Columbus Plan Commission Meeting - May 13, 2026
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Columbus Plan Commission Meeting - May 13, 2026
The Columbus Plan Commission met on May 13, 2026, to consider a continuance of a site development plan and a request for sign modifications for a downtown business. The meeting included public comment and discussion about the sign ordinance's applicability in the downtown district.
Public Comments & Testimony
- Tom Dell (1063 Hummingbird Lane) spoke in support of the St. Dennis sign request, noting that the projecting sign and window signs improve visibility for both pedestrians and drivers, especially given the recessed entryway of the business.
Discussion Items
- SDP 2618 Columbus Gateway: The applicant requested a continuance to the June meeting. The commission voted unanimously to continue the item.
- SDP 2610 St. Dennis: Robert Shortkoff, owner of St. Dennis, requested approval for a new projecting sign (8.75 sq ft) and two window signs (2.91 sq ft each) at 426 Washington Street. Because the zoning ordinance permits only one sign (a wall sign) or substitutes, the applicant sought a modification to allow two additional signs. Staff from the Planning Department (Melissa Begley) presented the proposal, noting total signage remains well under the allowed square footage. Commissioners questioned whether the sign ordinance should be updated to focus on total square footage rather than the number of signs, particularly in the downtown commercial district where unique situations arise.
Key Outcomes
- Continuance Approved: Motion to continue SDP 2618 to the June meeting passed unanimously by voice vote.
- Modification Approved: The commission voted to approve the modification to allow two additional window signs, accepting staff's determination that criteria 1 and 2 of the waiver criteria were met. The voice vote had one opposed.
- Site Plan Approved: Following the modification vote, the commission approved the overall site development plan (SDP-26-10) with the modification. The motion carried.
Meeting Transcript
Sure, and your statement said the Western Motel, which is public. So there are that. It is cool. Okay. Yeah. Okay. Sounded how many votes we got to take on this thing. I hope we need to do that. I'll make noise for John's at the board of work. Yeah, you can't get around everything else like that. It will be a scary. So half the half the department's gone at the conference in Detroit. And so at the time we were figuring all this out, we thought, oh no big deal. You know, I can do the presentation. I have to be there anyway. No, it's like still suggesting and I was just like for John, it made it a lot easier. Oh, okay. We should. We're supposed to. Yeah. Well, stop here on the case. Oh, really? When you see the old five book. You know, I I've never looked at her book. I've already got just in case. That means big things up. Yeah, correct. I'm glad that Bill is there. I don't think that was like it was right on the side. Or you know, this one's the local dub, whoever is here. So we don't really come back in here, right? What is that? Day time. Right or day. Come back in. I can't wait to find them. I don't know. I know, yeah. Anyway, somebody's tied their dog and kind of scary ideas. Nobody there, but your dog is over here. Pretty big dog, and who else? Oh, stand is shade off. What if that dog is uh also it used to scare people? I know he's done something. It's kinda scary. About three weeks, four weeks ago. My grandson's down in Pennsylvania. He's run some dog big red. And he couldn't find the owner, so he had he's been taking baby shots. I don't think that's I think they got a quorum, so these main dogs have never heard of bicyclists.
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