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Industrial operator resists screening requirement but Board approves open‑storage setback variance with conditions
Summary
The Board granted variances allowing open storage and gravel parking at 2365 Performance Way in an established industrial corridor, but staff’s recommended condition for additional screening along the Performance Way frontage was discussed at length; the owner said he preferred street trees rather than opaque fencing or slats.
Columbus zoning officials approved variances Feb. 25 to legitimize longstanding open storage and gravel parking at 2365 Performance Way, but required additional mitigation along the Performance Way frontage after debate about visibility, policing and a nearby cemetery.
Applicant Sean Englewertsland told the Board the property has been used for open storage and contractor equipment for many years. Planning staff supported the variances but requested “additional screening on the Performance Way frontage including fabric or slats to accompany the chain link fencing and/or landscaping” to meet city design guidelines that discourage visible, unscreened parking and storage along public rights-of-way.
In the hearing the owner and nearby business representatives said the site functions as typical industrial open storage and that some adjacent industrial neighbors preferred an unobstructed view for security and drive-by surveillance. One staff presenter described the corridor as “an established industrial corridor” and noted the applicant offered to plant street trees at 50-foot intervals rather than install opaque slats and tall visual barriers.
Board members weighed the design guidance against the industrial character of the stretch and the owner’s willingness to add trees; they approved the variances, with the staff condition that some type of screening treatment or landscaping be provided along the Performance Way frontage. The owner said he would plant street trees but was not inclined to add opaque panels that might reduce visibility from the roadway.
Why it matters: The decision balances two city priorities — screening and design for public-facing frontages and the functional needs of long-standing industrial operations — and clarifies that the Board may accept alternative mitigation such as street trees when full opacity is impractical for industrial uses.
Next steps: Staff will finalize the site plan with the applicant to confirm the agreed screening treatment prior to permit issuance.
