Council approves rezoning and variance for self-storage project on Stelzer Road despite planning opposition

Columbus — The City Council voted to rezone approximately 4.1 acres at 1941 Stelzer Road from CPD/LM-related designations to an LM (Limited Manufacturing) district to allow a single-story self-storage facility and approved a related council variance to reduce setbacks.

The applicant’s counsel, Beth Sidorff, represented Cardinal Self Storage and said the proposed development would consist of low-profile, single-story storage buildings with a single curb cut onto City Gate Road (rather than multiple access points on Stelzer), and that the project would generate less traffic than the commercially permitted uses under the existing CPD text.

Planning staff recommended disapproval because the site sits in an area the Northeast Area Plan designates for office or light industrial uses; the staff memo said the proposed LM uses are inconsistent with plan recommendations. The Northeast Area Commission recommended approval, and applicants agreed to design changes — including a simulated brick façade and a six-foot board-on-board privacy fence along the western property line — in response to community concerns.

Why it matters: The vote highlights tensions between older area plans and current market realities; council members cited the long period the parcel has remained vacant under its prior zoning and said the proposed self-storage use was a lower-impact alternative to what the CPD text permitted.

Council action: The council approved both the rezoning ordinance and the council variance (reduced setback from centerline and reduced separation to residentially zoned property). The clerk conducted roll calls and both measures passed.

Ending: The site will be developed under the LM district commitments and the approved site plan and elevations; council did not attach additional city funding to the project.