Community Corner
Planning Commission Discusses Sports Fields At Bishop Tube, Uptown Worthington Rentals
No decisions were made about either of the East Whiteland properties.
On Wednesday evening, the East Whiteland Planning Commission approved a final land development plan for Covenant Presbyterian Church’s new building, discussed the a proposed lifting of the rental cap at Uptown Worthington and considered plans for the sports fields at Bishop Tube.
Uptown Worthington Developer Requests Removal of Rental Cap
Brian O’Neill of O’Neill Properties, the developer of the Uptown Worthington site, and attorney Lou Colagreco came before the board on Wednesday to request the removal of the rental cap on the Uptown Worthington Properties.
Currently, the agreement is that up to 50 percent of the Uptown Worthington properties can be rented properties, but at least 50 percent must be owned, Colagreco said. Colagreco and O’Neill are requesting the deletion of two sentences in the agreement requiring that rentals are capped at 50 percent. Currently, 743 residential units are planned.
According to Colagreco, the county planning commission had suggested the amendment.
“We all know the events of the economic downturn,” Colagreco said. “… We are asking for a very simple amendment.”
Members of the commission expressed some reservations about omitting the rental cap.
“We’re under precedent here if we delete these two lines,” Chairman Greg Davis said. “It’s basically saying they can all be rental units.”
“If you own something, you take better care of it—you’re a better citizen,” member Susan Drummond added. “… having all rentals gives you the idea of college students in a trashy place.”
O’Neill explained that allowing for all properties to be rental properties, if necessary, was helpful economically for the time being, but ideally, he would like to sell the condominiums.
“If we believe in the greed of the developer and the market comes back, we can get almost double the amount of money for condos as we can for rentals,” O’Neill said. “I’d rather build a condo than a rental if I could sell it.”
All the units at the Worthington property will be built to condominium standards and will not have to be converted in order to be rental properties, according to O’Neill.
“I think it’s a win-win for everybody,” O’Neill said.
No decision was made by the board about the rental cap deletion.
“I’m not prepared to make a decision on this tonight,” Davis said. “We need to discuss it in a pre-meeting session.”
Athletic Fields at Former Bishop Tube Property
O’Neill and Colagreco came before the Commission again on Wednesday, to discuss plans for the sports fields at the former Bishop Tube Property on South Malin Road.
Recreational use is not permitted in an industrial district, so a zoning ordinance amendment is required to permit the building of indoor and outdoor recreational facilities as the property, Colagreco said.
“The whole concept is that we don’t have enough field space,” O’Neill said. “We just don’t have fields. If it rains two nights, a team doesn’t practice those two nights, because when you only have grass fields, you can’t tear them up in the rain.”
If plans are eventually approved, the property will include six fields, primarily used for lacrosse, field hockey and soccer, and outside fields will be artificial due to the amount of traffic the fields will get, Colagreco said. The fields will be rented to leagues and schools.
“If you like the idea of recreation on this facility—it would be a lot greener. This is definitely going to be an improvement,” Colagreco said.
The Commission members voiced their agreement.
Commission Approves Final Land Development Plan at Covenant Presbyterian Church
The board also approved the land development plan for Covenant Presbyterian Church’s new building and addition: a 4,848 sq. ft. addition to the existing church, a new 23,675 sq. ft. sanctuary, teen center and music room building, and a 1,600 sq. ft. deacon’s pantry. The church will also add 155 new parking spaces.
The plan was unanimously approved.
