The Grove City Planning Commission voted unanimously to recommend City Council approve a 14,892-square-foot Rain for Rent office, shop and warehouse building at 3400 Southwest Boulevard, subject to a staff-recommended stipulation to add a 3-foot brick water table on the west elevation facing Lewis Center Way.

Staff explained the site lies within a community reinvestment area with heightened architectural requirements and said metal paneling is not a material frequently used nearby; to transition from surrounding brick buildings and meet the area’s character, staff recommended reducing the proportion of metal paneling by adding a 3-foot brick water table along the western elevation. The development plan shows office, shop and warehouse space and an access point aligned with an adjacent property; the site plan and landscape plan were submitted in compliance with code for perimeter and parking lot plantings.

Applicant representative Jim Yeager asked the commission to remove the stipulation, telling the commission the proposed landscaping would screen the water table. He said the landscape plan includes 3-foot shrubs that would run the building perimeter and called the suggested water table unnecessary. "We request that the 1 stipulation for the water table be removed from the approval," Yeager said. Commissioners asked for renderings and specifics about planting species and whether shrubs would be evergreen; staff noted the submitted plan lists gold flame spirea and other species and that typical evergreen shrubs would be 2–3 feet at installation and could screen the water table more effectively than deciduous species.

After discussion and no public comment, a commissioner moved to recommend approval with the stipulation; the motion passed unanimously. The recommendation will be forwarded to City Council; staff and the applicant will coordinate on final material choices, the landscape palette, and any required architectural adjustments.

Next steps: staff will track resolution of the stipulation as the project proceeds to Council review and building-permit submittals.