly half (48%) of Ohio’s non-profits weren’t eligible for assistance from State and Federal relief programs . But right now, Gahanna’s charity organizations aren’t asking for aid from Mayor Jadwin, City Attorney Mularski, or our City Council Representatives. We’re asking for personal support from Laurie, Ray, Jamie, Nancy, Karen, Brian, Stephen, Michael, and Merisa. We’re asking each of you to make a donation via our partnership’s website (even if you’ve already made other contributions to one of the participating charities!) and to display our sign outside your homes. And we’re asking you to share our story - to write a post on your social networks and perhaps even call up a friend and ask them to donate, too. Just as a rising tide lifts all boats, when we work together, everyone wins. Carol Hoffman - via Brenda Hoffman: He feels adamantly, he says that this not be tied to a ridiculous program that will be caught the moment that you run out of funding. It has been in the past cut and there were no apologies made to those of us in regards to how our treatment was done, that yet all of the fun things that kept elections going were kept. I would prefer strongly that you please listen and reread and re-examine the events that have happened to us so that they do not happen to other people with code enforcement, with the issues of sidewalks, with the manner in which we lack a rotation or a reasonable survey of code enforcement. We do not like and do not respect the city for allowing their employees to make the rules that they feel are necessary and relevant based on their own experience and professional experience and personal discretion and common sense, as we were told in 2018 in an email from Brian Reynolds, as relayed by Robert Preistas. We find that the. Title II of the ADA regulations are clear and convincing. When we have a question about sidewalk code and accessible pathway we have City of Gahanna Page 5 City Council Meeting Minutes December 7, 2020 been denied. We have made sunshine requests for transition plans. Those requests have failed. Multiple requests have been met with nothing. Finally, we were told by Shane Ewald that no transition plan for the ADA existed. We ask only that the city of Gahanna, unlike the city of Westerville, please remove the city street trees, pay for their removal. Please grind their stumps. We recognize that he puts the burden of the sidewalk on the individual home owner. However, the city has never done their job, so the least they can do is completely remand these trees to the people that are responsible for their placement in the first place, which was the city and the developers. As for the HOA if they insist on having street trees, I respectfully request that the city seek all technologies applicable for the binding of roots and pass the road program. Repair costs onto the ways and street trees not only damage the applicable sidewalks, a cursory review of the streets will show that where the large street trees we removed cracks remain in the roadway. This should not be the responsibility of all Gahanna citizens. Finally, I would ask that you please review the method in which you intend to hire contractors to make the program workable by grouping large groups of individuals together. A better price on concrete e will be more realistic, as will your ability to inspect the job, as you will have a larger area at one time having undergone repairs. Thank you very much. D. PUBLIC HEARINGS: ORD-105-2020 ORDINANCE TO AMEND THE OFFICIAL ZONING MAP OF THE CITY OF GAHANNA ADOPTED BY ORDINANCE 198-96 ON NOVEMBER 19, 1996 AND AS SUBSEQUENTLY AMENDED: Changing the Zoning District of a 2.65+/- acre parcel located at 307-319 W. Johnstown Road; Parcel ID #s. 025-000848 & 025-000849 from Community Commercial (CC); proposed zoning Multi-Family Residential District (MFRD); Big Sky Realty; Mitch Rubin, applicant. Public Hearing opened at 8:18 p.m. Proponents: Dr. Goss I just would like to say, in terms of the questions that I've received regarding the CRA and the TIF for this property. I just want to make sure that we aren't confusing issues here. The CRA was primarily was established to help with residential housing and development of housing and maintenance. Housing in the area is really the intent of the CRA when it was first created and this was one was established in 1992. And so if this project were zoned either residential commercial, it would still be entitled to the same tax abatements and the **** tax release that under the CRA. So the rezoning of this does not impact the availability of those tax incentives. So I just wanted to make that statement and make it clear. Mr. Hodge, attorney for the applicant Big Sky Realty: Good evening. City of Gahanna Page 6 City Council Meeting Minutes December 7, 2020 Members of council, David Hodge here, attorney for the applicant Big Sky Realty. Big Sky is a proven and experienced developer, having relatively recently redeveloped the Jefferson Woods Project in the city of Gahanna and having successfully reintroduced it to the marketplace now known as the Huntley. That was a significant undertaking. That project is at this point, one hundred percent leased up and