Planners recommend special‑use permit for outdoor seating at 3909–3911 Broadway with bollard spacing stipulation

The Grove City Planning Commission voted unanimously to recommend that City Council approve a special‑use permit allowing a roughly 700‑square‑foot outdoor seating area at 3909–3911 Broadway, subject to a stipulation on bollard spacing.

Development Department staff described the proposal: a 700‑square‑foot patio in front of the existing building with 10 four‑person tables, black‑metal tables and black or gray umbrellas, a 4‑foot black aluminum fence around the patio perimeter, and decorative impact‑resistant bollards on the north and south sides adjacent to a parking lot and a drive aisle. The plans note the bollards will be installed at 48 inches on center; staff said the requirement is a maximum spacing of 48 inches on center to ensure adequate protection and recommended approval with that stipulation. Staff also noted that any other building or site modifications would need certificates of appropriateness from the Building Division.

Applicant Doug Grossman, who gave his Grove City address at the podium, confirmed a typographical error in the plans: the word "minimum" should have read "maximum" regarding bollard spacing. Grossman said most building work is interior and that final exterior renderings would be submitted soon. Commissioners asked whether additional bollards were required along the Broadway frontage; staff said sidewalks and local precedents in the town center reduce the need for bollards on Broadway frontage and that the proposed bollards were required where the patio sits adjacent to head‑in parking and drive aisles.

The application states the patio would operate from 7 a.m. to 2:30 p.m. and would include outdoor speakers used during patio hours. A motion to recommend approval with one stipulation carried on a roll‑call vote: Chair Oster, Mr. Farnsworth, Mr. Titus, Mr. Roach and Ms. Wendlinger all voted "yes." The transcript does not identify the mover and seconder by name.