Residents, public health expert urge more study of proposed bus depot and joint fire substation site

Residents and a public-health physician told the New Albany-Plain Local Board of Education on March 17 that the district should seek more local data before advancing a proposed transportation facility and joint fire substation on land donated by The New Albany Company.

Sandra Solano, a physician specializing in preventive medicine and public health and a Nottingham Trace resident, said the board should not rely solely on regulatory thresholds. “It is not enough to say that emissions meet regulatory limits,” Solano said, urging independent, local exposure modeling and proposing an Ohio State University capstone project to study community-specific air emissions.

Why it matters: The transportation facility proposal has prompted repeated community concern about air quality, traffic, property values and neighborhood character. Residents said those impacts are not addressed in the rezoning application materials and asked the board, city and township to delay formal land-use steps until more information is available.

Several speakers described gaps they see in the rezoning application and questioned process details. Nancy Willis, a Nottingham Trace resident, noted a discrepancy between what a superintendent told the neighborhood and the rezoning filing: the rezoning packet says “a traffic study is in process,” while she heard a district official say one had not yet been ordered. Willis also read sections of New Albany’s zoning code, saying the applicant’s submission did not explain how the proposed change “will impact adjacent and proximate properties” and did not provide the required justification for the requested zoning change. Willis cited New Albany zoning sections 11.03, 11.59.02 and 11.57.01 and referenced a 1984 Ohio Supreme Court decision, Hudson v. Albrecht, to argue that aesthetics and property values are legitimate governmental concerns.

Other residents focused on aesthetics and gateway design. Mark Combs, a Nottingham Trace homeowner, said the site forms a gateway to New Albany and that a large bus facility and chain-link fencing would conflict with adjacent high-end residential lots and future development. Barbara Topolowski, a retired educator, thanked district leaders for meeting with the community and asked for clarity on the district’s timeline for advancing any city or township approvals.

District response and next steps: Superintendent Sawyers and staff told attendees the district is continuing site evaluations and working with the city and Plain Township to assess alternatives. During the campus master plan presentation that followed public comment, the administration reiterated that the site under consideration was a donation and that potential alternatives remain under review; no formal site selection or rezoning action was taken at the meeting.

The district said traffic engineers and design consultants remain engaged and that additional meetings with the city and township are scheduled; a firm recommendation and zoning application timeline were not provided at the March 17 meeting.

Ending: Residents asked the board and local governments to prioritize independent, site-specific environmental and traffic analyses before approving any rezoning or construction. Board members said they are collecting community input and continuing feasibility work but did not set a public date for a final decision.