Planning committee recommends rezoning 300 West Front to downtown commercial to allow proposed distillery

The Findlay City Planning & Zoning Committee voted to recommend that City Council rezone 300 West Front Street from R‑3 (small‑lot residential) to C‑3 (Downtown Business District) to allow a prospective buyer to convert a long‑vacant building into a boutique distillery with on‑site sales and distribution.

City planning staff told the committee the parcel, at the intersection with Southwest Street, is designated in the City of Findlay land use plan for single‑family small‑lot use and is not located in a 100‑year floodplain. The building has housed a funeral home and later offices and small apartments but has been largely vacant for several years, staff said. Planning commission staff reported they initially recommended denial but reversed course after reviewing the applicant’s renovation plans and renderings and voted to approve the rezoning request.

Committee members supported returning the property to productive use but repeatedly raised neighborhood concerns. "You're putting a bar right next to residential property," the committee chair said during debate, noting the potential for increased on‑street parking and noise. Planning staff reminded the group that a boutique distillery would likely require a conditional‑use review under the C‑3 rules once rezoned.

Applicants told the committee production would take place in the rear of the building and that the site would handle on‑site sales and limited distribution under the state control system. Staff noted there is no minimum parking requirement in the C‑3 district and that the building already contains a small rear parking area.

Members discussed whether the rezoning could be made contingent on the sale of the property; staff said inserting a sale‑contingent clause would require legal research and was not ready at the committee meeting. The committee also discussed the familiar zoning risk that a later owner might pursue different, less‑desirable uses.

A committee member moved to approve the rezoning recommendation and the motion carried; the committee chair said the item will be placed on City Council’s agenda for its first reading the coming Tuesday, with subsequent readings continuing in December and a potential effective date 30 days after final adoption.

The committee emphasized that any commercial use involving alcohol would return to the City planning commission for conditional‑use review and that Downtown Design Review will oversee façade and aesthetic changes.

Next step: the City Council will consider the rezoning during its readings; no final rezoning occurs until Council action.