occupied. My job really through this process is to provide the council with reasons why the property should be rezoned from its current classification to the MFRD district. And I have several reasons and these are in no particular order. The 2019 Gahanna land use plan provides that multifamily residential is a recommended use of the property. This property was on the market, actively listed for a year before Big Sky Realty was able to come to terms with the current property owner and engage me to work through this process. Sat there for a year. The city's administration is supportive of this project. The city's staff is supportive based upon their learned review of the project and its compliance with the land use plan. Their recommendation is for approval. The Planning Commission, after two separate public hearings, ultimately voted to recommend to council approval of the rezoning request. That is based upon the information provided at those two public hearings and based upon their professional estimation that the proposal comports with the 2019 land use plan. The existing CC zoning would allow by right uses that are far more intense and far more impactful on the existing infrastructure than this proposal. The applicant will be giving, donating, dedicating, however you want to phrase it, the frontage here as right of way to the city to accommodate future improvements to Johnstown Road. Now, short of a project like this, the city of Gahanna would have to go out and buy the property or take it by eminent domain and pay fair market value for it. The existing access configuration here, three curb cuts. It will be consolidated with this project to one. The property is developed today with uses that do not conform to the existing zoning. The existing zoning status of this property is legal nonconforming. I've joked with you before that if I were to come forward with a rezoning, attempting to create two houses with an auto garage to the south of it, you guys would all know that I'd finally gone insane. And that's the truth. This property today has nothing to do with the underlying CC zoning. MORPC was before this council relatively recently with our housing strategy, which recommends the creation of greater housing intensity in the region, including Gahanna, so that prices can be controlled and so that greater housing equity can be created in our region. Gahanna's West Side is in desperate need of some reinvestment. Big Sky is ready to come in here and spend six and a half or seven million dollars here at this intersection, the applicant will be installing a sidewalk along the frontage of the property. There aren't any City of Gahanna Page 7 City Council Meeting Minutes December 7, 2020 out there now. It's a step in the right direction of creating a safer set of circumstances for Johnstown Road pedestrians and market demands willing maybe somebody will come in and do some other redevelopment over here and extend that sidewalk. Or maybe when the city comes in and does does an improvement here at Johnstown Road, that sidewalk can get extended so that folks can safely get around Johnstown Road by foot. This site will ultimately, if approved, be engineered by professional civil engineers to ensure that stormwater mitigation is to 2021 standards and nothing short thereof. Plans will be submitted. They will be reviewed by the city's engineer, John Moorehead, and the project can't develop unless it comports with whatever standards are in place at that time. And we're in December. So it's going to be 2021 or later. This is certainly been an interesting process. I'm grateful to the council for the difficult questions that have been asked of us. We appreciate the scrutiny. We appreciate the opportunity to have this discussion and to prove that redevelopment of this property as proposed as appropriate. Every point that I just made, I think it was 13 or 14, consider that sort of a stone or a pebble on the scales of approval or disapproval. I think that all of that overwhelmingly demonstrates that the scales are tipped in favor of approval of this rezoning so that we can come back at future processes, development plan and design review to finalize the aesthetic and the and the engineering and the development portion of this project. I'll stop there. I don't want to be overly long winded. I know you've already had a bit of a long meeting. I'll stay on hand and do my best to answer questions that anybody on the council has and respond to any comments from others that are that are here to speak in opposition. So thank you all. opponents: Becky Becker, 200 Brookhaven Drive: said that in March her basement flooded and then again the following month. She opposes any development until they know for sure the area can support more units until this problem is addressed. Debbie Ballinger, 212 Hermitage Road: said they have similar concerns as the previous caller. She has lived in the same area for 32 years and had a complete loss of a finished basement. They are concerned about additional building in the area that the sewer system can handle the capacity. It wasn't just water, it was sewage in their basement and they don't feel confident that the system