ThisWeek Community Newspapers

Thursday, August 3, 2006

By RANDY NAVAROLI
ThisWeek Staff Writer

A historic but financially troubled local radio station's plan to move to a site on Morse Road remains in limbo.

In May, Columbus City Council indefinitely tabled legislation that would allow radio station WVKO (1580 AM) to move from Upper Arlington to Morse Road.

The 50-year-old station, now owned by Bernard Radio LLC, is seeking rezoning and variance approval from city council to move its operations and four 150-foot antennas to a nine-acre site at 2708 Morse Road, just west of Chesford Road.

Bernard Radio is asking the city to allow it to occupy the Morse Road site, despite the fact that the property is not zoned for such use. The undeveloped site is zoned L-AR-3, which is a limited apartment residential district.

According to Columbus Development Department planner Shannon Pine, the site should be rezoned as a commercial or manufacturing district.

Greg Lestini, Councilman Michael Mentel's legislative aide, said the zoning committee legislation remains tabled and he could not say when it might be put back on council's agenda.

The legislation was tabled after Councilman Kevin Boyce said the ordinance, as written, was vague and didn't provide enough information to allow him to cast an informed vote.

"There's still a lot to learn about the status of the station and exactly what the future will hold for it, if we approve the legislation," Boyce said. "I think we also need to give the community the station serves the chance to comment on the request."

Lestini and Jim Groner, the attorney for WVKO, said no public meetings have been planned as far as they know, although the two sides have held informal discussions about the fate of the station and its rezoning and variance requests.

"Right now, it's status quo," Groner said. "Our representatives have talked to council, but there's nothing more I can share with you right now."

Groner said the Morse Road site remains the station's first choice.

"We're hopeful that we can still move the station to Morse Road. That's still the main site we're looking at," he said.

Council spokesman Scott Varner said council members want to take extra steps to protect WVKO, due to its historic significance in Columbus' black community, which it has served for nearly 50 years.

"Because of the historic nature of the station, I think council wants to be very clear about how the zoning issue would affect the station's future," Varner said.

WVKO has had a number of owners in recent years. Before being bought by Bernard, it was owned by Stop 26-Riverbend, which filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy protection in July 2005. Bernard is currently waiting for the FCC to approve its request to transfer the radio licenses, although former station owner Percy Squire has petitioned the FCC to deny the request. He has also challenged the station's sale in U.S District Court.

WVKO was temporarily pulled off the air May 5 by a bankruptcy trustee overseeing the financial reorganization. Trustee Brad Scher said he took the action because the station's financial condition continued to worsen and because the lease for the existing transmission tower in Upper Arlington was due to expire at the end of May.

The prospect of four 150-foot radio transmission towers being built on a site adjacent to their neighborhood has irritated some Brandywine Meadows residents, according to civic association president Chuck Wolfe.

"The residents who border the proposed tower site wonder how it will impact them aesthetically, as well as what effect it may have on their property values," he said.

WVKO originally sought to relocate to the NorthlandPark development, according to Columbus Urban Growth spokesman Mike Duffey. Urban Growth is overseeing the redevelopment of what was Northland Mall.

He said the station's plans did not fit into NorthlandPark's future, so the station was instead offered the site Urban Growth owns at 2708 Morse Road.

Until it went off the air, WVKO had a gospel format that included local religious and political talk shows. It was also the home of Capital University's Crusader Radio Network and broadcast Columbus Clippers games.

According to Scher, the station plans to return to the air sometime this fall, although it may shed its talk and entertainment focus to pursue a more financially viable format.