Gahanna planning panel approves Biggby Coffee development, five variances for 348 Granville St.

The Gahanna Planning Commission voted unanimously Sept. 24 to approve a development plan and five variances that will allow a 445-square-foot Biggby Coffee with a drive-through at 348 Granville Street.

City planning staff presented the application as a permitted commercial use in the city’s general commercial zoning and said it conforms to the city’s mixed-use land-use designation. “This particular request does meet all of our applicable standards of the zoning code and other ordinances, with the exception of the variances,” Michael Blackford, director of planning, told the commission.

Blackford said the 0.3-acre parcel has a long development history, was rezoned for commercial use in 2022, and that prior lot-split actions and the 2024 zoning-code rewrite left the site in a configuration where nearly any commercial development would require relief. The staff report recommended approval of the major development plan and all five variances, and said city engineering and police had reviewed circulation and stacking concerns and signed off.

The variances request relief from several codified standards, including: use of metal siding as a primary material, a ground-floor transparency requirement (the prefabricated building provides under 6% glazing versus the 25% requirement), a parking/parking-lay-out setback standard (parking extending past the front elevation), buffering and screening standards between commercial and residential uses, and a request for a second wall sign where the code allows one wall sign per frontage. Blackford noted the total allowed sign area was not exceeded: “they did not request a variance to the overall size of signs, which I believe is 50 square feet,” he said.

Applicant representatives said the site’s small size and internal circulation needs drove design compromises. “We worked really hard on this project trying to get a lot of the stacking and the discharge and get the motion through the site,” Lou Bowes, Prime AE, who spoke for the applicant, told the commission. Alan Balen, a Biggby franchisee, said the building’s exterior materials were chosen to be “more aesthetically appealing to the area.”

Ownership and access details were discussed at length. Commissioners asked whether the escape lane and portions of circulation cross adjoining property lines; owners told the commission the apartment complex and the coffee-site parcel are under common ownership and that an access easement for Rocky Creek Drive is recorded. “There is an access easement agreement for this site for Rocky Creek Drive,” Matthew (Matt) Von Bargain of Rocky Ford Capital said, adding the legacy plaza sign can be removed if not used.

Commissioners also asked about trash handling, lighting and student pedestrian traffic because the site sits near a preschool and high school. The applicant said the dumpster will be enclosed and that, under the city code, a detailed lighting plan is not required for sites with eight or fewer parking spaces. The applicant said typical hours are morning-focused, and that Biggby locations in the area close by 9 p.m.; a commissioner later noted a nearby Dairy Queen’s hours were 9:30 p.m.

After questions, the commission voted to approve the variance package (V-0023-2025) on a motion by Commissioner Tamarkin, seconded by Commissioner Shipaka; the roll call was all yes. The commission then approved the development plan (DP-0007-2025) on a motion by Commissioner Greenberg, seconded by Commissioner Tamarkin; that motion also carried unanimously.

Why it matters: the site is on a primary corridor and has been the subject of zoning changes and lot splits since 2022; staff said approving the plan aligns with the city’s mixed-use land-use goals and that without variances the small parcel would likely remain vacant.

The commission’s action approves the developer’s plan and variances; final permitting, building and site-work will follow standard city review and inspections. The transcript and staff report record the commission’s votes and the primary staff, applicant and owner remarks that shaped the decision.