Hotel rezoning, 4530 N. Hamilton Road

A Woods at Shagbark resident worried the hotel's ingress is too close to Shagbark Road and could cause congestion; he asked for fewer curb cuts and noted his landlocked community's access is already compromised.

A Shagbark Road resident said he isn't anti-development but a 24-hour hotel next door brings noise, ride-share traffic, deliveries, and a transient population — with a kids' bus stop near the proposed driveway.

A retired architect said the 60-foot building would tower over Shagbark homes, the median blocks southbound access, and a hotel raises crime and blight risks. He backed staff's recommendation to reject.

A retired attorney argued a roughly $100/night hotel doesn't serve the zoning code's purpose of protecting residents, cited police data on theft and vandalism, and said the Convention and Visitors Bureau sees no need for a hotel.

The Gahanna CIC president argued the rezoning would hurt the Woods at Shagbark's $45 million property values and roughly $1 million in annual property taxes, and conflicted with the 2024 zoning and Land Use Plan.