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Middletown board approves use variance to allow wholesale business at 4214 Grand Avenue
Summary
The Board of Zoning Appeals approved a use variance allowing a wholesale establishment at 4214 Grand Avenue in the B‑1 neighborhood business district, finding the application met the board's variance review criteria.
The Middletown Board of Zoning Appeals voted unanimously Thursday to approve a use variance allowing a wholesale establishment at 4214 Grand Avenue, a property zoned B‑1 and identified in the application as vacant for roughly 18 months.
The variance was requested because wholesale establishments are a prohibited use in the B‑1 district under the Middletown development code, table 12 o 4‑3. Staff told the board the applicant also could pursue a zoning map amendment to B‑2 or a conditional‑use review before the Planning Commission, but the applicant asked the board to consider a use variance instead.
Claire Fetters, city planning staff, summarized the request and the applicable review criteria, noting the B‑1 district is intended for small‑scale commercial uses close to residential areas. Fetters said the applicant reported the commercial building had been vacant for about 18 months and that the building is adjacent to a B‑2 district where a wholesale use could be allowed as a conditional use.
Architect Dennis Beatty, speaking for the applicant, told the board the building had been marketed to medical users without interest. "We've been trying for 18 months to rent it to a medical facility. Nobody has even answered an ad," Beatty said, adding the proposed operation would use the rear loading dock and primarily deliver to gas stations with smaller trucks.
Board members debated whether a map amendment would be a better route but agreed the variance review criteria could be applied even if alternatives exist. A motion "to approve, and finding that all of the use variance review criteria have been satisfied," was moved and seconded; the roll call vote recorded yes from David Cash, Stefan Wanamaker, Gary Gross, Jerry Heidenreich, Thomas Evans and (Mentel). The motion passed.
The board’s approval grants the use variance only; staff noted the applicant would still be subject to any building permits, site plan or other development requirements, and that changing the zoning map or pursuing conditional use approval remained available options for the property owner.
Details from the application, the staff report and public testimony will be part of the official file; the board's action was limited to the variance criteria and did not rezone the property.
