Pataskala council rejects rezoning for technical park; developer threatens de-annexation
Pataskala City Council has denied a rezoning request that would have transformed nearly 200 acres in the city's northwest corner into a technical park.
Council members unanimously rejected rezoning three properties totaling 192 acres from rural residential and medium-low density residential to planned manufacturing district at a Monday meeting.
A technical park developed by Fair Lady LLC and Greenbriar Licking LLC was planned for the land, which is bordered by Clark State Road to the northwest, Summit Road to the east and Graham Road to the south.
The Pataskala Planning and Zoning Commission unanimously recommended denying the request at an October meeting because of too many unanswered questions about traffic, water and sewer service and other factors.
The 192 acres abut Beech Road and New Albany’s growing innovation district, which is home to tech giants Google, Facebook and Amazon.
Developers previously planned to build the tech park in phases, with numerous buildings that would have totaled more than 1.2 million square feet of industrial space.
The rezoning request, which garnered significant push back from neighbors, stalled for months as the city and developer tried to create a landscape solution that would have protected nearby residents, City Administrator Tim Hickin said in a Tuesday interview.
Hickin said they tried various ideas but in the end could not come up with a compromise the city felt it could enforce.
Clark State Road resident Vicki Gigliotti, one of a handful of residents who spoke against the project during the meeting, said developing the site presents numerous challenges because of limited access points, insufficient roads to handle additional traffic and a lack of water, sewer and electric utilities. When you add all of those together, she said, this was a lousy proposal for the residents and the city.
"We all realize the land is going to be developed, but it's become painfully obvious that this is not the right development," she said.
Al Weinberger, a New York-based developer with the project, said during the meeting that if the city did not approve the rezoning, the properties would detach from Pataskala and would go back to being a township property.
Council member Tom Lee said that from the beginning, this project has been ill-prepared. He said he's not against developing the site but was against this particular plan.
"I don't appreciate people coming in here and threatening us with de-annexation," he said.
Council member Mary Hite, who represents the ward where the properties are located, said there is no township to which the properties could go back. The site was previously in Lima Township, which no longer exists after the then-village of Pataskala and the township merged in the late 1990s.
If the three properties do detach from the city, Weinberger said they would join Jersey Township. A fourth adjacent property also owned by the developer is in Jersey Township.
Jersey Township Administrator Rob Platte said he has spoken with the developer about the 18-acre property in Jersey Township and that the township wants it to develop in a way that benefits neighboring residents, such as with commercial retail.
He said it is possible — but not ideal — for the Pataskala properties to detach and join Jersey Township, adding that it's better if the city and township work together to develop the site.
"Legitimately, there is a benefit that can be derived by both entities if we work together. That would be our preferred path," he said.
mdevito@gannett.com
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This article originally appeared on Newark Advocate: Pataskala council rejects 192-acre rezoning for technical park
