Department of Planning & Zoning 4200 Springdale Road Colerain Township, Ohio 45251 Staff Report: Prepared By: FINAL DEVELOPMENT PLAN MINOR AMENDMENT CASE #: ZA1998-01 PLANET FITNESS 9345 COLERAIN AVENUE JUNE 21, 2016 JENNA M. LeCOUNT, AICP DIRECTOR OF BUILDING, PLANNING & ZONING PROJECT SUMMARY: The applicant proposes a Minor Amendment to the former Big Lots location at 9345 Colerain Avenue exterior modifications to the building which include partial demolition of the existing building, front façade renovation and signage, the addition of parking, replacement of a buffer yard, and the replacement and relocation of a pylon sign. PROJECT HISTORY: The former Big Lots building which is proposed to be altered in this project, predates the 1998 Final Development Plan for this site. In 1998 the approved Final Development Plan included a proposed Tumbleweed restaurant (then Show Me s and soon to be redeveloped into a Discount Tire building), a proposed 4,000 SF building which now contains the Armed Forces Center, and this existing 36,889 SF building with shared access to Colerain Avenue. CONFORMANCE WITH COMPREHENSIVE PLAN: The site is located within the Colerain Avenue Character Area. The Comprehensive Plan s vision for the area is that Colerain Avenue will continue to see signs of reinvestment and redevelopment and will be a quality commercial corridor for the region. The proposed project is located within the major commercial corridor for the Township and the use of this site for redeveloped service /retail is consistent with the Plan. In the 2005 Comprehensive Plan it was identified that many residents indicated curb appeal continued to be an issue and the desire was for new, lower signage, more greenspace and landscaping and improved appearances in older buildings. Attention to streetscape and landscaping is stressed with new development. Access control to Colerain Avenue is desirable when opportunities arise. The Colerain Avenue streetscape plan calls for the installation of decorative lights behind the sidewalks at a spacing of 60 feet. In the Comprehensive Plan, this property is located within the Commercial Corridor use group. CONFORMANCE WITH ZONING RESOLUTION: The proposed minor amendment to the Final Development Plan proposed to partially redevelopment a non-conforming site. The Zoning Resolution does not note a trigger for when a project is significant enough to force the entire site to come into compliance. This review of conformance with the Zoning Resolution focuses only on those portions of the site which have been included by the applicant for modifications. This proposal meets the minimum standards set forth in the Zoning Resolution except for in the following areas: 1. Section 12.9.4 A lighting plan for the new parking area must be provided. If other parking lights are replaced as part of this project, then the entire site must conform to current lighting standards. The maximum illumination standards are not applied to

internal lot lines within this development. 2. Section 13.3.2(B) The required number of parking spaces for the Planet Fitness is 148 and the requirement for the Armed Forces Services is 13 for a total of 161. The applicant would be allowed a maximum of 177 spaces based on the 10% limit criteria. A total of 247 spaces are provided for both buildings exceeding the allowance by 70 spaces. 3. Section 14.5.2(A)(1) The required buffer yard from residential to commercial is 30 feet. The expansion of the parking to the south of the building reduces this buffer to 5 feet and eliminates natural vegetation currently serving as a visual barrier from the adjacent property. 4. Section 14.5.2(B) A buffer between commercial and residential is required to have a combination of privacy fences, earth berms, evergreen trees and shrubs in various combinations. The planting specified in the landscape plan does not meet any of the possible combinations of buffering materials. While the privacy fence buffer on the north and west side of the property does not meet the land width requirement, the grandfathered non-conforming fence provides a good barrier to the adjacent property owners. This existing fence is now in poor condition and should be replaced as a matter of property maintenance. The existing buffer yard on the southern side of the property is non-conforming and would remain that way if no modifications are done in that area. However, the applicant proposes to modify the curb line and vegetative buffer yard which would require the area to come into compliance. 