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Planning board approves variances, conditional use for Take 5 drive-through at 7041 East Main
Summary
The Reynoldsburg Planning & Zoning Board on Aug. 21 approved two variances and a conditional-use permit for a new Take 5 oil‑change with a double drive‑through at 7041 East Main Street after staff and the applicant said the narrow parcel and safety constraints make the changes necessary.
The Reynoldsburg Planning & Zoning Board approved two variances and a conditional-use permit on Aug. 21 to allow a Take 5 vehicular-care and convenience store at 7041 East Main Street.
Planning staff told the board the 0.76‑acre parcel has only about 80 feet of frontage, was formerly a car wash that lost its legal nonconforming status, and cannot accommodate the code’s standard layout without a larger front setback and an altered drive‑through arrangement. Staff recommended approval of a variance to increase the maximum front building setback from 20 feet to 52.76 feet and to waive the requirement for an abort/escape lane for both drive‑through lanes.
Tony Vicanti, legal counsel for Driven Brands (doing business as Take 5), said the property is long and narrow and that multiple alternative layouts were not feasible. He said the applicant revised its plan to add straight pavement to allow vehicle maneuvering, will install signage and staff the site with four to six employees to assist customers, and expects peak traffic counts of only “about five cars” per typical peak hour for this smaller three-bay operation. "We tried to accommodate the abort-lane concern," Vicanti said, calling the proposal the minimum necessary to meet the city’s intent while allowing redevelopment of a vacant site.
Engineer Brandy Zachary, Arnold Consulting Engineering, said the revised plan reduces landscaping to add paved maneuvering space at one side and includes signage and staff-assisted turns where needed. She told the board that the red-circled stacking scenarios on the plan represent a worst-case hypothetical that is unlikely to occur in practice.
After brief questions about landscaping trade-offs and ingress/egress safety, Chair Mr. First moved to approve the variances; Ms. Cleckley seconded. Staff then presented and the board approved the conditional-use application for vehicular-care services minor with the approved double drive‑through, noting the conditional use was contingent on the variances being granted.
The approved applications allow the applicant to replace the vacant car‑wash building with a new convenience and oil‑change operation. The board did not record any public opposition during the hearing. The applicant will proceed with final plan revisions required for permitting.
