North Ridgeville planning commission tables ordinance that would limit new gas stations

The North Ridgeville Planning Commission voted unanimously Tuesday to table consideration of an ordinance that would add spacing rules for new automobile service stations and gasoline stations in the city.

The ordinance, introduced to the commission as "Ordinance 2025-110," would amend sections of the North Ridgeville Zoning Code to update use regulations for automobile service stations and gasoline stations. The sponsor, Councilman Abens, said the proposal was aimed at limiting future gas-station locations to avoid long-term blight and make redevelopment easier when stations close.

"The whole reason for this is the number of gas stations already within North Ridgeville," Councilman Abens said, describing a map he provided that showed many current and former stations concentrated along Center Ridge Road. He told the commission the ordinance would not affect existing stations and would only apply to future development.

Planning Director Lever said the version before the commission had added B-2 zoning to the amendment and recommended technical edits to avoid conflicting standards within Chapter 12.66. "So we'd need to amend that b1 to strike out automobile service station and or and then I would suggest probably also see where it says any minor automobile repair work," Lever said, noting the map was useful for analyzing where new stations could still be built under the proposed spacing.

Commissioners and staff discussed several substantive topics: whether a 1-mile separation between stations would create a de facto prohibition on new stations in much of the city; whether the B-4 "Commercial Parkway" district (intended to serve the motoring public near highway interchanges) should be exempted or treated differently; how conditional-use review could be used to impose standards without banning the use; and whether electric-vehicle charging hubs should be treated the same as gasoline stations (staff said the city currently treats charging equipment as accessory to parking).

Commission members also reviewed a simple service-area analysis the sponsor provided. One commissioner noted the city shows nine existing stations, with seven concentrated in the northeastern quadrant along Center Ridge, leaving other quadrants with few or no stations. Commissioners suggested alternatives including reducing the spacing to a half-mile, limiting the spacing only in certain zoning districts, or relying on conditional-use standards rather than a blanket distance requirement.

Several speakers raised concerns about environmental cleanup of former stations and the difficulty and cost of remediation; Director Lever and staff noted brownfield funding and state programs exist but that remediation can be expensive and depends on identifying a responsible party.

After discussion, the commission voted to table the ordinance to the next meeting and asked the sponsor and staff to draft the technical amendments discussed (removing conflicting language in the use table, clarifying accessory-use definitions, and considering a shorter spacing distance). The motion to table was seconded and "motion carries unanimously." The clerk recorded a unanimous vote of the members present.

The ordinance will return to the Planning Commission with the suggested edits and additional materials from the law department for further review.