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Homeowners press Plain City on drainage, council and developer point to engineering review
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Summary
At a public hearing on rezoning RZ‑26‑1 (59.6 acres), homeowners voiced concern that a proposed large retention pond behind existing houses could cause continuous sump‑pump operation and basement flooding; the village engineer said the pond is not yet designed and that final plans will follow Columbus/EPA detention standards and geotechnical borings.
Homeowners raised drainage and groundwater concerns during a public hearing on a proposed PUD rezoning (RZ‑26‑1) for about 59.6 acres at Converse/Huff Road, and the council and developer representatives said those concerns will be addressed in the engineering review process.
Resident Roger Spring told the council the planned largest retention pond appears behind houses along Larbourn Lane and warned that "Mine in particular will run and I'm not exaggerating every 15 to 20 seconds for 2 or 3 days" when standing water is present; he asked whether the pond would include a liner and said residents fear chronically running sump pumps and potential flooded basements.
Drew Miller, representing Arbor Homes, told homeowners he would share contact information and said he was not an engineer but that "the stormwater that is on the field currently, it's uncontrolled and, part of the engineering and review process we go through is to collect that stormwater and mitigate it." The council amended the agenda to add a discussion of the RZ‑26‑1 concerns and called in staff and an on‑site engineer to respond.
The engineer explained the pond location shown in preliminary plans is not final and that the project has not been fully engineered. "We follow city Columbus standards for their detention standards…They follow the EPA standards…they're required to collect the water, bring it to a certain point, detain, hold that water back, control it, and release it at a slower rate than was previous," the engineer said, noting that geotechnical borings will determine soil types (clay, sand, silty soils, gravel) and inform whether groundwater originates from preexisting conditions or the proposed development. Staff said they will be mindful of groundwater during the review and will work with homeowners on mitigation if a problem is identified.
Council members directed staff to ensure homeowners remain informed as engineering and final development plans proceed through planning commission and council review. The public hearing was opened and closed in the meeting; further review will occur during the planning commission and final development plan stages.
Next steps: geotechnical borings and engineered detention design at the developer's expense as part of the planning review; staff to maintain communication with affected homeowners.
