Committee recommends city council approve special‑use permit for Forte Music School arts center

A Perrysburg committee voted to recommend that City Council grant a special‑approval use allowing Forte Music School to operate a multi‑use arts center in an institutional zone.

The recommendation follows a January Planning Commission vote that forwarded the application to the committee with a 6‑0 recommendation for approval. The applicant, identified in the meeting only as Virgil, is the owner of Forte Music School and said the large facility would host music lessons, musical theater, concerts and other arts and fitness activities to better utilize an existing auditorium and gym space.

City planning staff said the property sits in a institutional (I) zone where certain uses require council approval. The Planning Commission debated whether to classify the operation as an institutional use or a commercial school and concluded it could be permitted as an institutional use with a special approval.

Committee members asked about interior layout and uses; the applicant described a central gymnasium, classroom wings on each side, and an amphitheater‑style stage that could be used by local groups such as the Petersburg Symphony. The owner said pews had been removed and the floor currently has a carpeted gym surface.

After discussion, a committee member moved and another seconded recommending City Council approve the special approval use. The motion carried; a roll call or numeric tally on the committee vote was not specified in the committee transcript.

If Council grants the special approval use, the owner will be allowed to operate the mixed‑use arts and music facility in the institutional zone subject to any standard conditions attached by council or staff.

Planning Commission documentation and the committee record show the item moved forward; any final conditions or council vote will be recorded in City Council minutes when the ordinance or resolution appears on the council agenda.