Council gives first approval to annexing proposed housing addition site

The city of Columbus would grow by about 107 acres, under a proposal this week considered by Columbus City Council.

Chase Point Capital requested and annexation and rezoning on the north side of State Road 46 between County Road 500 West and Belmont Drive, across the highway from the planned Maple Grove Elementary School. The developers have a plan to build homes and apartments on what are now five agricultural properties. The rezoning would set aside areas for single family homes and multi-family units.

The Columbus Plan Commission heard the requests last month and recommended the council approve the plan. Among the commitments recommended by the plan commission are a maximum of 300 homes in the single family area, a traffic study to consider whether a traffic signal is needed and improvements to the intersection at State Road 46 and County Road 500W. Access to the development would be primarily through Belmont Drive and County Road 500W.

Although the zoning in the single-family area would normally allow up to 500 homes, the developers said that they are only interested in building about 250 homes, according to City Council President Frank Miller.

Neighbors said that they were concerned about the effect on traffic, congestion and property values in the area. There were also concerns about the loss of farm land.

City Council gave their first approval to the rezoning and to the annexation. The proposal will be brought back for final review and approval next month.

Graphic courtesy of Columbus Planning Department