COLUMBUS, Ohio — The city of Columbus is responding to residents' concerns over the new Greyhound bus terminal in west Columbus.
Anthony Celebrezze, the deputy director of the Department of Building and Zoning Services, said the city was not aware the terminal was operating until July 10 when residents brought their concerns to them.
Celebrezze confirms the Greyhound terminal never received a certificate of operation because it did not complete its final inspection. However, he says the terminal is allowed to remain there as long as they continue to improve operations.
"The site is zoned as a C-4, it's a heavy intense commercial district. A bus terminal is allowed in C-4 by right, so just like a COTA stop and ride other limo services and stuff like that, those are allowed there,” said Celebrezze.
“Because of the way the code is written, if you are doing activities on a partial that is zoned correctly, there's not necessarily interaction with the neighborhood or the area commission."
Local business owner Molly Moody said the terminal is bringing crime to the area.
"I think it's a disservice to the neighborhoods, for the people who work hard and want to buy a house and want to live in a safe community and they don't feel safe now,” said Moody.
The Columbus Division of Police confirms there have been 13 run reports to the terminal from July 1 to July 17.
Celebrezze said the city is encouraging the owners to move the terminal elsewhere, but in the meantime, they are allowed to remain at the current North Wilson Road location.
"At this point, the city doesn't have another bus terminal like this. If we shut it down, which we do have the authority to do, the challenge becomes where do we drop off people? And are we dropping off people in unsafe locations,” said Celebrezze.
He says property owners have increased security, cameras and bathroom facilities with an outdoor weather-controlled trailer with more elevated porta potties.
"By the end of this week, we are expecting to see a new site plan and a new building plan. The site plan will help us understand how many people he's expecting, how the traffic, both pickup and dropoff, and then the bus traffic, how it's going to move around the site in a safe manner,” said Celebrezze.
Residents and business owners say the facility continues to create safety concerns and they do not want it to remain on North Wilson Road.
“It needs to be moved. It needs to be in a larger location. It needs to be beautiful, it needs to have in-house restrooms, it needs to have more room for people to sit inside. What are they going to do in the winter? What's going to happen in the cold weather?" said Moody.
City Attorney Zach Klein provided the following written statement to 10TV:
“In 2021, the City Attorney’s Office took legal action to hold Greyhound accountable for unsafe conditions, ultimately securing a court order to shutter their downtown terminal. Although the company has now moved its operations out of downtown, they are not out of sight. They don’t get a green light to create another public nuisance without consequences. We will hold operators to the same standards no matter where they locate their terminal.
“The City has outlined a number of significant health, safety and sanitation improvements that need to be made on-site by property owners. Residents and visitors deserve a terminal that’s safe, accessible and compliant, and we will not hesitate to take appropriate legal action if owners fail to make the necessary fixes to bring the terminal up to the standards expected of any business in our city.”