The Hilliard Planning and Zoning Commission on May 22 postponed consideration of PZ‑25‑24, a zoning‑code amendment to Chapter 11.16 that would create new form‑based community development districts around Interstate 270, after staff presentation and extensive public comment.

City planning staff said the changes come from the city’s 2023 Comprehensive Plan update and aim to clarify permitted forms and uses in five focus areas, including the I‑270 corridor and Mill Run. The staff member said the city mailed more than 700 notices to property owners and that many recipients received letters because they are within 400 feet of parcels in the proposed map. “Existing uses will not be impacted by these zoning code changes,” the planning staff member said, adding that “expansion of uses shall be permitted, provided that at least one of the permitted or conditional uses under the prior zoning has been operated continuously for the previous 12 months.”

The code updates would create several new districts: an I3 suburban zone around Hickory Chase, an I6 urban‑core district intended for large office sites that could incorporate structured parking and mixed uses, a Lehi Employment (IFE) flex employment district aimed at tech‑flex and light industrial uses, and an IMR Mill Run district to provide clearer by‑right standards where prior PUDs were site‑specific. The staff presentation identified examples of existing and recent redevelopment such as the Verizon office campus, the One Mill Run building and a project identified as “10B” on Edwards Farm Road as illustrative precedents.

A central policy tool in the proposal is a “secondary permitted use” rule. Under the draft text shown to the commission, a property that maintains a minimum level of a primary permitted use — the example cited by staff was 10,000 square feet of office per acre — would then be able to include secondary uses such as multifamily housing or additional commercial space. Staff said the code also requires staging so that secondary uses cannot be built before the primary, income‑generating uses are established.

The draft includes building form and dimensional standards. Staff said the code would allow buildings up to 50 feet in certain I‑270 areas (the staff presentation showed the One Mill Run building, described as nine stories with rooftop mechanical that reaches 50 feet). The Verizon building was described for scale as five stories and about 89 feet tall. Staff and commissioners repeatedly cautioned that a code limit does not guarantee market demand for tall or structured‑parking development.

Public comment included business owners and long‑time operators who said they depend on the existing industrial and contractor uses in the overlay. Chris Airmo, president of John Airmo & Sons, said, “I do have some concerns that our property may in essence get devalued as a result of this zoning,” and asked whether expansion of current operations would remain possible. A planning staff member pointed to the Chapter 11.16 text adopted in 2024 and told speakers that existing uses and expansions that meet the code’s continuity requirement are allowed to continue.

Residents who live near Mill Run, including Dr. Varadveris, raised questions about noise, traffic and the presence of light industrial and light manufacturing uses in proximity to homes. Commissioners and staff noted that the proposed district requires setbacks (staff cited a 40‑foot minimum rear setback in one example), buffering and screening requirements where commercial development abuts residential property, and that parking typologies and building placement are part of the form‑based standards.

Other issues raised in the meeting included whether short‑term rentals are residential or commercial in specific zones (staff said short‑term rentals are listed as residential and that the city’s separate ordinance on separation requirements would still apply), inconsistent language on required bicycle parking in the draft code (a commissioner asked staff to clarify wording that simultaneously used “should” and “required”), and questions about definitions such as “light manufacturing” and how the city interprets those terms.

Commissioners asked staff for more detail on multiple points — including the boundaries of the map, how Mill Run parcels that fall within Columbus versus Hilliard were treated, practical effects of the 10,000‑square‑feet‑per‑acre threshold, and buffering between new development and existing homes — and members of the public asked for more clarity on traffic mitigation and where parking and landscaping would be placed on redeveloped sites.

After the public comment and commission discussion, the commission voted to postpone action on PZ‑25‑24 to the June 12 Planning and Zoning Commission meeting to allow staff time to address questions and revise draft language. The motion to postpone was made and seconded on the record; the commission announced the case as postponed. The commission also accepted the meeting documents earlier in the session.

The commission will take up PZ‑25‑24 again at its June 12 meeting; staff said revised draft language and additional clarifications will be provided before that session.