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Solar Center project hinges on rezoning approval
(by Sue Reid - October 14, 2009)
Solar Center project hinges on rezoning approval
By SUE REID
Solon voters will be asked by owners of the Solar Center shopping plaza to approve a rezoning request Nov. 3 that will allow for a Get-Go gas station near a proposed new Giant Eagle.
City Council had approved an ordinance last month that would submit to the electors the rezoning of a 20.99 acre site from C-3, or commercial, and O-1, or general-office district, to the new C3-A commercial shopping center zoning.
The new C3-A zoning classification was the preferred alternative of the city's planning department and legal team and would allow the principal anchor on the site to have a fuel-dispensing business as an accessory use.
Passage of the rezoning is key to the redevelopment of the center at SOM Center (Route 91) and Aurora (Route 43) roads, James Perlick, managing partner of the Solar Center, said. "If it doesn't pass, there probably will not be a redeveloped center," he said.
"Our hopes are that this will pass," said Mr. Perlick, a former 10-year Solon resident. "We want to be able to offer a shopping experience that has all the amenities."
Voter approval will result in, first and foremost, a brand new state-of the-art Giant Eagle that will serve as a model for future stores, Mr. Perlick said. Other advantages to the passage of the rezoning will include new parking and drive-through features that are typical in modern-day centers, he said.
There will be more conveniences for shoppers as a result, Mr. Perlick said. "It will be easier to move around than it has been in the past," he said. The parking currently is tough, Mr. Perlick said. "The new parking fields will have customers parking right in front of the stores they wish to visit," he said.
"The proposed C3-A zoning classification probably provides the best opportunity for the community to achieve the high-quality redevelopment of the Solar-Giant Eagle shopping center site," Solon Planning Director Robert S. Frankland said.
He said this zoning classification would specifically state that there be only one fuel-dispensing business on-site permitted. The Solar Shopping Center is the only one which would be zoned C3-A. In short, the other shopping centers won't be having gas stations on them, he said.
It is specifically intended to regulate shopping center sites where, due to particular circumstances, the master plan recommended planned-unit-development approach is deemed not to be feasible, Mr. Frankland said.
The new zoning classification would allow the city to do a more restricted area of zoning that would permit gas stations. This would be an alternative to allowing them within the general C3 district, which comprises approximately 75 percent of the city's central retail district.
The new zoning classification would involve having an accessory use be a fuel station tied to an anchor tenant. There also would be limitations put in place, such as restrictions on the size of the building and the recommendation that the commercial business is anchor to the center.
Mr. Perlick said that the Perlick-Caplin families, who have owned the shopping center for close to 50 years, have appreciated the relationship they have with the city and its residents.
"We've had a very developer-friendly relationship with the city over the last five years, when all these new development ideas came into Solon," Mr. Perlick said. "We've appreciated all that council and the city have done. They have been very accommodating in working with us in all areas," whether it's from an architectural standpoint, zoning or city services, he said.
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