Medina City Council passes zoning amendment, allows West Liberty Street development project to move forward

MEDINA — Medina City Council recently passed a zoning text amendment, which allows a development project on West Liberty Street to move forward. On Monday, Council held a public hearing before the start of the meeting regarding the allowance of three conditionally permitted uses in the C-1 zoning district. No one spoke on the amendments. Later, Council passed the ordinance on the third and final reading. Medina Community Development Director Andrew Dutton said the proposal stemmed from a request to rezone properties on West Liberty Street from C-1, which is local commercial and has limited commercial uses, to C-3, which is general commercial and allows more commercial uses. The properties include two parcels on West Liberty Street, northwest of Yorktown Drive. The applicant, Kayleigh Keller, previously said the zoning change would enable the relocation and expansion of Keller Market and Cafe, which is now in the Farmers Exchange building, 320 S. Court St. The proposed project would entail the creation of a commercial campus featuring a cafe, retail market, outdoor seating and seasonal farm-stand elements. In December, the Medina Planning Commission recommended the zoning map amendment for the two parcels. Once at the Medina Finance Committee, some concerns were raised about the change, and the motion failed. "Council directed staff to instead create this zoning amendment, which allows the three noted conditionally permitted uses in the C-1 zoning district," Dutton said. The proposed text amendments went back to the Medina Planning Commission on Feb. 12 and were approved 5-0. The zoning amendment includes three conditional uses, which include a restaurant with a drive-thru, a retail business less than or equal to 20,000 square feet, and a conference center, banquet facility, or meeting hall less than or equal to 50,000 square feet. Since Council passed the ordinance, the three conditional uses will apply to the West Liberty Street property, as well as to all C-1-zoned properties within the city. Dutton previously said that 23 properties would be affected. "As a conditional use, these require review by the Planning Commission and a public hearing before they're established," Dutton said. Contact reporter Sara Crawford at (330) 721-4063 or scrawford@medina-gazette.com.