Planning Commission Workshop

200 South Hamilton Road City of Gahanna Gahanna, Ohio 43230 Meeting Minutes Planning Commission Workshop Donald R. Shepherd, Chair Bobbie Burba, Vice Chair David K. Andrews Kristin E. Rosan Thomas J. Wester Jennifer Price Joe Keehner Kayla Holbrook, Deputy Clerk of Council Wednesday, May 4, 2016 6:30 PM City Hall CALL TO ORDER Chair Don Shepherd called the meeting to order at 6:30 p.m. Present 4 - Donald R. Shepherd, David K. Andrews, Thomas J. Wester, and Joe Keehner Absent 3 - Bobbie Burba, Kristin E. Rosan, and Jennifer Tisone Price APPLICATIONS FDP-0005-2016 To consider a Final Development Plan application for a Columbia Gas Training Center (education center and outdoor training area); for property located at 1385 Blatt Boulevard and 1600 Eastgate Parkway; Parcel ID numbers 025-010847, 025-010849, 025-006924; current zoning OCT (Office, Commerce & Technology); The Pizzuti Companies, c/o James J. Miller, applicant. (Advertised in the RFE on 4/28/2016) Gard said was fascinated with the application; they will have a training building and then different areas on the property with various training; also a fire training area where the technicians get to put out a fire at ground level; there is a pipe yard; also a village with shed size structures; these folks learn to detect gas odors, they work with various appliances; very interesting project; believes the Commission will enjoy hearing about it. Mike Breighner, manager of the facility being proposed; will go through the powerpoint at a high level, will answer any questions; this is about public safety; Glen Dugger, attorney for the project, said this is north of Blatt Boulevard; Breighner said there are several people working for them; they are building one of these facilities in Pennsylvania currently; is about 90% complete; is 22,000 square feet; proposing here is 28,000 square feet; interior layout is basically the same; have City of Gahanna Page 1 Planning Commission Workshop Meeting Minutes May 4, 2016 field coaches out in the field; will also have administrative staff; will cater and rely on vendors in the community but will not cook on site; M&R is measurement and regulation; will have a plant/distribution training area; talking about the main lines to the meter; service will take care of meter to the house; have emergency responders also; have a simulator room; have a lot of injuries as people come in; want to train folks on how to walk on slippery floors, etc.; want to be able to provide real-time knowledge to employees as they need it; SCATA will also be out of this facility; can increase or decrease pressure; will notice a line break; showed some of the equipment that will be housed in the facility for training; moving to the emergency response safety town; have the ability to find fifty different types of leaks; if we have a leak we have two control powers; focus is on safety; everything has a startup and shut-down protocol so will not have to be concerned with after-hours; the pipe yard will not show much above ground; will be mostly a field; the fire school has a tower with operating valves; in the 35 years he has been with the company, have not had an injury; all about safety and do not predict any issues; if something goes wrong, the operator shuts it down; have worked with several fire departments to send them through this training; excited to have our Fire Department on board; will also teach someone how to dig around a pipe line; will teach how to load and unload a truck; the rest of the area is for operating digging trenches; in Las Vegas, NV, they have a facility like this; there are electric meters, sewers, electric pedestals in their village; want to make it as real as possible; learning how to communicate with the fire department and be safe in a controlled environment; showed images of the village and underground facilities; showed images of the progress in the facility being built in Pennsylvania; will also have a backhoe simulator and training; will have a screen to show what they are digging; showed images of some of the fires that they will be putting out; burning with gas will not explode; educating everyone on how to safely put a fire out and when to let it burn; happy to answer any questions. Dugger said that focused on the use of the property; basically south of the Junkermann property; applications we have, this property is appropriately zoned; applications are for a Design Review and Final Development Plan; the use is out of left-field; most users will not have a safety town with a village in the back and starting intentional fire; wanted to have this discussion with administration, the Fire Chief, and now Planning Commission; comes to Planning Commission through the Economic Development process in