Columbus Consolidated Government

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TO: Mayor and Councilors

Date: 8/21/2007 12:00:00 AM

TO: Mayor and Councilors

Date:

Created:

8/16/2007 3:04:00 PM

THRU: Isaiah Hugley, City Manager

FROM: Rick Jones, AICP, Planning Director

Subject: Charles Land - Vested Rights

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No attachments for this document.

Staff has been working with Mr. Charles Land who owns property at the northeast

corner of Double Churches and Whitesville Roads. Mr. Land has owned the

property since it was rezoned in 1974 to a neighborhood commercial (C-2) zoning

classification. Since that time, he has continuously sought to develop this

site as a retail center to include a grocery store and other retail uses.

Prior to the adoption of the Unified Development Ordinance (UDO) in 2005, large

retail uses were allowed in neighborhood commercial zones. With the adoption

of the UDO, such uses were limited to 5,000 square feet in an attempt to

provide actual retail uses that would generally serve only the neighborhoods

they were located in. In an effort to develop the site for a CVS drug store,

Mr. Land was told that he needed to rezone the property, as neighborhood

commercial no longer allowed retail uses of this size. Citing that he has been

actively developing this site for some time, he requested that he be allowed to

develop under the standards prior to the UDO. In order to support his request,

staff asked for and received documentation showing a continuous effort to

develop on this site.

Upon receiving and reviewing the necessary documentation by the Planning

Department, the City Attorney was asked to render a legal opinion. On August

10, 2007, City Attorney Fay by email submitted the opinion that Mr. Land had

demonstrated the necessary efforts and expenditures to establish he had been

trying to develop the property prior to the adoption of the UDO, and that he

had a vested right to develop under the previous ordinance.

Based upon this opinion and our own review, staff will recommend and support

Mr. Land's request to build this particular retail use that is in excess of the

5,000 square foot requirement.