Board approves tobacco and liquidation store at 91 East Broad Street

The Pataskala City Board of Zoning Appeals on April 8 approved a conditional use to permit a tobacco store and a liquidation shop at 91 East Broad Street, finding the use consistent with the comprehensive plan and attaching standard permit deadlines.

Staff presented the site as a 2.7-acre property occupied by a roughly 12,000-square-foot commercial building and a 2,200-square-foot outbuilding. The proposed unit is just over 4,000 square feet; under Section 12.91.16 of the Pataskala Code the minimum parking requirement is one space per 200 square feet, which yields a requirement of 21 spaces for that unit. Staff said the property currently provides 55 on-site spaces shared across existing uses and the proposed tenant, which satisfies the minimum.

Seth (planning staff) told the board that the North American Industry Classification System code for tobacco stores is 469991 and that no exterior building changes were proposed other than possible signage. A public speaker, Aseel Elshagor of 1590 Fourteenth Street, said the owner would attend and that the owner "won't really speak English that much," and that the business would be a small shop selling accessories. "The business owner will be here, hoping to be the owner, on his brother-in-law," Elshagor said.

The board read and adopted the standard findings of fact for conditional use under the code (items 1 through 9) and then approved application CU-25-051 with conditions that the applicant obtain required permits from the City of Pataskala, the county building-code department and the West Joint Fire District, and that the conditional use be carried out within six months of approval in accordance with Section 12.15.09 of the Pataskala Code.

The motion to approve passed on roll call. The roll recorded the vote as yes from members recorded in the transcript as: Mr. Jensen; Mr. Cooper; Ms. Vander Rees; Ms. Kolbe; Mr. Howe.