Commission adds pedestrian barrier and approves outdoor seating and drive‑through for Rita's Italian Ice at 7652 Manor Avenue
Summary
Mentor’s planning commission approved a conditional use permit for outdoor dining and a separate permit to allow a drive‑through at Rita’s Italian Ice & Custard, adding a decorative 4‑foot barrier with a bollard by an exterior pedestrian door to address safety concerns. Resurfacing and restriping of the parking lot were also discussed.
The Mentor Planning Commission on Nov. 6 approved conditional use permits to allow outdoor dining and a drive‑through for Rita’s Italian Ice & Custard at 7652 Manor Avenue, and added a safety condition requiring a decorative 4‑foot barrier with a bollard at an exterior door adjacent to the drive lane.
Josh Osterhout of Civil Design Group, representing the franchisee, said the property is the former Subway/Taco Bell site and that the proposal would leave the building largely as‑is with modest exterior and interior upgrades to match the brand. He described an outdoor seating area on the east side that would remove four parking spaces and provide 4–8 picnic tables with rubberized mulch, curbing and protective bollards.
On the drive‑through, Osterhout said the existing drive‑through would be reused; the project team plans to resurface the parking lot and restripe the lane. Commissioners raised safety concerns about the drive‑through window being on the east side of the building and an access door adjacent to that window. Commissioner Cook recommended a short extension of a barrier from the pedestrian door and a bollard to prevent pedestrians stepping directly into the drive lane; commissioners agreed to add that as an additional condition.
Administration noted three conditions for the outdoor‑dining CUP and three conditions for the drive‑through in the staff report; the commission approved the outdoor‑dining permit with three conditions and approved the drive‑through with four conditions (the fourth condition requiring the decorative 4‑foot barrier with a bollard).
Roll call votes for both actions were recorded as follows: Mister Perkovich — yes; Mister Rossetti — yes; Mister Tiedemann — yes; Mister Varga — yes; Mister Crocker — yes; Mister Hadden — yes; Mister Cook — yes.
Planning staff will incorporate the newly added barrier requirement into the permit conditions and follow standard compliance and inspection procedures.
