Planning commission recommends Bayfront Market House to city council despite accessibility concerns

The Erie Planning Commission on Jan. 20 recommended that city council consider the Bayfront Market House, a waterfront mixed-use market house proposed by the Erie County Convention Center Authority.

Megan Looney of PHW, presenting the project, described the design as a gateway to the bay that ‘‘expands upon the waterfront campus’’ and uses ‘‘stone, brick, glass, and steel’’ to evoke an adaptive-reuse market building. Looney said the proposal includes roughly 33,600 square feet of building area across two floors, 83 parking spaces including ADA-accessible stalls, a screened trash compactor, loading at the rear and side, and stormwater measures; she said RTUs would be screened by a parapet and the team added brick recesses and precast accents to address design-review comments.

Commissioners asked detailed questions about the project’s pedestrian connectivity, parking footprint and lighting. One commissioner said the location ‘‘doesn’t seem to solve any of our food desert problems’’ and raised that roughly ‘‘40% of our population does not have a vehicle,’’ arguing the site is ‘‘almost exclusively only accessible by car’’ and pointing to a 24-foot retaining wall that limits pedestrian access. Matt, a civil engineer on the line, confirmed the proposal provides parking that ‘‘meets or slightly exceeds’’ zoning requirements and noted seven spaces planned for seasonal snow storage. Looney said the team will use existing downtown-style street lamps at low-to-medium levels for code minimums and to avoid excessive bayfront illumination.

After discussion, a commissioner moved to recommend the conditional-use application to city council; the motion was seconded and the commission approved the recommendation, with one commissioner voting nay. The commission’s recommendation moves the project to the city council review process.

What happens next: the project will be presented to Erie City Council according to the city’s approval process; commissioners urged council to have a robust conversation about location, pedestrian access and parking strategy. The planning staff noted the design-review committee’s comments were addressed and that materials will accompany the council packet.