Photo provided The yellow square shows the location of a proposed community market and cafe in Harrison Township.
City officials this week gave initial approval to a rezoning request regarding property in Harrison Township where an applicant is seeking to create a community market and cafe.
James Neal of Doc Chumley LLC is seeking to rezone an acre at 8030 W. Goeller Blvd. from Commercial: Neighborhood (CN) and Residential: Single-Family 1 (RS1) to Commercial: Community (CC).
Columbus City Council members passed the first reading of an ordinance to rezone the property 8-0. Ordinances must be passed twice to be finalized.
Councilman Chris Bartels, R-District 1, was absent. Columbus Plan Commission members forwarded a favorable recommendation on the matter during their meeting on July 9.
Neal told the plan commission that the location had become an “eyesore” in recent years, indicating that at one point it was an “active meth lab.” Now retired, Neal said he decided to purchase the property and develop it in hopes that it would be a type of gathering place for neighbors.
He mentioned it could be a community market and cafe, where neighbors could get coffee and peruse locally-produced products.
The proposed site plan shows a picnic area, a “dog-friendly play area,” a herb and flower garden, outdoor seating and a beer garden on the outside.
“It’ll hopefully be a place for people to stop in and have a cup of coffee and do some socializing,” Neal said.
The favorable recommendation came with three commitments: one related to landscaping and another regarding limitations in signage size. A third lists eight different commercial uses that are permitted in the proposed CC district, but will be subject to conditional approval by the board of zoning appeals if a future property owner decides to do something different there.
The permitted uses that will essentially be conditional uses on the site include four auto-related uses, a builder’s supply store, equipment rental and a hotel or motel.
The property is surrounded by a mix of single-family residential, commercial and agriculture zoning, with two worship facilities nearby, the Hindu Society of Southern Indiana and Unitarian Universalist Fellowship.
Notably, the 1-acre site has two zoning districts: CN and also Residential: Single-Family 1 (RS1). The zoning ordinance states that when a lot has multiple zoning districts, the district that includes the majority of the lot area applies to the entire property, per Bergman.
The location would tentatively be in operation from 7 a.m. to 7 p.m., but could end up just being open seasonally depending on customer traffic, Neal said.
The property was bought by Neal in 2023 for $132,000, according to the city/county GIS system.
