Council turns down commercial plans for National Road

Columbus City Council has turned down a request to build a new commercial development on farmland near the northwestern entrance to the community.

The original request was to rezone about 12 acres on National Road next to the Village Pantry property from agriculture use to commercial community development. The request had been turned down in April by the city planning commission who forwarded it to the city council with a recommendation to deny it.

The property is in the flood plain of the Flat Rock River and using the property for commercial development would require a large amount of fill to raise it above the flood level. It would even be higher than surrounding properties. At the plan commission hearing, neighbors expressed concerns about the flooding effects on neighboring and downstream properties.

White River Broadcasting also opposed the development at the plan commission level, with concerns over the height of the development blocking the line of site from our station’s Washington Street tower to the Carr Hill Road radio tower.

The council concluded that the change was not the best use of the property and voted 6-1 to deny the ordinance. Councilman Frank Miller was the only member to vote against the denial, citing procedural concerns over how the motion and vote should be conducted.

Graphic courtesy of Columbus/Bartholomew County Planning Department application filing