Legal action by a Bexley resident has stalled a national nonprofit developer’s effort to build affordable housing in the city.
The Community Builders, a Boston-based affordable housing developer that opened an Ohio office in 2019, has been working with the city-affiliated Bexley Community Improvement Corp. on a plan to develop apartment buildings on two sites at 420 North Cassady Ave. and 2300 E. Livingston Ave. The projects cleared zoning in February 2021 and were upheld by Bexley City Council following a challenge from eight residents.
Then Bexley resident Leah Turner, who owns a property adjacent to the proposed Livingston Avenue development, appealed the decision in the Franklin County Court of Common Pleas. Judge Kim Brown ruled in the resident’s favor this August, saying the decision by Bexley City Council “is illegal, arbitrary, capricious, unreasonable and unsupported.”
Earlier this month, that decision was appealed to the 10th District Court of Appeals, leaving the projects in limbo.
The legal battle has been over the Livingston Avenue site, but both projects are affected because they are tied together by financing.
Turner’s appeal says the developer didn’t prove the Livingston Avenue project meets the criteria for the conditional-use variance, that the zoning board’s approval contradicts city code, and that the number of parking spaces approved is unreasonable.
Turner’s attorney did not respond to multiple requests for comment.
The conflict is a sharp example of challenges facing the region as it works to build enough and different types of housing to accommodate ongoing growth. Bexley is a wealthy community, with median household income of about $109,000, according to Census data, nearly double Columbus’ median income of about $55,000. Nearby Whitehall’s median household income is about $43,000, according to the Census.
But it’s also a progressive community, which is part of what made Jeff Beam, regional vice president for The Community Builders, want to build there.
“The Bexley I moved to 10 years ago had values of being inclusive, and this (project) would help the community live out its values,” he said.
How we got here
In 2020, Bexley City Council passed an update to its strategic plan, seeking to make the city a more mixed-income community and improve the affordable housing options there, Bexley Mayor Ben Kessler said.
“We really just want to welcome residents of all socioeconomic backgrounds,” Kessler told Columbus Business First. “The affordable housing in Bexley right now is structurally and environmentally problematic and we want to raise the bar.”
The strategic plan update came after the city realized that much of its affordable housing was in the southwest corner of the city, where many of the city’s minority residents live. And many units had been constructed on top of a former landfill that had not been properly environmentally remediated.
So the city put the call out for interested developers. Beam, who lives in Bexley, said he was drawn to the proposal because one of Community Builders’ interests is helping low-income families gain access to areas of opportunity.
“I recognize, as someone who does this work, that we have a housing problem and that all parts of the region need to help,” Beam said. “This would give lower-income families access to Bexley city services, Bexley schools. … It can help families with a lower income pursue their dreams.”
Community Builders is proposing a three-story mixed-use building with 16 apartments and 3,500 square feet of retail space on the Cassady Avenue site on the city’s north side. The Bexley CIC owns the site, which houses a former gas station.
The developer also wants to build a three-story, 27-unit affordable housing development, with one-, two- and three-bedroom homes served by 30 parking spaces, at the site of the O.R. Woodyard funeral home at 2300 E. Livingston Ave.
Units in the two apartment buildings would be priced for people at 30%, 50%, 60% and 80% of the area median income. Beam said Community Builders has a memorandum of understanding with Jewish Family Services to help connect families in the apartments with resources, from the Bexley PTO to workforce services.
Neighbors of the Livingston Avenue site raised concerns about the apartment building’s impact on traffic, parking, safety, density and their property values, according to city documents.
The original appeal was filed by eight residents who all live near the Livingston Avenue site, although two later withdrew.
The remaining six residents appealed the initial zoning decision to Bexley City Council, saying Community Builders did not meet all the criteria for the conditional-use variance and that the board was wrong in determining the development met minimum parking requirements. Nonetheless, council ruled in favor of the project, leading to the ongoing legal battle with Turner.
What’s next for the project
As they await a ruling from the 10th District Court, the developers are moving forward with predevelopment processes such as environmental due diligence, design and securing gap financing. The goal for now is to start construction next winter, Beam said.
“The appeals process has been a distraction and a cost increase,” Beam said. “It’s been at minimum a six-month delay.”
Kessler said the city has an interest in defending the city zoning code and rulings from its government bodies. He believes the city has a strong case; conditional-use variances serve a role in the code and it is appropriate they be used, he said.
The project did secure funding from the Ohio Housing Finance Agency on its second attempt, but its tax credit is connected to both the Cassady Avenue and Livingston Avenue sites.
Beam said the fight in Bexley is just one example of how difficult it can be to navigate the zoning process in the region.
“This is a local conversation about what the city and neighbors want,” Beam said. “Developers are trying to navigate that.”
Kessler said the housing crisis is driving the need to band together as a region and develop more housing.
“It is harder and harder for folks to live in the communities they want to live in,” Kessler said. “I feel passionately that we need to continue to help support a diverse housing mix in our communities.”
“There is absolutely a housing crisis that is getting worse by the day,” Beam said. “This suburb is trying to meet that need, and I’d love to see that this sets a precedent for other suburbs. This is bigger than just the 43 units we’re trying to build.”
