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Commission approves rezoning of roughly 115 acres along US‑62 to ‘Smart Farms’ LGE district
Summary
The Planning Commission unanimously approved rezoning about 115 acres at Beach Road and Green Chapel Road along US‑62 to a Limited General Employment (LGE) district labeled “Smart Farms,” with conditions requiring engineering/traffic review, screening for potential substations and an explicit rooftop solar exemption from screening.
The New Albany Planning Commission voted May 19 to rezone approximately 115 acres at the corner of Beach Road and Green Chapel Road along US‑62 to a Limited General Employment (LGE) district known in the proposal as “Smart Farms.”
Planning staff summarized the zoning text and said the district is intended to facilitate industrial and employment‑generating activities consistent with surrounding LGE and TMD areas and the city’s strategic land‑use recommendations. Staff described setbacks of 300 feet from Green Chapel Road centerline and 185 feet from the US‑62/Beach Road centerline and recommended conditions to ensure required screening and landscaping if electrical substations encroach into setbacks.
"So this is a request to rezone of about 115 acres located in the corner of Beach Road and Green Chapel Road along US 62," a staff member told the commission, adding that the proposed text matches permitted and conditional uses in nearby districts and aligns with the New Albany strategic plan.
Craig Moncrief, attorney with Blank Law Firm, said applicant representatives were present and that adjacent New Albany Company parcels and earlier industrial rezoning informed the proposal. "Not looking to reinvent the wheel here," Moncrief said, describing the proposal as similar to prior industrial text used nearby with added screening where necessary.
Engineering staff asked that applicants provide a traffic impact study when development proposals are filed and verify compliance with Ohio EPA and U.S. Army Corps of Engineers permitting requirements. Commissioners and staff discussed rooftop solar language; staff noted the zoning text (page 8, section 7g) allows solar panels and generally exempts rooftop solar from rooftop screening requirements, and the commission added a condition to explicitly exempt rooftop solar from rooftop screening where appropriate.
The commission admitted the staff report and related documents into the record and then approved the rezoning with the two staff conditions plus additional conditions to incorporate engineering comments (including traffic study requirements) and to clarify rooftop solar screening exemptions. The motion carried unanimously.
Next steps: the applicant will proceed toward annexation and future development filings; required traffic studies and any federal/state wetland or environmental permits must be provided with subsequent development plans or permit applications.
