Troy committee to forward rezoning of 191 Commerce Center Drive to M‑2 amid resident concerns

The Law and Ordinance Committee in Troy heard public comment and discussion Monday on a request to rezone 191 Commerce Center Drive (Parcel D08105472) and recommend the change to the full City Council.

The application would consolidate three zoning districts on the parcel — R4 single‑family residential, OC‑1 office commercial and M‑2 light industrial — into a single M‑2 designation. Chairman Jeffrey Widdon said he would move to advance the application to council for final action.

The request, presented by city planning staff member Mr. Davis and represented at the meeting by Craig Sweeney for the applicant Comeo, follows a Planning Commission recommendation in favor of the rezoning and cites consistency with the City of Troy comprehensive plan. "This is strictly a rezoning application," Mr. Davis told the committee, adding that "there is no development application that has been submitted to the city at this time." Mr. Davis also said "there were 8 people who spoke against the rezoning, with 2 of those being Troy residents and 6 of them living outside the city limits."

Residents raised concerns about lighting, noise, traffic and property values. Jenny Bolton of 85 Norbert Drive said the proposed facility’s security lighting could harm animals at her household and disturb sleep cycles: "the lighting... will affect their sleep cycles," she said. Bolton and other neighbors urged preserving the existing R4 strip as a buffer or moving the building farther north onto adjacent property owned by Honda.

City staff and the applicant described existing and potential controls. Mr. Davis told the committee that if future site work disturbs more than one acre, the developer must provide on‑site stormwater retention and comply with state requirements, and that "the Ohio Revised Code prohibits a site from discharging more stormwater pre development than post development." He also noted the city’s noise standard and enforcement tool: "the standard is 60 decibels, [not to] be exceeded at the property line." For lighting, staff said the city will require a photometric plan and use light meters at property lines.

Craig Sweeney, representing Comeo, said the company expects to operate one daytime shift and intends trailer and dock activity on the north side of the property to reduce impacts on homes to the south. "We're still going to have to be subject to the City Of Troy's zoning requirements and everything else," Sweeney said, adding that Comeo would consider signage, a berm, screening and a memorandum of understanding to encourage trucks to use the northern route toward State Route 41. Sweeney told the committee his client estimated about 15 trucks a day currently move material from the Honda facility to Comeo’s Vandalia site and said the new facility in Troy could reduce regional truck trips.

Committee members discussed the zoning code buffer requirement: staff said the code calls for a 25‑foot buffer where industrial adjoins residential, but acknowledged ambiguity whether that offset is measured from the zoning demarcation or the property line on lots that contain multiple zoning districts. Austin, the city planning and zoning manager, said the R4 strip in question measures about 150 feet across on city mapping. Sweeney said the rezoning seeks certainty so engineers can prepare site plans that comply with setback, stormwater and screening requirements and with oversight from the city, Ohio EPA and ODNR.

Mr. Widdon indicated he would move the matter to council and Mrs. Marshall stated she agreed. The committee did not consider or approve a detailed site plan during the meeting; Mr. Davis and the applicant said any development will return to city review under applicable site‑plan, building‑permit and environmental rules.

The committee’s recommendation to forward the rezoning to the full City Council was the next formal step; Mr. Davis said the council will consider the item on Monday for final action.

Background: the parcel has mixed zoning and is currently vacant farmland. Planning staff noted earlier enterprise zone agreements signed in 2005 and 2008 with Honda and Comeo required truck routing to the north; staff said those agreements have expired but the applicant offered voluntary measures to direct trucks north.