5. Section 14.6.1 A minimum of 15% of the new parking area must be landscaped. This requirement is not met. 6. Section 14.6.2(B) One landscaped island is required for each row of 15 or more parking spaces for the new parking area. The island must be at least 135 square feet for a double row of parking and contain one tree and two shrubs minimum. 7. Section 15.8.3(C) The free standing sign must have a minimum setback from the right-of-way of 10 feet and a setback of one foot is indicated on the plan exceeding the minimum by 9 feet. 8. Section 15.8.3(D) The maximum allowable height of a free standing sign is 15 feet and the proposed sign is 20 feet, exceeding the maximum by 5 feet. The maximum allowable size of the free standing sign is 106 square feet based on road frontage of the proposed Planet Fitness and Armed Forces Services properties. The proposed sign is 178 square feet exceeding the maximum by 81 square feet. This proposed sign also exceeds the 150 square foot cap places on all freestanding signs in this district which are allowed based on the equivalent to 0.5 square feet for each lineal foot of lot frontage. 9. Section 15.8.3(G)(3) The maximum size of a wall sign is 150 square feet. The proposed wall sign is 248 square feet exceeding the maximum size by 98 square feet. STAFF ANALYSIS: The proposed modification to the Final Development plan to partially redevelopment a non-conforming site is generally in line with the overall intent of the original development plan. However, the areas to be modified are overall not being done in conformance with current standards. While the Zoning Resolution does not note a trigger for when a project is significant enough to force the entire site to come into compliance, the areas proposed for modification must exhibit a hardship which prevents the applicant from meeting the current minimum standards. Staff feels that this hardship may only be present with respect to those plan modifications related to signage of the property and number of parking spaces associated with the proposed use type. The building is set back further from Colerain Avenue than the other two buildings within the development plan and the orientation of these buildings prevents visibility to

the Planet Fitness site from usual distances for drivers on Colerain Avenue. Parking requirements allow for 177 spaces (using the 10% additional modification) and the applicant is proposing 247 spaces. The intent of this variance listed below is to eliminate the 19 proposed spaces along the southern side of the building for the plan to meet the 30 buffer requirement for commercial properties adjacent to PD-R zoning districts. The suggested variance would still provide the applicant 51 more spaces than allowed by code, reducing the additional requested from 70 additional spaces. RECOMMENDATION: APPROVAL subject to the following conditions and variances: Conditions 1. The lighting standards must be met per Section 12.9.4 except at internal site property lines between Planet Fitness, Discount Tire and the Armed Forces Center. 2. The proposed pylon sign have a maximum height of 15 feet and be located at least 10 feet from right-of-way. 3. The maximum square footage of signage area on pylon sign to be no more than 150 square feet. 4. A minimum of 15% of the new parking area must be landscaped in accordance with Sections 14.6.2(B) of the Zoning Resolution for newly created parking areas which requires one landscape island for each row of 15 or more parking spaces. The islands must be at least 135 square feet for a double row of parking and contain one tree and two shrubs at a minimum. 5. The applicant must meet the minimum buffer yard requirement of 30 feet on the southern side of the property adjacent to Residential zoning and include landscaping as required by Section 14.5.2(B) of the Zoning Resolution. 6. The property maintenance standards set forth in the Colerain Township Property Maintenance Code be met for all conforming and non-conforming portions of the project area. This is to include property maintenance associated with fencing and buffering along the north and west property lines as well as trash and debris accumulation across the site. Variances 1. From Section 15.8.3(G)(3) to allow for a 248 square foot Planet Fitness sign on the eastern facing façade of the Planet Fitness building to make up for the lack of a direct visual corridor connection to Colerain Avenue beyond the immediate property frontage. 2. From Section 13.3.2(B) and 13.3.4(A) to allow for no more than 226 parking spaces to be shared with the Armed Forces Center. [See staff analysis for explanation.] 3. From Section 15.8.3(D) to allow for a pylon sign up to 150 square feet in size.