As a citizen concerned for the health and safety of the Short North, its residents and visitors alike, following the mayhem of numerous shootouts, illegally loud vehicles, and other disturbances of the peace in the summer of 2021, I object to the proposal to convert an existing rear residential patio and its adjacent accessible apartments into a bar at the 120-year-old building at 989 N High. I find the proposal for outdoor bar use in the rear/residential side of the building, which is in very close proximity to numerous residences, particularly troubling.

I wish to see the Short North turn back toward its roots as a thriving district that also respects the quality of life of its residents, and safety for all. Let us retain our existing residential spaces for residential use, and stop adding to what has clearly become an area oversaturated with drinking establishments, particularly those with outdoor patios. It is no coincidence that the chaos of the summer of 2021 all but ceased when the patios closed with the arrival of cold weather.

• Proposal: https://tinyurl.com/9dbu5n2h
• VVC: https://www.columbus.gov/planning/VVC/