The Sandusky Planning Commission approved site plans on Sept. 24 for two new buildings for Pollock Composites USA at 1319 and 1321 First Street, voting unanimously after staff presented recommendations and the applicant’s architect answered questions.

The approval covers a new office building at 1319 First Street and a roughly 3,800-square-foot warehouse at 1321 First Street. Staff recommended approval with conditions that include obtaining all required building and engineering permits, submission and approval of stormwater-drainage plans, and securing zoning variances from the Board of Zoning Appeals for a reduced front-yard setback at 1319 and to expand existing nonconforming manufacturing and warehouse uses at 1321 before building permits are issued.

Planning staff told commissioners the two addresses function as one cohesive site under common ownership and are in the C R (Commercial Recreation) zoning district. The proposed office building at 1319 would reorient the structure so its longer wall runs parallel to First Street, which staff said would reduce the building footprint and lower lot coverage from about 30% to about 18%. The 1321 parcel totals about 1.47 acres; 1319 sits on about 0.42 acres. Site plans show the new warehouse at 1321 increasing that lot’s coverage from about 30% to about 36%, remaining below the 50% maximum in the zoning code.

Staff said the office use requires 13 parking spaces (one space per 250 square feet of gross floor area) and the applicant proposes 24 spaces, including one accessible space; manufacturing use calculations require about 10.25 spaces (one per 1,300 square feet), and warehouse/storage is listed as exempt from parking requirements. Overall, staff noted the applicant proposes sufficient parking and will reconfigure and retain a primary driveway to reduce curb cuts from three to one, which the presentation said should improve on-street safety and circulation.

Joshua Fox, the project architect from Fox Architectural Design, told the commission the building at 1319 already underwent asbestos abatement. "It has been abated already for asbestos," Fox said. He added that converting the existing structure to office use would have been cost-prohibitive once contractors accessed the crawl space, so the owner chose new construction. Fox said the warehouse at 1321 will be used for internal storage of manufacturing materials (pallets stacked two high and four deep) and not for off-site distribution; tow motors will move material between the warehouse and the manufacturing building.

Staff also described streetscape improvements, including a proposed pathway shown in the application materials and new landscaping to discourage pathway users from cutting through the parking lot. Proposed exterior lighting was presented as compliant with dark-sky guidelines. City engineering must still approve stormwater plans for both parcels before building permits are issued.

Commission members discussed parking, the setback and how the new office façade would present to First Street. Mike Zuloft moved to approve the application with the staff-recommended conditions; the motion was seconded and adopted on a roll call vote of five "yes" votes (Jim Jackson; Jake Castile; Connor Whelan; Mike Zuloft; Steve Pegioli). Planning Commission leadership commented that the project would be a positive reuse of the former East Side restaurant site and help retain Pollock Composites’ local operations; the applicant reiterated that the company intends to remain in Sandusky.

The permit approvals required by the staff recommendation — building permits, engineering approvals for stormwater, and the two variances from the Board of Zoning Appeals — must be completed before construction, and staff noted the front-yard setback variance and the use-expansion variance will appear on next month’s BZA agenda. The commission’s approval on Sept. 24 was for the site plans only and is conditioned on those subsequent approvals and permit issuances.

The commission noted the approximate employment at the Sandusky location is about 20 to 24 people and that the new office would relocate Pollock’s offices from the rear of the manufacturing property to the new street-facing building. No project cost estimate or demolition cost for the existing building was provided at the meeting.

The Planning Commission’s next scheduled meeting is Oct. 22, 2025.