‘REGIONAL CHALLENGE’
Bexley wants affordable housing, but some residents oppose project
Bexley is among the Columbus-area communities trying to take the lead on creating more affordable housing, but it’s not easy.
For one, most of the city of Bexley is already developed. There’s just not a lot of empty space.
Add to that pushback Bexley is getting from some residents on affordable housing developments in the works, including one on Livingston Avenue, where a city zoning decision is now being challenged in court.
At the forefront of the push to add more affordable housing is Bexley Mayor Ben Kessler, who backs two proposed projects by The Community Builders. The nonprofit organization plans to construct a three-story, 18-unit building at the site of the Bexley Senior Center at the corner of Cassady and Columbus avenues on the city’s North Side, and a three-story, 27-unit building at East Livingston and Francis avenues, now the site of an O.R. Woodyard funeral home on the city’s South Side.
Kessler said so much has changed in the past 10 years as to who can afford what and where.
“I don’t think any community should turn itself into a closed off, monochromatic environment,” Kessler told The Dispatch in a recent interview.
“What to have is economic diversity, racial diversity. We really do have that as part of our heritage,” he said. “It truly is a regional challenge. We all need to work on it.”
Columbus Mayor Andrew J. Ginther has been pushing for a collaborative effort between the state’s capital city and surrounding municipalities to help resolve the region’s housing crunch, saying suburban communities need to be more welcoming when it comes to affordable housing.
“The fact that it’s affordable doesn’t play into it at all.
The problem is, this is a commercial services district.”
Bryan Hunt Lawyer for Leah Turner, who filed a lawsuit challenging the Bexley council’s decision to approve a three-story, 27-unit building at East Livingston and Francis avenues
In November, Kessler wrote a column on his city’s website with the headline: “Affordable Housing: Why Does it Matter to Bexley?”
He mentioned The Community Builders projects.
“There’s more to come, as we rehabilitate and reimagine the areas of our community whose residents have been too long forgotten,” Kessler wrote.
He then followed that up with this: “I’ve heard from some residents that they don’t understand why Bexley cares about affordable housing, and that they’re concerned that we’re going to negatively impact our community by working on better housing options for our lower-income residents.”
Residents living near the Livingston Avenue site opposed The Community Builders’ request to Bexley’s Board of Zoning and Planning and City Council to approve a conditional use for the development.
According to testimony from a February 2021 zoning and planning board meeting, residents cited concerns about traffic, parking, trash removal, that it would overlook homes, and that it didn’t meet Bexley’s requirements to be granted.
The city council approved the conditional use in January. In February, a Francis Avenue resident, Leah Turner, filed a civil lawsuit challenging Bexley council’s decision. In August, Franklin County Common Pleas Judge Kim Brown ruled that the council’s decision was “illegal, arbitrary, capricious, unreasonable, and unsupported” by the evidence.
Brown wrote that allowing a purely residential use inside a commercial district, such as along that section of Livingston Avenue, violates the zoning code. The Community Builders has appealed the decision to the 10th District (Franklin County) Court of Appeals.
Bryan Hunt, a lawyer representing Turner, said residents beyond his client have concerns, but they aren’t about affordable housing itself.
“Not at all. When you look at the record, it doesn’t come up at all,” Hunt said. “It’s about density.
“The fact that it’s affordable doesn’t play into it at all. The problem is, this is a commercial services district,” he said.
Jeff Beam, regional vice president for The Community Builders, said construction hinges on his group winning the appeal.
Beam said his group looked for two years to find sites that were large enough and financially feasible.
Beam said it makes sense to build this type of housing in Bexley. The development costs for both building total about $16 million, with apartments available for those making between 30% and 80% of the area median income. Thirty percent would be $19,700 for one person and $25,300 for a threeperson household, while 80% would be $52,500 for one person and $67,500 for a three-person household.
“I live here,” Beam said. “It’s a desirable place to live, from the perspective of someone who creates affordable housing opportunities.”
“This is how we’re going to meet the housing challenges of the region for the next 50 years,” he said.
Bexley City Council President Troy Markham said when he and his wife moved to Bexley almost three decades ago, they could find an affordable house.
Today, “It would be challenging for 25-year-old Troy Markham to move into Bexley,” he said. According to realtor.com, the median listing price for 25 homes for sale in Bexley in early December was $537,000.
“We don’t want to block off income levels, block off age groups,” Markham said. “We don’t want to block diversity. That’s the philosophy.
“When you get a lot of young families moving in, it invigorates the area. Kids grow up and become part of the community,” he said.
Bexley City Councilmember Lori Ann Feibel introduced legislation passed in 2020 prohibiting landlords from discriminating against potential tenants because of their source of income, such as federal vouchers for low-income residents.
“I think that like most Bexleyites, I want to make sure our community is a welcoming one that is inclusive,” Feibel said.
When people live with a variety of people from different socioeconomic statuses, she said, “we all thrive, and all of our children benefit from each other.”
Amy Klaben is project facilitator for Move to PROSPER, a collaboration between Ohio State University’s city and regional planning program and community organizations that works to place single mothers and their children into more stable housing closer to good schools.
Housing has to meet all needs in the community, Klaben said, whether it is seniors looking for housing that fits their budgets or young adults who want to return to the community.
“It’s looking at ways to serve a diverse population,” Klaben said.
Kessler said affordable housing is truly a regional challenge. “We all need to work on it,” he said. mferench@dispatch.com @Markferenchik