can handle additional building. Linda Anello, 261 Brookhaven Drive East : has concerns the same as other residents with the sewer system but says that traffic is also a concern. There are several new businesses that have increased traffic. The elementary school is also crowded and Goshen Lane is not prepared for more students. She said the sewer system needs fixed before new residences are built. City of Gahanna Page 8 City Council Meeting Minutes December 7, 2020 Gary Anello, 261 Brookhaven Drive East: is in agreement with what his wife had to say in regards to problems in construction moves forward. Lisa Cerrito, 214 Highbury: said her concern was traffic and that there is a problem with traffic. She said she didn't object to the project, but feels that an engineer needs to look at the area and make sure traffic is being considered when it comes to this project. Jeannie Hoffman, 708 Waybaugh Dr: Said that this was not a unanimous decision in Planning Commission and will the maintenance of the dog park be the responsible of the City? The development proposal compared to other multi family units aren't fair comparisons and that the land use plan should be used not comparisons to old standards on existing units. While there is a housing shortage in central Ohio, this project won't generate income tax revenue for the general fund. Every resident added has to be balanced by an income producing job or resources will be spread too thin and its a disservice to current residents. Mr. Moorehead: If it seems fair, we've heard a lot, I think, in public out back tonight about the sewer backup issues and the city's very, very aware of that problem. And we're working very hard to get that resolved in that in that entire district. The backups that occurred here, especially in March and then again in May, coincided with our initial contact with this developer. So the city staff perspective has been working with this developer to make sure they understand that this problem in the region, the entire process of our review with them. And just so it's clear, the hearing tonight isn't necessarily the end of that. We're currently going to be waiting to get the results from the study that's ongoing now to help seek some resolution to the backups that we had this year. Before we move forward with this project's engineering approval to get a connection to the sanitary system, we're confident that the results of this study are going to bear fruit and that we might end up resolving these backups that are ultimately a wet weather event. It's rain. It's groundwater infiltration that is leading to these sewers to become overcharged and back up into basements. The project that is proposed here would not have those same contributions to the sewer system as a modern sewer being constructed with modern standards. We wouldn't expect to see rainwater and flow to the rate that we're seeing right now. But all the same, until we know that these sewers have the capacity to receive this project, we are not going to be issuing an approval for it to connect and go forward at that time. So the developer has been aware of that. And we and the developer are confident that we're going to hit a point in 2021 where we think we know that this will work and that we have a solution in hand to help prevent these backups from occurring. On the traffic memo issue, I City of Gahanna Page 9 City Council Meeting Minutes December 7, 2020 know that that's a concern W Johnstown Road does see congestions. Many of those intersections that feed off of W Johnstown as well become problematic in the p.m. hours and there are accidents there that we would like to seek a solution to avoid here. The development itself is projected to produce enough trips in traffic that it wouldn't require a turn lane and its contribution overall to the traffic in the region wouldn't constitute a significant change to what's out there today. The city is working for a number of capital projects to see improvements take place both at the Stygler and 62 intersection, as well as West Johnstown itself and South Stygler and the surrounding intersections as well to promote safety and health. And as David mentioned, the developer is contributing right away to this project that will help us to implement those capital projects and get this road improved to help our residents here. Public hearing closed at 7:56 p.m. E. CONSENT AGENDA: 1. Minutes - To Approve: 2020-194 Meeting Minutes for Approval Minutes approved on the consent agenda. 2. Ordinances for Second Reading: a.. ORD-115-2020 ORDINANCE TO AMEND ORD-0013-2018 AND AUTHORIZING THE HOUSING OFFICER TO EXECUTE AN AMENDED COMMUNITY REINVESTMENT AREA (CRA) TAX ABATEMENT AGREEMENT WITH CP ROAD, LLC, FOR PROPERTY LOCATED AT 663-693 CROSS POINTE ROAD, PARCEL ID NO. 025-013186. This item was adopted on the consent agenda. b. ORD-116-2020 ORDINANCE AUTHORIZING THE MAYOR TO TERMINATE AN INDEFEASIBLE RIGHT TO USE AGREEMENT WITH FRANKLIN PEAK LLC. This item was adopted on the consent agenda. 