On Thursday, April 4, the City received notice of a Referendum Petition for Amended Ordinance No. 04-24. If you’re approached to sign the petition and looking for information on the Ordinance, here’s a summary of the intent:
- Unify the City’s Zoning Code across our three major commercial corridors (Main Street, North Cassady Avenue, Livingston Avenue);
- Rezone the existing commercial area along Livingston Avenue from Commercial Service to Mixed-Use Commercial. This is in line with the Southwest Bexley Strategic Framework and the Joint Livingston Avenue Plan, as well as the federally funded $18.3 million Bexley/Columbus infrastructure and streetscape improvement project forthcoming. The Livingston Avenue overlay specifies a safer, wider sidewalk interface with ample room for street trees and a higher level of architectural detail, shielded parking, etc.
- Updating the residential Conditional Use provisions of the Zoning Code in line with the original intent of the code and recommendations arising from a recent legal challenge to the City’s Zoning Code language. Specifically, the prior code was found to have conflicting provisions, and without this amendment many conditional uses throughout the City would be subject to challenge. Conditional Uses are commonplace throughout Bexley’s districts, and the Conditional Use review process provides a valuable tool for setting additional standards for uses that could be harmonious in a district depending on the context of the use. Examples of conditional uses in Bexley include The Alexander Condominiums; City Hall; the Bexley Bed and Breakfast; the Kollel; the Kitchen of Life; Piada Restaurant; the Bickford Nursing Home; Moo Moo Car Wash; Bexley Car Care; Peking Dynasty restaurant; the Woodyard Funeral Home, the Bexley Police Station; among others. A Conditional Use is different from a Variance in that a variance has a higher standard of review and is a use that is not permitted in a district. In contrast, a Conditional Use is permitted in a district subject to additional review.
- Minor clean-up of code (i.e. material of planter curbs on Main Street improperly specified in prior code)
Nothing in the Ordinance would allow any previously proposed redevelopment project to move forward without zoning and site plan review and a complete public input process. Any multi-family residential building with no commercial component along Livingston would still need to secure a Conditional Use permit.
For more information, including a FAQ, background on the Joint Livingston Avenue Plan, and a recap of the review process for Ordinance 04-24, please visit bexley.org/livingstonzoning.
