Planning commission backs rezoning for 119‑acre Hilliard tech/employment park, adds buffer and landscaping conditions

The Hilliard Planning and Zoning Commission on Jan. 9 forwarded a positive recommendation to City Council to rezone a 119‑acre parcel at Davidson Road and Hayden Run Road to a planned‑unit development to allow an employment‑based technology park, the commission agreed by recorded vote (yes: 6; abstain: 1). The recommendation included six staff conditions plus an additional seventh condition requiring the developer to install the landscape buffers before construction of facilities in the development zone.

Staff and the applicant said the proposal would create a campus-style, flex employment park intended for corporate offices, light advanced manufacturing, research and development, and incubator space for start‑ups. The development plan reserves roughly 48 acres as open space (subarea 1) to be dedicated to the city and shows pedestrian and regional trail connections through the site.

“Sub area 2 is where the development will be,” said Mr. Valentino, presenting the staff report. Valentino described the updated concept plan and text changes since the Nov. 14 hearing, including clearer pathways, a 150‑foot setback along Hayden Crest Street, and additional planting and architectural standards added to the PUD text.

Why it matters: the city’s community plan currently recommends suburban residential uses for the site (1–3 units per acre). City staff said the PUD could provide employment that offsets residential tax impacts while preserving a large passive open space and adding trail connections to the Central Ohio Greenway Regional Trail. Commission and staff changes aim to reduce the visual and operational impact on surrounding neighborhoods.

Key changes and limits adopted or recommended in the PUD text include: - Preservation of about 48 acres as publicly owned open space to be dedicated to the city. - A 150‑foot landscaped setback along the subdivision at Hayden Crest, with staff recommending those specifics be included in the text rather than only on the plan. - Building height limits reduced from 60 feet to 45 feet generally, and to 35 feet for portions of buildings within 100 feet of residential property lines. - Proscribed fence types and a maximum fence height of 7 feet; chain‑link fencing prohibited. - Parking standards revised to align more closely with the city’s code to avoid excess paved parking. - Permitted uses focused on office, medical office, research and development, advanced manufacturing using information/automation/sensing technologies, and light industrial/assembly that are urban‑scaled and campus‑oriented; landscaping services and open, unscreened outdoor storage were suggested for exclusion or special review.

Neighbors urged stronger, legally enforceable protections in the PUD text rather than leaving buffering and screening to later final development plans. “We need the protections now. This is when the door opens,” said Sarah Bloom Anderson (4797 Hayden Crest Road), who represented a group of Hayden Crest residents and called for wider setbacks and more evergreens to protect property values and well water. Anderson asked the commission to require setbacks of up to 300 feet or, at minimum, match the 272‑foot depth of some neighborhood lots.

Director David Meadows said staff had met with adjacent neighborhood groups and incorporated several changes requested by residents, including larger setbacks, additional landscaping, and a reduction in building heights. “We tried to accommodate best we could while still maintaining and preserving the ability to develop the site,” Meadows said.

Adjacent residents raised other concerns during public comment: potential for stormwater impacts on backyards bordering farm fields (staff and the applicant said detention ponds would be sized to ensure post‑development runoff would not worsen existing conditions), traffic from future tenants, lighting and signage, and long‑term well water drawdown and contamination risk. The applicant and staff said stormwater will be managed regionally across the site and that final engineering would address neighborhood drainage issues.

Commission discussion emphasized clarifying the timing of landscape installation. Several commissioners asked for a condition that required installation of screening plantings and buffers before any building pads in the employment area are constructed. Commissioners also discussed whether the PUD text should strictly limit some uses; staff and the applicant said a narrower permitted‑use list will be included to avoid heavy industrial or large‑scale outdoor storage uses.

The commission motion, adopted by roll call, forwarded a positive recommendation to City Council with the staff’s six recommended conditions and an additional seventh condition requiring the developer to construct the landscape buffers prior to construction of facilities in the development portion of the site. That recommendation will now go to Council for final action.

Residents and the applicant will return with final development plans that must conform to the PUD text and address remaining engineering, landscaping, signage and parking details.

Ending: The commission’s recommendation preserves the city’s option to require detailed design and screening at the final‑plan stage while advancing a rezoning that, if approved by Council, would enable the city to market and occupy a sizeable employment campus while keeping a large portion of the parcel as public open space.