WESTERVILLE — The Genoa Township Board of Trustees recently approved the rezoning of 21 acres of land at the southeast corner of the intersection of Big Walnut and Worthington roads.
“The rezoning was requested by the property owner and will allow for the development of a neighborhood consisting of 30 single-family dwellings,” the township said in a newsletter. “The yet-to-be named plan will be surrounded by greenspace and accessed from the site’s Big Walnut Road frontage. The existing residence, as well as two of the three existing accessory buildings on the property, will remain. Final design and engineering approvals will still have to be obtained before construction can commence.”
The address is 5481 Worthington Road. For reference, it is about midway between the Genoa Township Police Station and Walnut Creek Elementary School. Westerville-based Romanelli and Hughes Building Company is the planned developer of the proposed development, which would be bordered on Worthington Road by The Oaks at Highland Lakes and Homestead at Highland Lakes.
The property was zoned Rural Residential, meaning it could have residential and agricultural uses. The rezoning is to Suburban Residential and Planned Residential District.
“In preparing the application, the developer reviewed the Genoa Township Comprehensive Plan as revised Jan. 7, 2019 to determine whether the proposed development was in compliance with the comprehensive plan,” the development text reads. “The property is not currently zoned commercial and the proposed PRD zoning is in accordance with the zoning resolution. Consequently, it is the developer’s belief that the rezoning of the property to PRD is in keeping with the comprehensive plan.”
With conservation development standards being used, there is a density of 2.2 dwelling units per net developable acre, which is in compliance with the township. Of the 21 acres, 13.73 is considered developable.
“The access on Big Walnut Road is approximately 675 feet east of Worthington Road,” states the traffic access study. It goes on to state “that an eastbound right turn lane is not warranted at the Big Walnut Road/side access intersection.”
Sketches of the development were submitted to Delaware County last August and approved by the Delaware County Regional Planning Commission in September. A walkabout was given in Genoa Township, and the Genoa Township Zoning Commission approved the plans in November after two hearings. The trustees had two hearings on the matter in December and the board gave its authorization on Dec. 28.
