Commission recommends council approve stormwater waiver for Academy Park improvements

The Gahanna Planning Commission on Feb. 11 voted to recommend City Council approve a stormwater management waiver for the Academy Park redevelopment (parcel 025-004304), contingent on meeting state permit requirements and environmental-site compliance.

Senior utilities engineer Holly Boyer told commissioners that the waiver pertains to city water-quantity provisions and that the project abuts Walnut Creek; the applicant’s hydraulics analysis shows "no harmful increases" in runoff after the proposed detention is installed and the project complies with state stormwater requirements, she said. Staff therefore recommended that Planning Commission forward a recommendation of approval to City Council.

Commissioners focused questions on how the detention would be built and floodplain issues. The applicant’s engineer, Curtis Eckleberry, described a dry detention pond with a maximum depth of about three feet when fully inundated, a catch basin and grates, and said fencing could be provided near the playground to deter access. "It's a maximum, like, 3 foot deep when fully inundated with water," he said.

Commissioner Tamarkin moved to recommend council approval of the waiver; the motion was seconded and the committee voted in favor. Approval is recommended to City Council and the project will proceed through standard environmental-site-compliance and floodplain permitting steps.

Next steps: Planning Commission recommendation goes to City Council for final action; environmental/site and floodplain permits will be processed by the city during design and construction.