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Council approves special-use permit and conditions for outdoor storage at 3400 Southwest Boulevard
Summary
Grove City Council approved Ordinance C2425, granting a special-use permit for outdoor storage at 3400 Southwest Boulevard for Rain for Rent, with four stipulations limiting when and how materials can be stored.
Grove City Council on Monday approved Ordinance C2425, granting a special-use permit for outdoor storage at 3400 Southwest Boulevard, the industrial property owned by the Mahon company. The permit was approved with four additional stipulations negotiated with city staff.
The applicant’s representative, attorney Rebecca Mott, and property owner John Mahan described the proposal as a new tenant (Rain for Rent) storing pumps, tanks, filtration units, pipes and related fluid-handling equipment on roughly a 10-acre industrial parcel. Planning staff and the Board of Zoning Appeals previously approved variances for gravel surfacing, a chain-link fence and landscaping conditions; staff recommended four additional stipulations to manage interim impacts while the site develops.
Council adopted the following stipulations as part of the permit: (1) outdoor storage may not commence until a building permit for the site’s primary building is issued; (2) the special-use permit will expire on Dec. 7, 2027, if the primary building is not substantially complete as determined by the chief building and zoning official; (3) materials and equipment stored on site must be limited to those used in Rain for Rent’s business operations or otherwise approved by the chief building and zoning official; and (4) stored materials may not be stacked higher than 15 feet.
City planning staff said the 15-foot limit reflects the maximum height of the largest containers Rain for Rent will store. Staff and the applicant said the building itself — planned at roughly 25 to 30 feet high in the adjacent Urban Crest parcel — will screen storage areas from Southwest Boulevard and Lewis Center Way. Staff also said the permit includes a condition that storage cannot commence until the primary building’s permit is issued. Planning commission recommended approval 3–0 earlier this year.
Council members pressed the applicant on gravel remaining on the site after a 2024 variance; applicants said the gravel storage area has been used since 1988 and that gravel removal will be determined during the development-plan and stormwater review. Applicant John Mahan said the ownership group is performing stormwater engineering for the entire property and anticipates a single detention pond serving the ownership’s parcels.
During discussion, council asked about environmental runoff and screening. Staff said stormwater and OEPA/EPA requirements will be analyzed during the development-plan process and that stipulations were designed to allow the site to move forward while protecting city interests. The administration said final development plans and paving requirements will be reviewed by the building and engineering divisions before full use.
The ordinance amendment adding the four stipulations was moved by Councilman Berry; the final ordinance was approved on a recorded vote.
