Planning commission approves Walmart pickup addition; staff seeks stronger no‑truck‑parking enforcement

Canal Winchester’s Planning & Zoning Commission approved July 14 a site development plan to add a 3,458‑square‑foot pickup addition at the Walmart on Winchester Boulevard West and to refresh the store exterior and parking layout, while staff asked the applicant to develop a stronger no‑truck‑parking signage and enforcement plan. The applicant’s proposal relocates the store’s pickup program to a new east‑side addition between the garden center and the auto service center, creating 33 dedicated pickup stalls and converting eight existing signed pickup stalls back to regular parking. The project includes updated exterior paint, reworked circulation to one‑way traffic in the new aisle, new wayfinding signage (4‑foot maximum), repainting of pickup stalls in blue pavement paint and 10 Norway spruce trees along the eastern property boundary to meet tree planting requirements. Planning staff described operational concerns observed on the site: long, uninterrupted runs of parking stalls have allowed semi‑trailers and box trucks to repeatedly park across multiple stalls. Staff said a single staff‑level administrative lighting change had previously been permitted and that the current refresh will correct improperly installed pickup signage. Staff recommended conditional approval of SDP25‑006 with the requirement that the applicant submit a no‑truck‑parking signage package and a store‑managed enforcement policy for staff review prior to final acceptance. Chrissy Hostetler of Dubery Engineers, speaking for the applicant, confirmed 10 stalls will be reserved for the auto care center and described circulation so that delivery and truck traffic remain on the west side of the building; she and staff indicated the reconfigured drive aisle should not disrupt existing truck routes serving the loading docks at the west side of the store. The applicant also said pavement striping will be refreshed; staff indicated striping will be repainted and noted any full overlay or resurfacing is managed separately by Walmart’s facilities group. Commissioners discussed truck parking and how enforcement and signage should be improved; one commissioner noted overnight parking wording can be ambiguous for daytime truck staging. The commission’s motion to approve SDP25‑006 included staff’s recommended condition requiring the no‑truck‑parking signage and a store‑managed enforcement policy. The motion was made by Deborah McDonald and seconded by Steve Paulsgrove. Roll call votes were: Joe Donahue yes, Deborah McDonald yes, Eileen Gooden yes, Steve Paulsgrove yes, Joe Waldenthaler yes; SDP25‑006 was approved. Next steps: the applicant will submit the required no‑truck‑parking signage and enforcement plan to staff during civil engineering review; staff will verify compliance with signage and paving/striping commitments during construction plan review and before final acceptance of site work.