3. Ordinances for Second Reading & Adoption as an Emergency: a. ORD-117-2020 ORDINANCE ESTABLISHING THE BENEFITS FOR PERSONNEL OF THE CITY OF GAHANNA, EFFECTIVE JANUARY 1, 2021; AND TO DECLARE AN EMERGENCY. City of Gahanna Page 10 City Council Meeting Minutes December 7, 2020 This item was adopted as an emergency on the consent agenda. End of consent agenda Pass consent agenda A motion was made by Angelou, seconded by Renner, to Pass the Consent Agenda.. The motion carried by the following vote: Yes: 7- Leeseberg, Renner, Schnetzer, Larick, McGregor, Angelou and Bowers F. ORDINANCES FOR INTRODUCTION / FIRST READING: Ms. Bowers introduced the legislation in Section F. a. ORD-119-2020 ORDINANCE TO AMEND THE BUILDING AND ZONING FEE SCHEDULE. This item was introduced. G. ORDINANCES FOR SECOND READING / ADOPTION: a. ORD-090-2020 AN ORDINANCE AUTHORIZING THE MAYOR TO ENTER INTO AGREEMENT WITH THE GAHANNA CONVENTION & VISITORS BUREAU (CVB) FOR THE YEARS 2021-2024 FOR THE PURPOSE OF PROMOTING TOURISM AND PRESENTING VISITOR-ORIENTED EVENTS TO ATTRACT VISITORS TO THE CITY. Ms. Bowers: As we've discussed at committee, this has to do with specifically lodging tax, what we call a bed tax. One hundred percent of our lodging tax goes into the city's general revenue fund and from there, the city is required to spend 50 percent on CVB expenses. Between this ordinance and the second ordinance. Underneath this on the agenda tonight, the CVB Gahanna Convention and Visitors Bureau will receive sixty six point six seven percent of the lodging tax, in addition to sixteen point six seven percent of the lodging tax in exchange for operating the OHC, the Ohio Herb Center. While in general, I appreciate the work done by the Convention and Visitors Bureau and the Ohio Herb Center very much in a moment where fiscal conservatism is crucial to the future of maintaining safety and welfare of our residents, I cannot in good conscience agree to a three year contract that ties up 30 percent more revenue than we're required. We should keeping 50 percent of the lodging tax and the general fund. But under this proposal, this ordinance and the one that we're voting on, on next, the city would retain only sixteen point six, seven percent. So I just I wanted to express my concerns and explain my vote. Thank you. A motion was made by Larick seconded by McGregor, to adopt the Ordinance. City of Gahanna Page 11 City Council Meeting Minutes December 7, 2020 The motion carried by the following vote: Yes: 5- Leeseberg, Schnetzer, Larick, McGregor and Angelou No: 2- Renner and Bowers b. ORD-091-2020 AN ORDINANCE AUTHORIZING THE MAYOR TO ENTER INTO AGREEMENT WITH THE GAHANNA CONVENTION & VISITORS BUREAU (CVB) FOR THE OHIO HERB CENTER (OHC) Ms. Bowers: Basically reincorporating what I commented on before. I absolutely love what the Herb Center does. I love the programs and the space. It's certainly one of the first things that drew me to old Gahanna and the Creekside area and I'm very grateful to all the people who put a lot of their time and effort, donating their time and effort in many cases, to the Ohio Herb Center. That being said, we have, as we heard from one of from Kevin Dengel earlier, we have a number of organizations in this community that contribute to the economy, and those include the arts. Those include historical activities and organizations. So, the concern that I have is that here we are with a pot of money that we have other priorities perhaps. And certainly we've heard some impassioned pleas for use of those resources, specifically for sidewalks and specifically for coming up with development plans. And and instead of having a strategic vision, we are putting eighty three percent of this resource into one area. And I'm not sure that that's the right thing to do. Thank you. Mr. Larick: I guess the only comment I just want to make sure that is clear is that these enterprises specifically CVB and essentially for the most part, the Herb Education Center's role is to promote business and to make economic development of small businesses in the community to promote their success and traffic to them. This is not similar to some of our parks expenditures or some of the other activities that we do spend funds are that typically have not necessarily have the intent of bringing revenue back to the community. That fundamentally is what this purpose is. So the recovery of the funds is fundamentally what the purpose is here. So thank you. A motion was made by Larick seconded by McGregor, to adopt the Ordinance. The motion carried by the following vote: Yes: 5- Leeseberg, Schnetzer, Larick, McGregor and Angelou No: 2- Renner and Bowers c. ORD-103-2020 ORDINANCE AUTHORIZING AN AGREEMENT WITH BUCKEYE ELM CONTRACTING, LLC, FOR TAX ABATEMENT FOR PROPERTY LOCATED AT 1333 RESEARCH ROAD; PARCEL ID NO. 025-013595; PART OF COMMUNITY REINVESTMENT AREA #1. A motion was made by Renner seconded by Schnetzer, to adopt the Ordinance. The motion carried by the following vote: City of Gahanna Page 12 City Council Meeting Minutes December 7, 2020 d. ORD-105-2020 ORDINANCE TO AMEND THE OFFICIAL ZONING MAP OF THE CITY OF GAHANNA ADOPTED BY ORDINANCE 198-96 ON NOVEMBER 19, 1996 AND AS SUBSEQUENTLY AMENDED: Changing the Zoning District of a 2.65+/- acre parcel located at 307-319 W. Johnstown Road; Parcel ID #s. 025-000848 & 025-000849 from Community Commercial (CC); proposed