Get Full Government Meeting Transcripts, Videos, & Alerts Forever!
Get email alerts on the Zoning Variance topic
No spam. Unsubscribe anytime.
Bexley council hears use-variance request for 519 South Drexel, tables decision for more evidence
Summary
Council held a quasi‑judicial hearing on a request to convert 519 South Drexel from a single‑family, bed‑and‑breakfast use to multifamily. The applicant promised financial records; neighbors and council raised questions about buyer intent and hardship. Council voted to table the matter for additional documentation and findings.
A Bexley City Council hearing on Dec. 9 put on hold a property-owner request to change the permitted use of 519 South Drexel from single‑family (currently operating as a bed‑and‑breakfast) to multifamily.
The applicant, represented by Eliza Ho, said the business has been losing money and that her client wants the option to return the building to a multifamily configuration. Ho said, “the ask … is really to change the use from currently being only a single family use back to a multifamily use,” and that the owner’s decision reflected the property’s prior uses and the neighborhood’s mix of multifamily parcels.
Council heard a legal framing from City Attorney Mark Fischel that the council sits in a quasi‑judicial role for the hearing and must weigh seven factors — including whether the property can be put to an economically viable permitted use without the variance, whether the hardship is unique to the property, whether the hardship was created by the applicant, and whether the variance would alter the character of the surrounding neighborhood. Fischel told council the evidentiary standard for the hearing is “clear and convincing.”
Several council members pressed the applicant for business records and for a clear timeline showing ownership and how long the property was run as a bed‑and‑breakfast. Councilmember Marcelino raised concern that a recent buyer who acquired the property in August then sought a use change within weeks “may have come in buying a property that they knew were going to require short term rental units … and then just deciding … I think I can come before council and get a variance.” The applicant replied she would supply two years of profit‑and‑loss statements and other documentation.
A nearby owner, Jenny Hoffman, said she would not oppose a three‑unit conversion so long as it remained limited to long‑term rentals: “I don’t have concerns having another multifamily next door,” she told council, while asking that any conversion be capped at three units and not be run as unmanaged short‑term rentals.
After receiving testimony, councilmember Marcelino moved to table the ordinance so the applicant and staff can provide the requested financial statements, a parcel‑by‑parcel zoning history and other background. Council set a deadline of Dec. 16, 2025, for the applicant to submit supplemental materials and indicated staff would draft findings for council consideration at a January meeting. The motion to table passed on roll call.
Next steps: the applicant must provide the requested documentation by Dec. 16; council will revisit the matter and the city attorney and sponsor plan to draft findings for discussion at the first council meetings in January.
