Council approves Wolpert PUD for tech/employment park after enhanced buffer added for Hayden Crest residents

Hilliard City Council on March 10 approved an employment‑based Planned Unit Development (PUD) for property west of Leap Road and north of Hayden Run Road, authorizing a mixed campus of ‘‘flex employment’’ uses aimed at technology, office and lab‑oriented tenants. Council amended the PUD text to require enhanced landscaping and screening adjacent to the Hayden Crest residential neighborhood before voting to adopt the ordinance.

Planning staff described the proposal as a campus‑style, flex employment park with shared parking, pedestrian and bike connections and a substantial open‑space buffer. The concept plan shows about 71 developable acres and nearly 48 acres of open space, with connective trail opportunities and proposed buffers between the employment area and adjacent single‑family neighborhoods.

Why it matters: The PUD is intended to diversify Hilliard’s employment base and provide non‑residential tax revenue in locations where the community plan encourages employment growth. Nearby residents sought additional tree plantings to preserve screening and property values.

What council changed and why Council accepted an amendment to the PUD text requiring that ‘‘the area adjacent to the Hayden Crest neighborhood shall also have enhanced landscaping to provide screening’’ (added to the buffers section of the PUD text). Residents from Hayden Crest had earlier submitted a written request and a speaker, Sarah Bloom Anderson, asked for explicit language guaranteeing concentrated tree plantings along the northern boundary. Planning staff said the site’s required buffer widths already exceeded code and that tree grouping could be done adjacent to residences during landscape plan review; council opted to add the explicit enhancement language to the PUD text.

Project design and limitations - Allowed uses: The PUD intends to prioritize flex employment—corporate offices, light industrial/advanced manufacturing, research and development, and incubator facilities—designed with campus landscaping, pedestrian networks and shared parking. The PUD text limits heavy warehouse uses: warehouse tenant area is capped at 40% of a building’s tenant floor area in the proposed text (the number can be adjusted by council in future applications). - Buffers and trails: The concept shows a minimum 50‑foot buffer adjacent to Hayden Crest and a 150‑foot buffer along another residential edge; planning staff noted the developer proposes additional stormwater and trail corridors within the open space. - Outdoor storage and screening: The PUD allows outdoor storage only on dust‑free gravel and requires screening, bollards or fencing to prevent expansion of gravel storage beyond approved limits; staff said the city will enforce these as zoning violations if necessary.

Vote and implementation Council voted to amend the PUD text to require enhanced screening and then approved ordinance 25‑O‑03 by a 6–0 roll call. Staff will next review landscape and preliminary engineering plans during site plan review; trail construction would likely require future capital funding decisions if the city chooses to deliver off‑site connectors.

Voices quoted in the meeting - John (planning staff): described the concept plan and noted ‘‘the implementation portion of the community plan recommends providing comfortable bicycle and pedestrian facilities along key thoroughfares with priority for shared use paths.’’ - Sarah Bloom Anderson (Hayden Crest): asked for enhanced screening near her neighborhood and commended the council when it added the amendment.

Ending With the amendment in place, council approved the Wolpert PUD; the city will work with the developer on landscape and engineering details during the normal site plan and PUD implementation steps.