Will yoga and CrossFit stay in Columbus Historic District? Council makes decision

Columbus Council on Tuesday approved an amendment that will allow health and fitness facilities to operate within the historic district.

The change will allow a CrossFit gym to ask council for a special exception to continue to occupy a building at 710 Front Avenue, as well as opens the door for other fitness facilities to do the same.

The gym opened in October 2018 and shares the building with the River Valley Regional Commission. CrossFit CSG owner Joanne Cogle initially operated the business under the certificate of occupancy of the regional commission.

But in November, the city planning department received a letter of complaint from a neighbor. After review by the city attorney, it was determined that the gym was not in compliance with the Unified Development Ordinance.

A special enforcement officer told Cogle in early December that she would have to comply, and she was subsequently granted a temporary certificate of occupancy until she could apply for an exception before council.

But before she could be granted an exception, council had to change the rules to allow for exceptions in the Historic District.

The council did just that on Tuesday, voting 6-2 with councilors Judy Thomas (district 9 at large) and John House (district 10 at large) against the measure.

According to the modified ordinance, health and fitness facilities shall not be permitted as a principal use in the Historic District, but special exceptions can be considered if the business:

▪ Occupies a building that encompasses 15,000 square feet or more of gross floor area

▪ Occupies existing structures/structures built prior to 2019

▪ Meets the parking standards of the UDO for off-street parking and loading

▪ Does not sell or serve alcohol on the premises

Though the change to the ordinance has been approved, it does not guarantee any business an automatic special exception.

“It does not grant (future business prospects) anything,” Columbus Planning Director Rick Jones said in a February meeting. “There’s nothing absolute about it. They still have to come before (council). They still have to go through a public hearing. We still have to post a sign. We still have to do notices, just like we do on everything else. And you get to make that final determination.”

Cogle applied for a special exception in January and will appear before the council in the coming months.

Yoga studio wants to stay

Another business also declared its intention to apply for a special exception Tuesday.

Christopher Wilkes, who purchased a yoga business in December, operates Art of Yoga out of a multi-tenant building at 627 Second Avenue in the Historic District.

The building Wilkes occupies is one of seven identified in the Historic District as meeting the criteria for a special exception.

Others include 800 Front Avenue, 18 9th Street, 543 3rd Avenue, 222 5th Street, 425 3rd Avenue and CSG Crossfit’s 710 Front Avenue.

The business had been in operation for over 10 years prior to his purchase, Wilkes said.

He said that after the purchase went through, the situation with the CrossFit business and the ordinance amendment came to his attention. When he went to apply for a business license, he was told his business was not a permitted use in the Historic District.

Then last week, he received a citation for operating the business when it did not comply with the UDO.

Wilkes asked council how he should proceed and get into compliance.

“I was just waiting for everything to pass through,” Wilkes said.

John Hudgison, director of inspections and code for the city, said his staff had approved a certificate of occupancy for the former business owner in 2014, perhaps not understanding that it would qualify as a health and fitness facility.

When Wilkes tried to apply for his 2019 business license, he was told he could not operate a yoga studio in that location.

“We cited him ... because he came in in February and we told him what he shouldn’t be doing, and then when we went out there last week they were still operating as a business when the business license had expired in 2018,” Hudgison said at Tuesday’s Columbus Council meeting. “Now that the special exception has been approved, he will qualify for that and we can get rid of the citation.”

Council voted to delay any enforcement until Wilkes can obtain a special exception.