01/11/2005 Minutes - Laserfiche WebLink

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•= 1? restaurants. Council felt that there was some ambiguity in the current zoning code so the legislation was created to improve definitions. A variety of resources were consulted including other cities' zoning ordinances and zoning definition books. It was determined that three categories would be inclusive of the types of restaurants within North Olmsted. The restaurant definitions chosen describe what an average sit-down restaurant would be, the food is prepared on site and served at tables, a classic definition. Fast food recognizes establishments which have drive-through windows, and are significant in size, and have a significant amount of seating inside. The small third classification has minimum seating inside, building sizes are only a few thousand square feet and includes; coffee shops, ice cream parlors and other small specialty type shops. In looking at other communities zoning ordinances, some of their definitions included development standards within the definitions, i.e. access, egress, drive-through, things of that nature. She believes that for the definition section it is important to focus on what the use is and have development standards in the text of the zoning district. The regulations for restaurants should be in a separate section. Standards relating to restaurants properly belong in 1139 which regulates minimum lot size. Currently minimum lot size in a General Retail Business district is 40,000 square feet (-0.92 acre). Minimum lot size for a freestanding restaurant is 1.5 acres. The Code currently does not regulate restaurants that are attached or part of a commercial strip. Currently, a building within the General Retail Business District permits lot coverage of up to 25%. This amendment will significantly reduce the amount of lot coverage permitted for the smallest classification of restaurant. Sandwich shops are defined to be a maximum of 2,500 square feet. Even with a minimum lot size of 40,000 square feet, the building would only occupy 6.25% of the lot. This is well below the 25% standard for other uses in the district. Given many of the concerns associated with restaurants involving traffic generation to the site, she recommends considering that the smallest category include language that would prohibit drive-through window operations. She believes that it is a movement in a positive direction in distinguishing different types of restaurants and not grouping everything into one category of one size fits all. Mr. Spalding indicated that a member of Chamber of Commerce suggested that the third definition (467) eliminate using the words Sandwich Shop. It was recommended to use the term "Limited Service". Ms. Wenger agreed better wording could be used for the third definition and suggested Planning Commission recommend wording they believe would be best suited. It was the consensus of the board that Limited Service would be the best wording. Mr. Yager voiced that the State of Ohio Building Codes clearly defines size and definitions of restaurants. He questioned if the city spolce to the state to see how they define restaurants. He suggested restricting the smaller specialty shops from having a drive-through could impede their ability to operate. The smaller shops need something to give them a competitive edge, to allow them to compete with the larger shops. Ms. Wenger indicated that the city looked both locally and nationally at what other communities across the country and neighboring communities do to try to find what would fit North Olmsted's need. Mrs. Hoff-Smith voiced that she is concerned that lowering the minimum acreage requirements for specialty shops could limit the cities ability to properly oversee site development of the types of restaurants listed. She would not want developers to use the fact 2