Commission sends Treview Roberts mixed‑use rezoning toward council after extensive debate, asks developers to resolve design and cemetery questions

The Columbus Development Commission voted 4–2 on Thursday to forward a rezoning and companion council‑variance (case Z24‑028) proposing a mixed‑use development on approximately 18.3 acres in the Treview/Roberts planning area that would include up to 280 apartment units and limited commercial space.

Developer representatives said the plan had been reduced from earlier, higher‑density proposals after months of meetings with planning staff, the West Scioto Area Commission and neighborhood stakeholders. The most recent site plan includes an area to be dedicated to park/open space and three‑ and two‑story residential buildings arranged to preserve a green corridor along the creek. Developer attorneys described multiple iterations, reductions in building height in key places, and commitments to donate roughly 5.5 acres of green space to Recreation and Parks.

Despite changes, the item drew sustained public and area‑commission scrutiny about architecture and community process. Rita Cabral, zoning chair for the West Scioto Area Commission, told the Development Commission she and the area commission objected to the way new architectural elevations and color schemes were submitted late in the process and asked for more direct design involvement. Cabral also said the area commission had been informed of a possible cemetery on the property; she asked that the issue be placed on public record.

The developer’s representative acknowledged the architectural changes were submitted after the area commission’s final vote, said the team would return to the West Scioto Area Commission for additional review, and emphasized that the most recent elevations meet city C2P2 design guidance. The team also described design compromises reached during prior iterations — for example, reducing several buildings from four to three stories and moving amenity spaces to address neighbor concerns.

Planning staff recommended conditional approval, noting the proposal fits the Treview/Roberts area plan’s mixed‑use‑neighborhood recommendations and that outstanding items — a revised traffic study, documentation of approval from Franklin Township for a proposed access point on Britton Avenue, and other Department of Public Service comments — must be resolved before council.

Commissioners split on whether the design changes submitted after area‑commission review undermined neighborhood trust. Several commissioners urged the applicant to return to the West Scioto Area Commission to obtain explicit support for the revised architecture before going to council. The commission approved transmitting an information packet to council but emphasized the developer must address the cemetery question and finalize architectural details with the area commission and staff prior to (or during) the council process.

The commission’s 4–2 vote moves the rezoning and companion council‑variance to City Council with an information sheet documenting outstanding issues; the developer said it would seek a subsequent area commission meeting within weeks to resolve the architectural concerns.