Planning commission approves Kroger Marketplace plan, grants most signage and access variances but denies canopy lighting increase

The Canal Winchester Planning and Zoning Commission on Aug. 11 approved the final development plan for a Kroger Marketplace and granted most related variances for signage and access, but denied the applicant's request to increase lighting under the fuel canopy.

Staff presented the Kroger applications as a package for the 14.2-acre Kroger outlot in the Green Gate Plaza development (ORD 25-015). The marketplace is proposed at 122,910 square feet with an attached fuel center. Planning staff concluded the size and setbacks of the Kroger building justify additional wayfinding signage and the requested truck-access widths, but recommended the fuel-canopy lighting variance be denied because staff found no special circumstances to permit illumination above the overlay district limit.

Why it matters: the decisions clear the way for Kroger to move forward with a large grocery and fuel center at the center of the Green Gate Plaza site but preserve the city's adopted photometric limits intended to limit glare and light pollution for nearby apartments.

Most significant approvals: the commission approved variance VA25-004 to allow more than one wall sign and a total wall-sign area larger than the 125-square-foot limit for a single business; VA25-005 to permit three digital LED fuel-price signs on the canopy with conditions limiting brightness and requiring automatic dimming; VA25-006 to allow two 7.4-foot monument signs (staff required revisions to base materials and dimensional lettering); and VA25-007 to increase four access-drive widths from 25 to 30 feet to accommodate truck routing. Each of those motions passed on roll-call votes of 6-0.

On the lighting request (VA25-008), staff recommended denial because the Vy Point/Overlay District and city lighting standards cap parking-lot lighting at a 20-foot-candle maximum and the petition offered no special circumstances to allow greater canopy illumination. The applicant urged that higher light levels improve safety for employees and customers; Andrew Gardner, civil engineer with V3 Companies representing Kroger, said “Dispensing highly flammable liquids in poorly or dimly lit facilities poses a higher risk for our associates and customers,” and noted Kroger fuel centers dim the canopy after closing. The commission voted 0-6 to deny the request, so canopy illumination must meet the 20-foot-candle maximum.

Staff also presented the final development plan (FDP25-002) for the Kroger Marketplace and fuel center. The plan shows 449 parking stalls, four access drives, internal circulation and cross-access provisions for future outparcels, and a regional wet detention basin sized to serve the full 17.9-acre Green Gate Plaza development. Staff's 10 conditions that the applicant agreed to include: a cross-access easement for future outparcels; installation of the traffic signal at the Dilley Road/Green Gate Boulevard intersection prior to any occupancy; addition of a 5-foot concrete sidewalk along the Kroger frontage of Green Gate Boulevard; clarification and resolution of sanitary-sewer alignment and landscape-mounding conflicts before city council review; planting the 13 replacement trees at a minimum 3-inch DBH; planting evergreen screening at a minimum 5-foot height; matching the fuel-center brick to the palette approved by ORD 25-015; physically delineating designated outdoor sales areas; converting the Starbucks face sign to a non-illuminated panel or a dimensional push-through-acrylic sign; and removing the cart-corral signage area from the corral detail. The commission approved the final plan 6-0 and noted the action is a recommendation to city council.

Key detail about signage: staff recommended that monument signs use a 4x16-inch architectural CMU to match the building base and that letters be push-through acrylic so signs are not cabinet boxes. Commissioners discussed relocating and lowering the plaza-identification sign so it will not visually dominate smaller future outparcels; the applicant agreed to adjust the plaza sign location and work with staff on a lower profile integrated into landscaping as a condition of approval. For the fuel-center canopy, the three digital price signs were approved with the conditions that maximum luminance “shall not exceed 0.3 foot-candles greater than ambient light level” and that automatic dimming capability be employed.

Lighting denial and next steps: the denied canopy-lighting variance requires Kroger to alter the canopy photometric plan to meet the 20-foot-candle maximum under the canopy. Staff had noted the nearest apartment buildings lie roughly 175–200 feet east of the canopy; the commission weighed those proximity and visibility concerns in denying the higher light level. The applicant said it will comply with the ruling.

Other technical conditions and design notes covered during the hearing include final sanitary alignment, tree-planting sizes and counts (staff cited a total planting schedule showing 383 trees but asked that the 13 required replacement trees be listed at 3-inch DBH), sidewalk connectivity, and that the detention pond be designed and landscaped as a wet basin sized for the entire plaza. The applicant said it will submit revised plans reflecting the commission's conditions for the city council meeting.

Votes at a glance: VA25-004 (wall signage) approved 6-0; VA25-005 (LED fuel price signs) approved 6-0 with luminance and dimming conditions; VA25-006 (monument signs) approved 6-0 with masonry and lettering conditions; VA25-007 (access-drive widths) approved 6-0; VA25-008 (increase canopy lighting) denied 0-6; FDP25-002 (Kroger final development plan) approved 6-0 and forwarded to city council.

Next steps: staff will ask Kroger to submit revised civil and landscape plans reflecting the commission's conditions before the project is taken to city council for final action. The commission also recommended that the applicant finalize signage vendor details and revised photometric plans for inclusion in the council packet.