zoning Multi-Family Residential District (MFRD); Big Sky Realty; Mitch Rubin, applicant. Dr. Goss: When businesses come and they start looking at a community for possible business, relocation or development, the first thing they ask is typically where their workforce is going to come from. And in terms of the the diversity of housing stock that's available in Gahanna now, we currently do not have very much in terms of mixed use developments and more recent, I would say, multifamily units. And in fact, the percentage of multifamily units since 1990 have been few and far between. So the housing stock that's here in Gahanna is actually very outdated. I'll just say that it's outdated. And in order to kind of encourage the workforce here that we would like to have to support new business development. This type of housing is something that would be really important and essential. So more multifamily housing is currently needed in Gahanna in terms of the percentage that's available now. Mr. Schnetzer: Does this meet the definition of medium density - I would just simply ask Dr. Goss or Mr. Blackford if either one of them could confirm that. And then a follow up question on that is, is with respect to the city's zoning code, is there any difference with within this MFRD designation between high versus medium? Mr. Blackford: to answer your question, there's several different aspects or elements that are discussed in the land use plan regarding medium density residential, one of those components is density, which suggests that 20 units an acre. There's other elements and there that talks about characteristics of medium density, residential, those include height, set backs, I think lot coverage, and I think there's about six different items there and there's also some character images. It was talked about in Planning Commission, about looking at more than just the density and the other characteristics. They're the medium density land use plan. And in that respect, it meets about five out of those six. The only one it doesn't meet is the density requirement, which I'll be first admit that's probably the main item. As far as the zoning code goes, the zoning code does not differentiate between low density, medium density or high density. You know, there are single family districts and there's a multifamily district. There is a density limitation within the multifamily district allows for additional density, what the conditional use and a variance. So if the rezoning is approved, Planning Commission did approve a variance to allow for the requested density. City of Gahanna Page 13 City Council Meeting Minutes December 7, 2020 Ms. Bowers: Just a little bit about the land use plan, I appreciate the healthy discussion that we've had regarding the plan. And along with Mr. Schnetzer and Planning Commission President Michael Suriano, I was had the opportunity to serve on the steering committee. I went back and reviewed the development principles for the West Gateway. And really our concept when we were working through this project was to create a sense of arrival, promote the community's identity, and with an emphasis on attractive streetscapes and orientation toward the street, this parcel was specifically identified as sort of a transitional parcel between for the mixed use projects to the east and low density residential to the west along Johnstown. Specifically, we were as as defined in the land use plan. And as Mr. Blackford just pointed out, the density on this medium density unit was really looked at to be about five to 20 units per acre, with 20 units per acre being on the very high end. The concepts that were discussed for this particular parcel and this area were to orient this project toward the street, frame the public realm, promote walkability. And again, like I said, sort of transition between a mixed use to a low density to the to the west. So I guess with that, my concerns, while this may be important to rezone to a multifamily, my concerns are, I suppose, with what happens next. Mrs. Angelou: I think we do need having different kinds of housing in our areas. And I think that the one thing in terms of after seeing some of the things that might go in there, I don't agree with having a dog park, but we can decide those things much later because this is just coming down with will it fit into the zoning and trying to change the zoning. I think that Mr. Rubin and Big Sky Reality, along with the attorney, Mr. Hodge, have brought out right reasons for doing this. And I'm going to be voting yes. Mr. Renner: I first want to thank the applicant, Mr. Rubin, and his attorney, Mr. Hodge, for their participation in our process. It is always a good thing to have entrepreneurs and the like interested in developing in our city. Therefore, with all due respect, none of my comments should be taken as anything is slanted or directed towards them. I deeply am thankful. However, it may surprise everyone that I have tried in vain to be very open to this project. I have actively pursued any information that I could get, including that from the applicant, the Administrator, Planning Commission's review and other arguments by my esteemed colleagues or