the City; appreciates the Commission meeting tonight; this needs to be open January 1, 2017; we are on a limited timeline; will be back next week in a regular meeting; wanted to get ahead and answer any questions, issues, or problems tonight; Fire Chief is here tonight to answer any questions City of Gahanna Page 2 Planning Commission Workshop Meeting Minutes May 4, 2016 and participate in this process. Wester said this is a great opportunity; AEP has a similar facility in Groveport; happy this is coming to central Ohio; presumed this would be available to everyone in the state; Breighner said absolutely; Blackford said this is an ideal property for the location; there is a separation from the neighbors; endorse this project; Shepherd asked about complaints from the neighborhood; Blackford said no, there are few neighbors; Fire Chief Kauser said this is more safe than occupancies that are out there currently because of the control systems; they assessed the site and the impact area and found marginal to no impact; in terms of services to the site, there is not impact; our collective agencies in the region, they scored out of the park in terms of what would be available to our fire fighters; is an outstanding opportunity; we support it; Andrews asked about someone having a cigarette outback; Breighner said there will be designated smoking areas and they will ensure those are followed; the amount of gas being let out you could probably light a cigarette and not be impacted; Wester asked about the BT-burners; Breighner said do not have a number; struggle with the capacity; they crack a valve and leave a light; it is already burning; Wester asked about the noise; Breighner said there is less noise than likely the neighbors; Keehner asked if there was a fence around some of it; Breighner said there is a fence around all of it; there is an additional fence around safety town; Keehner asked if someone driving by would see the facility and fence; Breighner said yes, they will not see much, maybe some rooftops; said the run-offs could be just a dry chemical; it just absorbs into the stone, does not need cleaned up; have never been any environmental concerns; is like a baking soda, non-toxic; Shepherd said he trusts there is enough parking to meet code and proper landscaping; have no questions; excited about this and seems clean; Blackford asked how many training employees coming through; Breighner said close to 2,000 coming through; Blackford asked if those employees will be staying in the area; said that is a substantial amount of visitors staying, shopping and eating in the area; Chris Lewis said that would be the only one in the state of Ohio; Breighner said they will go through 8-10 weeks of training and at some point coming to this location; Dugger said they will be in local hotels and restaurants during the week and likely travel home during the weekend; depending on where they are coming from; Breighner found that most people with more than an hour commute, they stay in the area; Andrews asked about a gas meter that appeared crooked; Breighner said that is for training and they will be checking for leakage and accurately handling; everything is gravel based and things will only migrate where they want it to; no confined gas when they leave; Keehner asked if the existing ponds are filled in; Dugger said the pond is just off the site; Keehner asked what the fence looked like; Lewis said is a 6’ chain link with vinyl slats; those vault areas, there is a 3’ fence around that area for fall City of Gahanna Page 3 Planning Commission Workshop Meeting Minutes May 4, 2016 protection; access is by cartridge system; all monitored and there are cameras on the corners of the building; monitored 24/7; Shepherd asked if there is someone on the site; Breighner said no; Keehner confirmed the fence is all the way around; Gard said no comment from the Police; likely happy about the cameras; Shepherd asked the hours; Breighner said 6:00 a.m. to 5:30 p.m.; likely no later hours; Lewis said all facilities have a "knox box"; fire and police will have complete access; Breighner said this was designed with the fire department in mind. Glen Dugger said will be back next week for any further questions; if something comes up between now and then, let staff know and we will hopefully have an answer next week; appreciates indulgence to get through this as fast as possible. DR-0012-2016 To consider an application for Certificate of Appropriateness for signage for property located at 1385 Blatt Boulevard and 1600 Eastgate Parkway; Parcel ID numbers 025-010847, 025-010849, 025-006924; Columbia Gas Training Center; The Pizzuti Companies, c/o James J. Miller, applicant. See discussion under FDP-0005-2016. ADJOURNMENT 7:03 p.m. City of Gahanna Page 4