Developer of controversial Dublin Road apartment project near Hilliard needs to redo plan

The developer of what has been a contentious proposal for apartments on Dublin Road near Hilliard will have to come back with a different proposal — with fewer units it appears — after meeting resistance Thursday from Columbus Development Commission members.

And it might be an indication of future battles with other developers who want to build denser housing in areas not used to it as Greater Columbus' growth continues to surge and builders struggle to keep up with demand.

RockRun Developer LLC had proposed building 220 units on a 14.7-acre site at 4747 Dublin Road, which sits between Davidson and Hayden Run roads. The city of Columbus recently annexed the property from Norwich Township.

Nearby residents have fought the proposed development for close to a year, arguing it is too dense and out of character with the surrounding single-family homes in Columbus, Hilliard and Norwich Township neighborhoods.

Holly Hollingsworth, public affairs director for AT&T in Columbus and a former local television news anchor, lives near the site and is one of the leaders of the opposition group. During the meeting she called the apartment development a "three-story monstrosity they're willing to inflict on us."

Development Commission members appeared to agree with concerns of residents, who packed the hearing room at the city's Downtown Michael B. Coleman Government Center.

"It's such a robust stretch of the imagination to get all this done on this property," Commission Chairman Mike Fitzpatrick said.

Commission member Maria Conroy said the proposal doesn't fit with the transition of apartment buildings near Interstate 270 to single-family neighborhoods farther east to Dublin Road and the Scioto River.

Sean Mentel, the lawyer representing RockRun Developer LLC, said there is a need in Greater Columbus for what developers were proposing.

"We are going to explode in size," Mentel said of the Columbus area's population.

"How are we going to address this increase? We believe that density is coming everywhere. How you do it is important.

"Providing this opportunity for those who have to rent in a neighborhood setting is great," he said.

"It's a great project, Fitzpatrick said, "but not that location. Maybe there's a way to modify this."

Fitzpatrick suggested that the developer should ask to table the plan and come back with a revised proposal.

Mentel asked the commission to table action, and the commission did so.

Glenn Taylor, executive director of the Scioto Property Owners Collective, the main opposition group, said after the meeting that developers have said "no" to the idea of patio homes on the site.

The Hayden Run West Civic Association recommended against approval, citing among other things a lack of sidewalks along Dublin Road and the additional traffic load the apartments would create for the two-lane road. Hilliard officials, though, approved a traffic study.

Fitzpatrick said the commission received 84 letters against the proposal.

"I don’t think in my 30 years on this commission I’ve had a stack of opposition like this," he said.

Mentel said after the meeting developers have some decisions to make.

"We have to go back and look at our project and look at our options," he said, noting it's not going to be easy. "Change is hard."

Hilliard resident Denise Golonka, who lives near the apartment site, said neighbors aren't opposed to development. She said they just want lesser density than what Mentel and the developers want.

"He's making it sound like it's a NIMBY thing," she said.

mferench@dispatch.com

@MarkFerenchik