Development commission recommends approval of 264-unit Amherst/Demorest Road apartment project amid strong traffic concerns

The Columbus City Development Commission voted on July 10 to forward a rezoning for Amherst Park — a Metro Development proposal for up to 264 apartment units on a roughly 14.07-acre site along Demorest/Amherst Road — to Columbus City Council with a recommendation of approval, after multiple rounds of revisions and extensive public comment on traffic and density.

Metro Development’s application seeks an LAR-1 limited apartment residential district to permit multiunit development on property pending annexation into the city. The staff report recommends conditional approval, noting mitigation including preserved tree lines, buffering, added sidewalks and a required clarification on an off-site improvement funding item of approximately $193,166.16 tied to a nearby roundabout or intersection project.

Developer representatives said they substantially revised the site plan after meetings with the Westland area commission and nearby neighbors: they said they reoriented buildings to place building ends rather than windows toward adjacent yards, preserved significant tree lines along the east and south edges, moved fences inside tree lines, committed to two rows of 8-foot pine screening on one edge, agreed to composite fencing and added sidewalks and internal walkways. Jeff Brown, counsel for the applicant, described the landscaping and tree-preservation measures and said the applicant agreed to extend sidewalks to connect to a nearby block.

Metro’s traffic engineer presented analyses indicating that the Alkhire/Demorest roundabout currently operates within acceptable capacity thresholds and that projected peak-hour flows for the development would remain below Federal Highway Administration circulating-flow guidance for a single-lane roundabout.

Residents and neighborhood representatives urged denial, citing independent traffic counts they conducted. “According to the Federal Highway Administration, the maximum circulating flow within a single lane roundabout is 1,800 vehicles per hour. Obviously, the roundabout is already at capacity,” said Rich Peresta, who lives north of the site and gave the commission an account of independent counts that recorded hourly peaks above that threshold. Nearby resident Bryce Fuller said the area already hosts multiple recent or in-progress Metro developments and that additional units would overwhelm infrastructure and alter the neighborhood’s single-family character.

Commissioners acknowledged both the neighbors’ traffic concerns and the developer’s mitigation commitments. Several commissioners noted the site’s buffering, preserved trees, and sidewalk commitments as meaningful steps; others said the broader corridor’s evolving land-use patterns make higher-density applications likely. The commission approved forwarding the rezoning request to City Council with conditions noted in the staff report.

Outcome and next steps: The commission’s approval sends the rezoning and associated development commitments to Columbus City Council for final action and any required coordination with the Franklin County engineer and Jackson Township on off-site improvements.

Votes at the commission: motion carried; vote details are recorded in the public hearing record.