Residents on Lorain’s eastside won’t have to travel as far when they make their run to the border for some fast food.
The city’s Zoning Board of Appeals and Planning Commission both voted on measures that helped clear the way for a Taco Bell restaurant to be built on the southwest corner of Colorado Avenue and Henderson Drive.
The Zoning Board of Appeals on Nov. 2 voted 5-0 to approve five variances needed to build the restaurant.
Those variances included modifying the number of cars that could be stacked at the planned-for restaurant’s two drive-thru lanes, and reducing the number of required parking spots from 31 to 18.
The three other variances dealt with setbacks requirements.
Joshua Graber, a structural designer for the GDP group, appeared at the meeting on behalf of Taco Bell Inc., the developer of the project.
The property at 1390 Colorado Ave., most recently was occupied by a furniture store, which has since closed.
Plans call for that building to be demolished and the drive-thru restaurant to go up in its place.
The property has rapidly increased in value, according to the Lorain County Auditor’s website.
In April 2006, Robert M. and Joan Imbrogno sold it to Hamdan Plaza LLC for $258,000.
In April 2012, Hamdan sold it to The Hutton Company Ohio LLC for $430,000.
A little more than a year later in July 2013, The Hutton Company sold it to the current owner, Realty Income Property 18 LLC, for $1.6 million.
Lorain currently has one other Taco Bell, but it’s located at 3671 Oberlin Ave. on the city’s west side.
Graber explained that the request for the variances was predicated on the fact that a 42-inch sewer line runs underneath the property and developers don’t want the building to possibly damage the pipe.
“They are all tied to one problem,” Graber said in explaining the request for the variances. “There is currently an existing 42-inch sanitary (sewer) line that bisects the site.
“We don’t want to place something heavy on that sewer line and that restricts our building placement. All of the variances we are asking for are related to that sewer line and where we can place that building,”
Zoning board member Henry Patterson said his only concern about the project would be traffic flow.
Patterson noted there is a Wendy’s and McDonald’s restaurant in that general area and that Henderson Drive is already prone to backup caused by customers trying to enter those businesses.
“It can get pretty dicey there,” he said.
“We’re always worried about traffic, and because Taco Bell is fast food and people are always going in and out, I could see a traffic problem occurring,” Patterson said.
Graber said a traffic study had not been completed, but he would consult with the city’s Engineering Department to further study it.
He also said the plan calls for the restaurant to have access points from both Henderson and Colorado.
“It’s in our best interest as well to have the site make sense for everybody,” Graber said. “You want people to come into your site.”
Mayor Jack Bradley noted the city is planning to renovate the intersection of Henderson and Colorado, and the arrival of Taco Bell, would be considered when planning the redesign.
“It’s a good time for this development to be going in there because we received a grant to redevelop that particular intersection,” Bradley said. “We’ll be able to address issues with all the businesses at the intersection with a redesign of that intersection.”
The Planning Commission approved recommending to City Council, re-zoning the property for the proposed Taco Bell from I-1 to B-2, or from industrial to business.
Doing so allows for the use of a drive-thru restaurant on the property.
Council ultimately has to approve the re-zoning before construction can go forward, Bradley told Graber.
Bradley serves as chairman of the Planning Commission.
“Once they approve it, then all these other things kind of fall into place,” Bradley told Graber.
The Planning Commission also approved a “conditional use permit” for a drive-thru on the property, as well.
Ultimately, Council will have to approve the plan for the proposed restaurant before construction can begin.
Graber, who indicated Taco Bell has a tentative deal in place to purchase the land at 1390 Colorado Ave., said if the Council does grant approval on the zoning change, he would expect that construction to begin in the spring and finished by late summer or early fall 2023.
