March 04–The Columbus City Council approved new rules last night for extended-stay hotels that will treat them more like apartments than hotels.
The rules call for the same development standards as for apartments, including 1.5 parking spaces per unit. Hotels need only one space.
Other changes include:
–A 25-foot buffer between buildings and lot lines, up from zero.
–No more than 37 units per acre; there is no density limit for hotels.
–Complying with parkland-dedication requirements, which will cost developers $400 per unit or require them to donate land.
“The problem that we’re solving is, there’s no code section that deals with extended-stay hotels,” said Scott Messer, the city’s building and zoning-services director.
City officials have fielded complaints from residents about extended-stay hotels. Some say patrons park on neighborhood streets and block shared entrances.
People staying there often are temporarily working in town or are new to the city and waiting to move into their homes. The ordinance also defines extended-stay hotels as buildings with six or more guest rooms or suites for stays longer than 30 days.
Columbus has 97 extended-stay hotels. Existing extended-stay hotels will not be affected by the changes, but hotel owners who want to convert their properties to extended-stay would have to comply with the new code.
Jill Tangeman, an attorney for Metro Development, one of the major developers in the extended-stay market here, said she is not aware of any opposition to the legislation.
Messer said city code hasn’t kept up with state laws. Ohio law requires stays of at least 30 days for residential — extended stay — hotels.
The new code takes effect in 30 days.
In other business, the city council approved a Downtown office incentive for Medical Mutual of Ohio to move 38 jobs from Liberty Township in Delaware County to the 14th floor of the One Columbus building, at 10 W. Broad St.
Medical Mutual also will move 11 other jobs to One Columbus from the 175 On The Park building on Columbus Commons.
Most of the workers are in sales, said Jeff Williamson, vice president of corporate development and real estate.
“We were looking at combining into one space,” Williamson said. “The incentives were a factor.”
The 38 jobs coming from Delaware County bring an estimated payroll of $2.2 million.
“It’s another opportunity to fill Downtown office space,” Columbus Development Director Steven Schoeny said.
Medical Mutual will receive a 50 percent income-tax incentive, which will return $82,878 in payroll taxes to the company over three years.
The council also approved shifting $1.3 million in bed-tax money from Columbus hotels to Experience Columbus, the Greater Columbus Arts Council and emergency funding for human services.
mferenchik@dispatch.com
@MarkFerenchik
