Planning Commission Recommends Against Spring Hills Parking Lot

The Planning Commission voted 3 to 0 to recommend that Village Council deny the application by Spring Hills Baptist Church to add 93 parking spaces to its 207-space parking lot in front of its building on Newark-Granville Road. The Village Council will make the final decision.

Spring Hills Baptist Church operates a church, a school and a daycare center at 1820 Newark-Granville Road. The staff report on the application says the church wants more spaces "to handle overflow parking needs."

Commissioners Tim Ryan, Gina Reeves, and Lyle McClow and Village Council representative, Jackie O'Keefe listened to a presentation of the proposal by a representative of the church who said the additional parking was needed to alleviate crowding in the current 207-space lot and to allow a re-design of the traffic pattern.

Eight neighbors of the church each spoke in opposition to the proposal. The neighbors were concerned with flooding caused by the extensive building and parking lots, light pollution from the security lights and from automobile head lights, and noise pollution.

The location of the proposed new lot was also a concern. As one resident pointed out, the planning code requires that parking be placed on the side or rear of buildings. "Asphalt parking lots shouldn't be a prominent architectural feature in the Village," he stated.

The Village planning code states: "Parking of vehicles shall not be permitted in front of any use in any Village, Suburban Residential, Community Service, Planned Development or Suburban Residential District." The church is zoned in a Planned Unit Development District, a Planned Development District that permits churches, houses, schools and parks.

In other business, the Commission approved each of the following applications unanimously:

Application #08-69: Submitted by Leslie Newkirk, for the property at 116 North Pearl Street. The request is for architectural review and approval of a projecting sign. The property is zoned Village Business District (VBD) and is located within the Architectural Review Overlay District (AROD).

Application #08-71: submitted by Bill Mickey, for the property located at 14 Westgate Drive. The request is for approval of a temporary sign. The property is zoned Community Service District (CSD).

Application #08-72: submitted by Jim & Joy Jung, for the property located at 221 West Broadway. The request is for architectural review and approval of copper gutters and downspouts. The property is zoned Village Residential District (VRD) and is located within the Architectural Review Overlay District.

Application #08-74: submitted by Brittany Hayes, for the property located at 224 East Broadway. The request is for architectural review and approval of exterior modifications, as follows:

1. Replacement of all existing wood windows with vinyl windows;
   
2. Replacement of all existing wood windows with vinyl windows;
   
3. Replacement of all existing wood doors with steel doors;
   
4. Add two new steel doors on the eastern side elevation; and
   
5. Remove existing doors and windows on the front elevation and replace with two sets of French doors on both the lower and upper levels.

The property is zoned Village Business District (VBD) and is located within the Architectural Review Overlay District.

Application #08-75: submitted by Lisa McKivergin, for the property located at 124 South Main Street. The request is for architectural review and approval of replacement panels for the freestanding sign. The property is zoned Village Business District (VBD) and is located within the Architectural Review Overlay District (AROD).

Application #08-76: submitted by Jeanne Crumrine, for the property located at 200 Speedway Drive. The request is for review and approval of a temporary real estate sign. The property is zoned Planned Commercial District.