Residents urge council not to advance first reading for Confluence Authority expansion tied to 555 Greenlawn

Public comments and council members pressed the City of Columbus on a first‑reading resolution that would begin the process of adding parcels, including 555 Greenlawn Avenue, to the Confluence Community Authority.

"Do not allow this resolution to move forward," Jennifer Creighton told council. "This is a moment when the city's written consent to give away 555 Greenlawn Avenue becomes official. Once you approve this resolution, the Chapter 349 expansion process is activated… Tonight is the only point in this process where you can prevent irreversible momentum." Creighton said the parcel was promised for a therapeutic and adaptive recreation center and warned that folding the property into the authority risks the adjacent 75‑year manufactured housing community.

Chair Reid, who leads the working group formed under ordinance 1112‑2026, said the working group had been tasked to protect and design public park space north of McCoy Park and that the ordinance 0121x‑2026 appeared to preempt that work. "This is a sneaky attempt to give away land," Reid said, urging colleagues to table the resolution and allow the working group to finish its report.

Director Stevens, answering council questions, said the resolution is a procedural step required by Chapter 349 of the Ohio Revised Code to provide written consent and set a time and place for a public hearing; it does not accept parcels into the new community authority and does not change ownership. "The ownership will remain in the City of Columbus," Stevens said, adding that any long‑term use would be implemented through a lease and that parcels currently occupied by mobile homes are not included in the dotted portion of the expansion map attached to the resolution.

Council members pressed the administration for clarity about the Youngkin family purchase agreement for land north of McCoy Park and whether that agreement gives the family approval rights if the city changes the property's use. Stevens said the purchase agreement was finalized and that the city intends to honour commitments from the purchase agreement in the lease with the ownership group; he deferred legal questions about enforcement to the city attorney's office.

Several members emphasized there was no vote on the measure tonight because it is only a first reading. Multiple council members said they would prefer delaying any vote until after the working group issues its report and residents have more time to review parcel maps. Director Stevens said the resolution would create the public‑hearing notice required by state law and that subsequent legislation would be required to accept parcels into the authority.

Next steps: the resolution is at first reading and would return for a second reading after the public hearing set by this measure. Council members said they expect further meetings of the working group and additional briefings before any final decision.