Hilliard council holds first reading on I‑270 corridor rezoning, limits height and adds protections for nearby residences

Council members on Monday heard a staff presentation and completed a first reading of ordinance 25‑17, a package of zoning text and map changes for the I‑270 corridor intended to guide redevelopment in that area.

The proposal updates Chapter 11.16 and the city’s land‑use tables to create an I‑6 urban‑core zone and a broader “flex employment” zone that aims to encourage office, research and development, and light industrial uses. Planning staff told council the changes are meant to encourage redevelopment while preserving revenue‑generating employment uses that support city services.

Planning staff said the proposed package does not rezone any existing residential parcels but noted some residences lie within 400 feet of affected parcels. The planning commission reviewed the text and made changes, including moving multifamily housing to a “secondary permitted” use in one district and adding adjacency protections for nearby homes. “If your building is taller than two stories or 35 feet, either the I‑3 or the flex employment district, you’d have to be set back an additional 50 feet from…