Council rejects rezoning for 33rd Avenue site after residents raise traffic, safety and drainage concerns

Columbus City Council on Jan. 20, 2025 rejected Ordinance No. 25-01, a rezoning request for property east of 33rd Avenue between 40th and 42nd Streets that applicant K Herman Development LLC said would allow multifamily housing and storage.

The proposal would have changed the parcel from R‑1 (single‑family residential) to B‑2 (general commercial). Developer Kelby Herman told the council the project designs include either five or six two‑story buildings for about 100 or 120 two‑bedroom apartment units and a low‑impact storage facility; he described the site as roughly 9 acres and said preliminary engineering indicates the project can meet city and state stormwater standards. "There would be 5 buildings and there is a design where there are 6 buildings, so either a 100 or a 120, 2 bedroom units," Herman said.

Neighbors told the council the site is already strained by peak‑hour traffic and unsafe for additional residential density near two schools. "This is adding at least a 120 plus plus cars coming and going to a location that is a quarter of the size of the neighborhood to the south," resident Keith Evans said during the public hearing, adding the area has "two schools, elementary and high school" and limited access onto 33rd Avenue. Sue Reekman said she avoids leaving her neighborhood during morning and afternoon peak periods and described motorists "racing through the neighborhood"; she also told the council she and her granddaughter waited five minutes at a crosswalk while 17 cars passed without stopping.

Other residents raised concerns about stormwater and a proposed retention pond. "So let's take a 120 apartments, 250 storage units. You have all this concrete...6 acres of that's gonna be concrete. So 6 acres of rainwater is going to run to my backyard and 3 other people's," resident Mike Brown said, describing existing culvert and ditch limitations and saying part of the downstream ditch is on private property. Scott Maki and Jerry Putnam said the prospect of an unplatted, high‑density complex would create additional safety risks for children who currently cut through the neighborhood after school.

City staff and council members discussed the history of traffic analysis for the corridor. Crystal Minky noted the most recent traffic study on the 33rd/38th corridor was completed for Columbus Public Schools in 2012–2013 and questioned whether that analysis still reflected current conditions. A city official said the older study was forward‑looking and intended to anticipate growth, but that new counts or a traffic impact analysis are sometimes requested when a major development is proposed. The council was also told the city has applied for a federal Safe Streets for All grant and later in the agenda approved a professional services agreement with HDR Engineering to study the corridor.

After public comment and staff remarks, a motion to adopt Ordinance No. 25‑01 failed on a voice vote. Because the rezoning ordinance failed, the council removed the related special‑use permit items for convenience storage and the associated ordinance from the agenda as moot.

What happened next: the council voted to remove the special‑use permit items tied to the rezoning from the agenda; those removal motions passed. No rezoning or special‑use approval occurred tonight, and the developer indicated additional design and engineering steps would follow any future zoning approval.

Why it matters: the parcel sits adjacent to Lost Creek Drive and near Emmanuel Lutheran School and Columbus Community High School. Residents and council members said peak‑hour congestion and existing cut‑through traffic create safety hazards for pedestrians and drivers; the outcome leaves the property under its current R‑1 designation unless a new application or substantially revised proposal returns to the council for consideration.

Votes and formal actions from the meeting on this item are recorded below.