Garrettsville – Present at the December Planning Commission Meeting were Jeff Sheehan, Jerry Kehoe, Tom Hardesty, Michele Stuck, and Jan Boehm.
Following the pledge of allegiance, the commission approved the minutes of their last meeting.
The first business of the evening was a “pre-Preliminary” site plan review for Michael Maschek’s (Garrettsville Ventures) Buckeye Block reconstruction. Maschek plans to break ground on the project in March of 2018, and has until the end of June of that year to use all of the committed monies. He shared that while the original timeline hinged on the sale of the phenomenally successful coffee shop, the bank wants to see at least another year of financials before that sale can go through. Instead Maschek has raised the needed capital by selling two units of the new building to Dr. Holpuch as a new location for his dental offices. Maschek then walked the commission through the plot plan, and explained some of the detail work the new structure may include. Fans of the lighted cupola on the coffee shop will love the bell tower on the new structure. Maschek plans to keep rent in the new building affordable, and is willing to finish the spaces to suit the tenants. During the review the only real concerns brought up at this time were storm sewer connections and mitigation of storm runoff – issues only because of Main Street’s extremely shallow bedrock. Keep an eye on the Villager for more details on the Buckeye Block’s rebirth in coming weeks.
Next on the agenda was approval of the Portage Park District’s request to split property in the S&K parking lot. The purchase of the property would allow establishment of a parking lot for Headwaters Trail.
The property owner of 8135 & 8137 Windham Street has received and signed for the registered letter requesting he “clean up his act.” To date, he has not. The alleyway, which must be kept clear, is full of debris, building supplies/equipment, and general garbage. These obstacles present a safety hazard for tenants. The fire chief will be enforcing the alleyway hazards. The commission hopes to have the apartment issue enforced by the county. Enforcement of the ban on overnight parking will begin the week of December 15th at the latest. A motion was made to proceed with filing a legal complaint for non-compliance.
Hardesty and Stuck have looked into residential storm sewer policies as requested. Unfortunately these policies are more complex than first thought, and are not something to be lightly entered into.
The Zaremba Group has been in touch with Boehm in regards to their desire to construct a Dollar General in the eastern side of Liberty Street (across from TLC). At this stage in the game, their contact has largely been to ensure they are on the right track. Based on the square footage of their planned building Zaremba would be required to have 151 parking spaces, they currently have 30 planned. In addition to the drainage and utility issues (shallow bedrock abounds!), the commission also has some concerns about the “terrible” placement of their proposed entrance/exit (midway up the hill on State Route 82). Sheehan would like to see their driveway built on Liberty St, or at the top of the hill instead. The commission would like to setup a site visit with Zaremba to look at all the obstacles the construction crew would face.
On the subject of temporary structures used as carports, the commission has no desire to get into the regulation of temporary structures. Also discussed at the meeting were the accessory structure in the North Street/North Gate area; and the ongoing permit issue with Snap Shot BPO LLC which is operating a 9 employee business out of a R-2 zoned residential building at 8137 Maple Avenue.
