A developer submitted new applications for their proposed full-service wellness resort, Wellevity, on Timberlee Hills to Elmwood Township.
The same developer sought to open the resort last year. They dropped out of the process in May 2023 to revise their site plan in response to opposition from neighboring property owners.
One of last year’s public hearings on the Wellevity project attracted a crowd of 100 township residents, many of whom felt the resort did not meet zoning requirements. This meeting was adjourned because the planning commission’s usual meeting place could not accommodate that many people without violating fire codes.
Township Planning and Zoning Administrator Sarah Clarren said she received the updated permit applications shortly before Thanksgiving Day. Clarren said she is waiting for supplemental information before passing along the application to the planning commission for their consideration, but she expects more public hearings on the project to follow.
A Columbus, Ohio-based developer first applied for a special use permit for Wellevity over two years ago. The scope of the project was massive. It included a lodge, cabins and cottages, a restaurant and café, a spa, fitness space, a greenhouse, outdoor gardens, multi- submits use trails, retail space, and a “meditation dome” – all owned and operated by the resort across 100 acres.
“What makes Wellevity unique is that it provides all facets of holistic wellness in one place,” the application narrative says. “You no longer need to go to a gym, a special grocery store, and a spa to achieve balance. It is a place of learning, support, relaxation, connection with nature, movement, and tranquility.”
Nearby property owners opposed the project for several reasons in late 2022 and early 2023, among them the plan to use East Timberwoods Drive as the main access point to the resort. The drive association and its legal representative, Lynch Law Firm, argued that this road was subject to private deed restrictions and could not safely accommodate traffic coming in and out of the resort.
In May 2023, Wellevity specifically asked the township planning commission to postpone a decision on permitting so they could submit an updated site plan addressing some of the township residents’ concerns. Planning Commission Chairman Rick Bechtold surmised Wellevity was “going back to the drawing board.”
Clarren said that if Wellevity provides the supplemental information required for their application, the next steps in the special land use permitting process will take place at township planning commission meetings and public hearings at to-be-determined dates and times.
