A newly-reconfigured Columbus City Council with two new members will consider a proposed annexation and rezoning of nearly 80 acres in Wayne Township that has caused a stir among several area residents.
The council will consider on first reading the Columbus Plan Commission’s recommendation to annex and rezone the 78-acre property at 6 p.m. Tuesday at Columbus City Hall council chambers, 123 Washington St.
In November, council members approved annexing nearly 20 acres in Wayne Township, even after nearby residents begged the council to reconsider before taking a final vote.
The families live next to 18.97 acres at the northwest corner of State Road 58 and County Road 300W near the Woodside Northwest Industrial Park. They claim that any new industrial development behind their homes would box them inside an industrial park with large factories and warehouses on the west and east sides of their homes.
A request for annexation received final approval from the Columbus City Council on Nov. 6 along with rezoning from “agricultural: preferred” to “industrial: heavy” with some restrictions on the types of facilities that can be built on the property.
Council members will consider today a request to annex and rezone an additional 78-acre property adjacent to the 18.97-acre property. In a letter to council members dated Dec. 16, Jeff Bergman, city and county planning director, said the neighbors have continued to participate in the Columbus Plan Commission’s consideration of the current request.
“Their concerns remain primarily the use, enjoyment and value of their homes as industrial development occurs around them,” Bergman wrote on behalf of the plan commission.
For more on this story, see Tuesday’s Republic.
