Commission continues Arbor Homes request

A residential developer is proposing to build its new affordable housing model as part of a subdivision in north Columbus. However, city officials want more information on certain details of the proposed development before giving approval.

The Columbus Plan Commission voted for a continuance on Arbor Homes’ annexation and rezoning requests. The commission’s next meeting is set for Feb. 9.

The developer is seeking to annex 98.90 acres, including 8.7 acres of right-of-way, into the city of Columbus’s corporate limits and rezone 90.2 acres from Agriculture: Preferred to Residential: Two-Family. The properties for both requests are located on the east and west sides of County Road 200W, about 3,600 feet south of Lowell Road, in Columbus Township. These requests are for a new residential subdivision just south of Arbor’s existing Abbey Place homes.

“The proposed RT (Residential: Two-Family) zoning for the property is intended to enable some higher density single-family housing groupings within the overall development, which would feature smaller lots than would be allowed in any exclusively single-family residential zoning district,” planning officials said. “Arbor Homes is not proposing any duplex, single-family attached, or other multifamily structures.”

Arbor Homes Entitlement Manager Charles Russell presented an updated concept plan for the project during a commission meeting.

The revised concept plan proposes 188 lots for Arbor Homes and 92 for Genesis. Arbor Homes have living areas that range from 1,200 to 3,200 square feet; Genesis homes would range from 1,150 to 1,920 square feet. The plan was revised somewhat from the previously submitted version in order to address concerns from planning staff, such as the placement of trails and the proximity of Genesis homes to outdoor amenities.

Columbus would be the company’s first opportunity to construct the Genesis product, if the city grants approval, Russell said.

The Genesis homes, intended as more affordable for first-time homebuyers, are designed in clusters of six to eight houses around a shared motorcourt. Each home would include a two-car garage and fenced yard. The model is adapted from a product developed by Arbor’s sister company, Oakwood Homes.

Planning Director Jeff Bergman noted that the inclusion of clusters in the plan was the result of conversation between planning staff and Arbor Homes. Arbor had originally proposed to zone the area as Residential: Single Family 3 and only include the standard Arbor units. However, after speaking with staff and seeing the market demand for affordable housing, they decided to look into including the Genesis product in the development.

The staff report included a letter from Arbor Homes to the planning department, in which the company discussed affordable housing needs and its plans for Genesis.

“Over the past half-decade, rising development costs and increased market activity has priced out many first-time homebuyers,” the developer wrote. “For example, in 2017 the average sales price of an Arbor home was $175,000, with over 80% of those buyers being first time homeowners. As of Q4 2021, the average sales price of an Arbor home is nearing $300,000 with less than 50% of buyers being first time homeowners.”

On a local level, available floor plans in the Abbey Place subdivision range from about $228,000 to almost $300,000.

Russell said that the company has been developing its Genesis product over the past few years in the hopes of attracting more first-time homebuyers and returning to a “more attainable price point.” He said the target price for Genesis homes is around $200,000.

City council liaison Dave Bush commended the planning department for keeping an open mind about the idea and advised the commission to do the same, as affordable housing is needed in Columbus.

“Projects like this and the townhomes that we’ve done across from Central Middle School, I think, are kind of outside-of-the-box thinking that this community needs,” he said.

However, in comments regarding the request, the Columbus Fire Department noted that the travel time from Station 1 to the property was 6 minutes and 24 seconds, just shy of the six-and-a-half minute cutoff for acceptable response times — and the test run was made on a Saturday at 8 a.m. in a pickup truck during light traffic.

Commissioner Dennis Baute said that the departments’ words seemed “pretty heavily parsed” to him, making it hard to tell if they’d be comfortable serving the area or not.

“We rely on them (CFD) to tell us what they can and can’t do,” said Assistant Planning Director Melissa Begley. “If the answer is they can’t do it, then we expect them to let us know that. So we would presume that they can serve the area, based on their statement.”

There were similar discussions around fire department service when Abbey Place was developed and Bergman said this is “probably at the far edge of where they’re comfortable, in terms of response time.” He described it as “adequate, but not ideal.”

Commissioner Zack Ellison asked if Columbus Township’s secondary fire department area could serve the property, as they’re only about a mile away.

Bergman said the first response would come from the city, though there’s always the option to ask for mutual aid from surrounding departments. He added that while township departments would be closer, they’re also primarily made up of volunteers, which means their response times can’t be calculated.

“They’ve got to get to the station, get geared up and go, as opposed to a full-time, paid city department,” Bergman said.

The Department of Public Works also had some concerns about how the annexation would impact its operations.

“Currently we are pushing the limit with sanitation collections,” city officials wrote. “With this addition we will need to look at adding one to two additional employees and an additional sanitation route to properly serve residents,” they wrote. Additional funding would be needed for trash and recycle toters for 249 additional homes.

Planning staff also noted that the subject property is not served by ColumBUS Transit or connected to the Columbus bicycle system or sidewalk network, though connections to the area are recommended in the drafted update for the Bicycle and Pedestrian Plan.

Commissioner Barry Kastner expressed concern about adding more residential development to the area.

“We’re getting to have a pretty large population in this part of the community,” he said. “… Very few services anywhere near this area. I think the inevitable logic is that after this gets built out, another tract will be proposed to be built out and another, until the entire area is filled with fairly dense residential development with possibly no amenities or very few amenities.”

He added that officials need to stop and think about how they want the area to develop and also consider what is needed to make it a “livable community.” He suggested continuing the matter until the commission and possibly even city council have a clear vision for the area.

Commissioner and Parks Board Liaison Julie Abedian commended the project an “innovative” approach to solving a problem that the commission has also been concerned about. However, she added that Kastner’s suggestions should be considered.

“There are a lot — hundreds and hundreds — of people who are coming out there,” she said. “This lack of access to services and parks, I think, is not a small issue.”

However, City Councilman Tom Dell seemed confident that services and amenities can come alongside the development, which he strongly supports.

“I understand Barry’s concerns, but I think as a community we can rally to the cause of, as that development goes, we can add to the amenities and the safety factors and the services from the city in order to accommodate that,” he said.

Planning officials have asked Arbor to take another look at the appearance of Genesis homes form the side, setback distances between homes, amenity areas and other items. Buffering along County Road 200W and between I-65 and adjacent subdivision lots were also mentioned.