Parking variance requested for future Clintonville restaurant
Another restaurant is planned for Clintonville.
Clintonville Commons LLC has applied for a parking variance for a vacant property at 3655 N. High St. to allow for a restaurant use, according to an application filed with the city of Columbus.
Clintonville Commons LLC has proposed changing the use of the middle tenant space, which is roughly 2,900 square feet, from retail to restaurant and installing and having a 527-square-foot patio along the North High Street frontage.
The site is now zoned C-4, one of the largest commercial zoning classes in the city.
The variance request would reduce the number of parking spaces from 61 to 40. The restaurant would take over a former Chase banking branch, between Sbarro and Philosophi Salon & Salt Spa.
The Clintonville Neighborhood Plan recommends mixed-use purposes for the site.
“The proposed restaurant is a use which will contribute to this commercial corridor,” the application read.
“The proposed patio will contribute to improve the walkable environment of the corridor and bring vibrant activity to High Street. The applicant believes that the project will appreciate and enhance the neighborhood."
The retail building is between Winthrop Road and Northmoor Place.
“It has very nice landscaping around the perimeter to buffer this use from residential uses,” said attorney David Hodge, who is representing the property owner.
“The existing parking lot is underutilized. We are going to provide some bike parking on the property that it currently lacks.”
Hodge said he could not disclose the prospective tenant.
The Clintonville Area Commission’s zoning and variance committee at its Nov. 16 meeting unanimously recommended approval of the request with some conditions, such as trash pickup being 8 a.m. to 10 p.m. and that the restaurant would close at 10 p.m.
The entire CAC is to hear the matter Dec. 1. The Columbus Board of Zoning Adjustment is to make a final determination on the variance.
Nancy Kuhel, executive director of the Clintonville Area Business Association, said the plan sounds positive overall with one caveat – parking.
“It’s always good to have some other (dining) options,” Kuhel said. “We have a lot of great places already. More is better.”
Lack of adequate spaces, however, can be a burden to neighbors, when patrons park on side streets, and customers, she said.
“That’s something we have to consider moving forward and bringing new businesses in."
gseman@thisweeknews.com
@ThisWeekGary
This article originally appeared on ThisWeek: Parking variance requested for future Clintonville restaurant