the Mayor for this project. I'm even listening tonight for some of the points, but in the end, I cannot support this project. You and the public have heard me multiple times challenge this product as being outside the land use plan. The land use plan was a hard earned plan, even culminating public observations, participation and input, in particular the West Johnstown corridor we have a dream. We know about what the City of Gahanna Page 14 City Council Meeting Minutes December 7, 2020 corridor can become and put and we put it in the plan. I've equally asked everyone to please reread that plan in its entirety to understand what I'm talking about. Not going to belabor those points, but because I believe that a lot of people have made some of those finer points very, very well. If you reread the document, you'll understand you'll see the characteristics that are called out for. We have a different vision for development. The proposed project is too dense, for one thing, and outside the land use plan. Furthermore, we know that the parcels and questions are within a Community Investment Act, a Reinvestment Act, CRA, and this one in particular is called CRA Number five. And I appreciate the comments then the questions that have been brought more to light in public discussions. But CRAs, yes, were developed to be more for housing to help with housing. But this was back in 1992 and this was a Gahanna that was actually struggling to try to lure investments and development into our city. Let's fast forward to 2020. Now, taking in the view of CRAs, we had had some limited discussion about CRAs in particular number five and I have commented before that we need mixed-use and we need commercialization in order to support a CRA. But this one I do not understand how we can call this one an investment with this CRA in place. I am puzzled for two reasons. One, within the tax abatements the city is required to make the schools whole. Now, I know that based on previous discussions and prior years, I know that there's been a narrative that in this particular CRA, that because if it's formed in 1992 or it has its lineage back to 92, therefore it may not require making the schools whole again. But did we talk about this publicly? Did we alert everybody that that was actually in play with CRA number five number two via CRA number five. It allows this particular development a developer to have fifteen years of tax abatement. This in my opinion is a government subsidy. I don't believe that we should do this purely for housing. I don't believe in this project. No, this project is more of the same type of development that we have seen. It's yesterday's it's or maybe even today's, but it will not have a return in fifteen years. With all due respect, I plan to vote no on this project. Thank you. Mrs. McGregor: When we had Issue 12 passed last year, it changed the way we collect our income taxes, so now we rely primarily on employees working on the city. This project takes a parcel of land out of the income generating category. The other thing is, is, is the parking is limited and it's not like it's about 15 spaces short for the number of units. And there's not like there's a convenient place for there to be overflow, like some places might be next to a church or a parking lot that doesn't see a lot of use. But that isn't the case here. There doesn't seem to be a good place where they could have overflow parking. So that's a concern. Where are they going to park? There's not really street parking in front of it. And that's a concern. Some of the setbacks are smaller than required. That City of Gahanna Page 15 City Council Meeting Minutes December 7, 2020 parking is very close to the building as closer than what we usually allow. And anyway, for those reasons, I'm probably not going to vote for this in favor. A motion was made by Angelou seconded by Schnetzer, to adopt the Ordinance. The motion carried by the following vote: Yes: 4- Leeseberg, Schnetzer, Larick and Angelou No: 3- Renner, McGregor and Bowers e. ORD-106-2020 ORDINANCE TO GRANT A VARIANCE APPLICATION TO VARY SECTION 1109.08 - PUBLIC AREAS OF THE CODIFIED ORDINANCES OF THE CITY OF GAHANNA, TO REDUCE THE PUBLIC AREA REQUIREMENT AT PROPERTY LOCATED AT 307-319 W. JOHNSTOWN ROAD; PARCEL ID #s. 025-000848 & 025-000849; CURRENT ZONING COMMUNITY COMMERCIAL (CC); PROPOSED ZONING MULTI-FAMILY RESIDENTIAL DISTRICT (MFRD); BIG SKY REALTY; MITCH RUBIN, APPLICANT. A motion was made by Angelou seconded by Schnetzer, to adopt the Ordinance. The motion carried by the following vote: Yes: 4- Leeseberg, Schnetzer, Larick and Angelou No: 3- Renner, McGregor and Bowers H. ORDINANCES FOR SECOND READING /AMEND BY SUBSTITUTION/ ADOPTION AS AN EMERGENCY: ORD-113-2020 ORDINANCE ESTABLISHING THE SALARIES FOR PERSONNEL OF THE CITY OF GAHANNA FOR THE PERIOD JANUARY 1, 2021 THROUGH DECEMBER 31, 2021; AND TO DECLARE AN EMERGENCY. A motion to amend by subsitution was made by *** seconded by ***. The motion carried by the following vote: Angelou: Yes Bowers: Yes Larick: Yes Leeseberg: Yes McGregor: Yes Renner: Yes Schnetzer: Yes A motion was made by Renner seconded by Schnetzer, to adopt the Ordinance. The motion carried by the following vote: I. CORRESPONDENCE AND ACTIONS: Clerk City of Gahanna Page 16 City Council Meeting Minutes December 7, 2020 None Council None J. REPRESENTATIVES: Community Improvement Corporation (CIC) - Larick Mr. Larick said the next meeting of the CIC will be a virtual meeting Tuesday, December 15th at 8:00 a.m. Mid-Ohio Regional Planning Commission (MORPC) - Angelou Mrs. Angelou: Mid-Ohio Original Commission will have its last meeting of the year this Thursday, and many things are on the agenda. Convention & Visitors Bureau (CVB) - Leeseberg Mr. Leeseberg presented a report from the CVB which is attached to the minutes. 