The Euclid Architectural Review Board on Thursday approved design review for a new metal-recycling warehouse and office proposed at 20100 St. Clair Avenue, but members and staff flagged the project's proposed container-panel fence and a landscaping plan that does not meet city minimum counts.

The proposal from Northern Ohio Scrap Service Corporation would build a roughly 25,450-square-foot, two-story warehouse and office on a 15.38-acre parcel in the U-6 industrial and manufacturing district. The board approved the structure's design and the decorative and chain-link fence types shown in the application; staff recommended further review of the solid container-panel fence (type C) and some landscaping choices.

Joel Rosenberg, manager of 20100 Saint Clair Avenue and the applicant, said, "So the use is we're developing a new metal recycling facility," and described a mixed indoor and outdoor operation moving from Cleveland to Euclid. Matt McHugh of McHugh Design Group, the landscape architect on the project, presented building materials that include split-face CMU and metal insulated panels in charcoal and lighter metallic grays, with black aluminum windows and a blue-tinted glass.

Staff told the board that the applicant's earlier variances had expired while the project was dormant and that the application must be reviewed anew. Staff said the plans include three fence types: type A is an 8-foot decorative black aluminum fence along St. Clair Avenue; types B1 and B2 are chain-link and chain-link with slats along portions of the west property line; and type C is a 9-foot-6-inch tall painted container-panel fence that would run along most of the property line. To screen on-site scrap piles, the applicant proposes building an approximately 600-foot-long, 12-foot-tall earth mound and siting the container-panel fence up the center of that mound, which staff said would increase the visible height of the fence by another 12 feet—creating a nearly 19-foot-high barrier that would still be visible from the street. Staff noted that approval of that arrangement would require a variance from the Planning and Zoning Commission.

Staff also flagged landscaping shortfalls under the city's landscape guidelines. The zoning code’s baseline for this building type, staff said, calls for at least 12 trees and about 80 shrubs; the applicant's plan proposed roughly nine trees, about a dozen junipers and other limited shrubs. Staff recommended changing two listed shrubs—identified in the submittal as crimson pygmy barberry and Lemon Princess barberry—to noninvasive or native alternatives. The application includes two historic industrial artifacts (a section of a Hewlett unloader bucket and a Cleveland trencher) proposed for placement within the landscape plan.

During discussion board members asked for clarification about fence siting relative to a newly constructed detention basin and an existing ready-rock retaining wall at the site, the placement of a pad-mounted transformer and how site utility lines would be run underground from a single pole near St. Clair, and how material piles would be masked from neighboring properties and the roadway. The applicant said pile heights will vary with operations and noted the business has historically stacked material in some piles up to 20–45 feet depending on material and processing needs.

Actions taken: a board member moved to approve the design of the new warehouse and office building for Permanent Parcel 6460403; the board approved that motion. The board also voted to approve the landscape plan "as presented," with the motion noting the board found the design intent and the inclusion of historical artifacts compensating for the reduced plant counts. Staff's recommendation to continue consideration of fence type C was recorded in the meeting and staff reminded the applicant that the container-panel fence and its effective height would require a variance before it could be built as proposed.

Next steps for the project include submission of zoning-variance requests to the Planning and Zoning Commission for any required relief (including fence height) and continued coordination between the applicant and neighboring property owners about view mitigation. Representatives said Cleveland Public Power will place one pole on the north side of St. Clair and run service underground to a pad-mounted transformer near the building.

The board’s approvals allow design review to move forward; any changes that affect zoning or require variances must be resolved in subsequent Planning and Zoning proceedings.