6

STAFF REPORT
To: Municipal Planning

Prepared By: Ronald M. Traub, Director

Commission

Economic & Community Development

Meeting Date:

November 5, 2015

Applicant:

Rocco Spizzirri of Bridgestone Retail Operations, LLC, Lance Osborne of Mickey

Properties and Richard Osborne of A000 Mentor Avenue, LLC

Status of Applicant: Construction and Design Project Manager and Property Owners
Requested Action:

Final Site Plan & Architectural Review

Purpose:

To construct an eight (8)-bay automobile/tire repair facility (Firestone Complete Auto

Care).

Existing Zoning:

B-2, General Business

Parcel ID Number:

16-B-31-A-00-014- & 015-0

Location:

7495 Mentor Avenue

Size:

7,720 sq. ft. building on 1.35-acre parcel

Existing Land Use: Undeveloped

Surrounding Land
Use and Zoning:

North: Undeveloped property; zoned M-1, Light Manufacturing

East: Colonial Plaza shopping center; zoned B-2, General Business
South: convenient store and office building; zoned B-2, General Business
West: TJs on the Avenue restaurant; zoned B-2, General Business

Zoning History: A building permit was issued in 1980 for the construction of a Howard Johnsons restaurant.
Other tenants of the building included Ground Round and Lone Star. The building was
demolished in 2008. In September of 2015, the Commission approved a Conditional Use
Permit (CUP) for the automotive use and preliminary site plan approval.
Applicable
Regulations:

1133 Site Development Plans

1162 Landscaping, Screening and Buffering
1169 Outdoor Lighting

Public Utilities: Existing utility service connections are available within the street right-of-way.
Engineering Comments:
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BUILDING
{B6*} A Building Permit is required for new buildings. Plans shall be submitted for permit review by the
Chief Building Official for conformance with the Ohio Building Code and necessary permits obtained.

CIVIL/SITE

Gas and water services require open cut of Mentor Avenue. Approval of open cuts required from Mentor
City Council. Right of way permit and Council approval to be coordinated through the City Engineering
Dept. (Bob Kovac: (440) 255-1100, ext. 2632.)

{CS15} All existing cracked, and/or damaged, substandard sidewalk along front property line shall be replaced.

Fire Department Comments:

The new fire hydrant shall have a 5" Storz connection

Police Department Comments:

No Comments

Analysis: The applicant proposes to relocate the existing store from the Great Lakes Mall and construct an
eight (8)-bay automobile/tire repair facility (Firestone Complete Auto Care) at 7495 Mentor
Avenue. The undeveloped site is located on the north side of Mentor Avenue just west of the
Colonial Plaza shopping center and is zoned B-2, General Business. In September of 2015, the
Commission approved a Conditional Use Permit (CUP) for the automotive use and preliminary site
plan. The final site plan conforms to the preliminary plan approved by the Commission, and all of
the building setbacks exceed the minimum district requirements.
Access to the site is provided by two (2) drive aprons onto Mentor Avenue, the eastern drive is 30ft. wide and the western drive is 24-ft. wide. The proposed access drives are in the same location as
the existing drives, but will be reconstructed to provide the appropriate drive apron flares onto
Mentor Avenue. The City Traffic Engineer is not requiring any turning restrictions at the access
drives. A 24-ft. wide access easement is provided along the west side property line and provides
access to an existing gas well located on industrial-zoned property north of the site. An existing
gravel drive provides access to the gas well.
The minimum number of parking spaces required for tire store is 23 spaces while the maximum is
31 spaces; the site plan provides for 31 spaces including two (2) van accessible handicapped spaces
across from the main building entrance. A painted crosswalk is indicated on the site plan from the
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handicap spaces to the entrance door. The plan includes bike racks with parking for four (4)
bicycles on a concrete pad provided adjacent to the sidewalks along the front and side of the
building. The sidewalk connects the front of the building to an existing sidewalk on Mentor
Avenue. The existing sidewalk at the driveway approaches and pedestrian ramps will be replaced.
The remaining sidewalk along Mentor Avenue is not cracked or damaged.
A water quality pond will be constructed at the rear of the parking lot. Storm drainage from the
building and parking lot will be directed toward the water quality pond and then be slowly released
into the sandy soil which flows north to a drainage ditch next to the railroad tracks. The gas and
water service connections will require an open cut onto Mentor Avenue and City Council approval.
The Fire Department is requesting the new fire hydrant have a 5-in. Storz connection.
The architectural elevations indicate the building will be constructed of 4-in. Quik-Brik on all
elevations. The drawings indicate the majority of the building to be Autumn Blend which is a
medium brown color. The lower forty (40) in. portion of wall will be Wilkesboro Blend QuikBrik, which is more of a chocolate brown in tone. Service access doors will be painted French
Roast. The front elevation has a clear aluminum storefront window with a canvas awning. The
awnings are Timber in color, similar to the main building color. Building cornices, indicated as
Dry Dock, will also be similar to the main building color. The applicant has provided a sample
board for Commission review at the meeting. A parapet wall runs 24 ft. from the south corner of the
building on both the east and west elevations to provide screening of the roof-mounted HVAC unit.
The overhead doors for the service bays will be constructed of clear safety glazing with pre-finished
white solid panels at the base and include exhaust ports.
The landscape plan provides for street trees, foundation plantings along the front of the building and
shade and understory trees in the landscaped islands within the parking lot. The preliminary plan
indicated two (2) Oklahoma Redbud trees toward the front of the building along Mentor Avenue;
these have been substituted forTrident Maples. Per Chapter 1162.07(b) (1), a street tree is required
per every 40 ft. of right-of-way. Based on the 182 ft. of street frontage, four (4) street trees are
required; one (1) additional street tree shall be installed. The plan includes an underground
irrigation system. The applicant is advised that a landscape bond in the amount of 100 percent of
the cost of the plant material and installation is required prior to the issuance of a building permit.
A trash enclosure is proposed at the rear of the parking lot. The screened enclosure will be
constructed of masonry units to match the building with a cedar slat, self-closing gate.
A photometric plan was provided showing the level of lighting at the property line which does not
exceed one (1) foot candle. The plan indicates 11 Wal-Pak light fixtures with a flat glass door will
be installed on the sides and rear of the building. The applicant is advised that full cutoff doors are
required for the Wal-Pak light fixtures. Four (4) outdoor light poles will be installed in the parking
lot; three (1) in the rear parking area and one (1) at the east side of the building. No detail was
provided as to the mounting height of the light poles. The final plan submitted for a building permit
shall include a detail on the mounting height of the light poles which shall not exceed the height of
the building.
The applicant is advised that the wall signage depicted on the building elevations and ground sign
shown on the site plan will require a separate review by the Economic and Community
Development Department. The maximum area of wall signage permitted is 86 sq. ft. based on the
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width of the building. The applicant is advised that the area of sidewall signage cannot exceed a
cumulative total of 40 sq. ft. Ground signs are required to be set back a minimum of five (5) ft.
from the right of way.
Conditions:
1. The applicant shall provide written confirmation as to the disposition of each of the City Engineer's
comments and shall be included as part of any final building permit application.
2. One (1) additional street tree shall be provided per the requirements set forth in Chapter 1162.07(b).
3. The photometric plan submitted for a building permit shall be revised to include fully shielded Wal-Pak
light fixtures and a detail on the mounting height of the light poles which shall not exceed the height of
the building.
Exhibits:

Site Plan, Building Elevations, Floor Plan, Landscape Plan, GIS Map

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