2020-197 Convention & Visitor's Bureau Report, December 7, 2020 School Board (SB) - Schnetzer No report. City of Gahanna Page 17 City Council Meeting Minutes December 7, 2020 K. OFFICIAL REPORTS: Mayor Mayor Jadwin presented a report which is attached to the minutes. 2020-198 Mayor's Report December 7, 2020 City Attorney No report. L. COUNCIL COMMENT Mr. Renner: Yeah, just a couple of things, COVID-19 I really hope people are listening and practicing social distancing and wearing the mask appropriately. Last week I had to quarantine myself away from my family in my house, which was a very tricky thing to do. Had a staff member who tested positive. So there was all that. And so I spent the last week holed up right here, actually, and trying to live life that way. We're starting to see more staff members at the county come down with COVID. Just please, please, please social distance, listen to the governor and do wearing the mask. The second thing is, is we have an increasing amount of barking dogs at night. I don't know if residents have not gotten accustomed to the changing of the seasons or the time or the winter or whatever. But this is basically a plea to people to please if your dog is outside, just bring them in quickly. As you can be aware that if you tie up a small dog, Gahanna does have a very active coyote population. If you have small dogs tied up, your small dog could be a target for the coyote because there's food. So please, please, please. But we probably need to do something about the barking dog situation. Ms. Bowers: Thank you. Just after what Mr. Renner just said, I shared with Nancy and Steven that on Thursday we had a beautiful red fox running through our yard. And I've seen lots of hawks and other raptors this season. So I just I appreciate the wildlife that we have here. And I don't want people to be scared by things like coyotes or FOX, but but be aware that we that we share this ground with them. I have my constituent report that I have submitted and thank you to April for getting that added to the agenda. There are a number of kind of hot topics that have been discussed that are identified in there. I'm looking forward to continuing to work on some of the issues that have been raised by constituents over the last year. A part of why I do these constituent reports is so that I can look back over a period of time and know what needs followed up on. City of Gahanna Page 18 City Council Meeting Minutes December 7, 2020 What did we what other types of issues are out there? Are we noticing any trends? And hopefully that might be of some use to my colleagues as well. I also wanted to touch on something that I've heard a bit about tonight. So all of us, all seven of us council members, the mayor, everybody who works for almost everybody who works for the city, a lot of the people who work for the city, the city attorney, we all live here. This is where we raise our families. This is where our kids go to school. This is where we grocery shop. And I think one of the things that I feel about COVID is that it shows us how connected we are. Right. Like you've all seen those diagrams with what our bubbles look like and how that we're all of our bubbles are overlapping in some way, probably in some way closer than we might think. So this I we're not going to agree on every point and we're not going to be unanimous voices on on every policy decision. But I do believe and I remember as Mrs. Angelou addressed this to me when I started and this is coming up at the end of my first year of my first term, but that we're all here for the same reasons and that's to make Gahanna a better place and to support the people who live here. So I do think that we are all aligned in that. I firmly believe that. I just think that we have very different ideas sometimes about how we get there. And I think that discussing that those approaches and having open disagreements sometimes about that is not something to be afraid of. And I just am grateful that for the most part, I think that we as colleagues, as a council body have done very well at navigating those disagreements over the last year. Mr. Leeseberg: welcome the two officers that are going to the academy. Look forward to. When you guys graduate and join our police force, thank you very much. 2020-199 Bowers Constituent Report, December 7, 2020 N. ADJOURNMENT April Beggerow, MPA, CMC Clerk of Council City of Gahanna Page 19 City Council Meeting Minutes December 7, 2020 APPROVED by the City Council, this day of 2020. Jamie Leeseberg City of Gahanna Page 20