Pataskala rezones former High Lands Golf Club for 32-home The Meadows at Highlands
With other subdivisions already in the works, Pataskala's housing boom shows no signs of stopping.Pataskala City Council rezoned the former High Lands Golf Club from agricultural zoning to a planned development district in a 5-2 vote Monday night. Council members Mary Hite and Amy Dandurand voted against the rezoning.The rezoning allows for a 32-home residential development called The Meadows at Highlands on the 160-acre property.High Lands Golf Club, which closed in 2019, sold in December 2021 to AV Investment LLC for $2.5 million.Lots within The Meadows at Highlands vary from 2 to 3 acres, with 75 acres remaining as open space, according to development plans. The development, which is in the Licking Heights Local Schools District, will have two full access points on Hollow Road SW, one that serves 28 lots and another that serves four lots. It will also have one emergency and maintenance-only access point on Alward Road SW.The preliminary development plan for the Meadows at Highlands,
With other subdivisions already in the works, Pataskala's housing boom shows no signs of stopping.
Pataskala City Council rezoned the former High Lands Golf Club from agricultural zoning to a planned development district in a 5-2 vote Monday night. Council members Mary Hite and Amy Dandurand voted against the rezoning.
The rezoning allows for a 32-home residential development called The Meadows at Highlands on the 160-acre property.
High Lands Golf Club, which closed in 2019, sold in December 2021 to AV Investment LLC for $2.5 million.
Lots within The Meadows at Highlands vary from 2 to 3 acres, with 75 acres remaining as open space, according to development plans. The development, which is in the Licking Heights Local Schools District, will have two full access points on Hollow Road SW, one that serves 28 lots and another that serves four lots. It will also have one emergency and maintenance-only access point on Alward Road SW.
This is just the latest housing development to to get approval in the city. Single-family home projects already underway include the 151-lot Heron Manor, the 254-home subdivision Forest Ridge and the 60-home Scenic View Estates. A complex with a 75-unit assisted living facility and 61 independent living villas was also approved earlier this year.
The Meadows at Highlands was first proposed in late 2021, and the Pataskala Planning and Zoning Commission recommended the planned development district for approval in July 2022.
But the developer, AV Investment LLC, did not provide a revised copy of the plan — a condition of the commission's recommendation — in time for a September 2022 city council hearing. The developer then explored reconfiguring the subdivision, determining whether to proceed with the planned development district or develop under the existing agricultural regulations, according to City Planning Director Scott Fulton's report to council members.
Ultimately, the developer decided to proceed with the planned development district, and council held a public hearing Oct. 16.
Now that council has approved the rezoning, Fulton said in an interview Nov. 21 that it will take effect in 30 days. Next up for the development is submitting construction plans to the city, which are subject to the administrative approval. Construction likely won't happen until spring 2024, Fulton said.
Residents again raise concerns over solar panel manufacturer
Similar to the last two council meetings, residents packed council chambers and about a dozen people, both Pataskala residents and some from other parts of Licking County, spoke regarding concerns over Illuminate USA, a solar panel manufacturer building a factory at 3600 Etna Parkway in the Pataskala Corporate Park.
The concern is focused on LONGi, the Chinese solar panel manufacturer that jointly invested in Illuminate USA along with Invenergy, a Chicago-based developer of several solar projects in Ohio.
At the Nov. 6 council meeting, residents questioned if the city can pass laws to prevent other foreign companies from leasing or owning property within the city, if council could require a company to attend a public meeting to answer residents' questions and if the city could prevent a business from operating.
Law Director Brian Zets said Monday night that after researching the questions, he didn't believe the city had the power to do any of those things.
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This article originally appeared on Newark Advocate: Pataskala rezones former High Lands Golf Club for housing development
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