Reynoldsburg planning board reviews sweeping zoning code amendments, sets Nov. 20 recommendation vote

The Reynoldsburg Planning and Zoning Board met Nov. 6, 2025, to review a comprehensive set of proposed amendments to Chapter 11 of the city's zoning code, including setbacks, new land-use definitions, parking standards, signage rules and other technical updates. The board heard a staff presentation, asked questions about signage and sign-count limits for large-format retail, and directed staff to refine language for a vote at the Nov. 20 meeting.

Staff summarized the package and the review process, saying the code changes first had a first reading at Reynoldsburg City Council on Oct. 13 and now return to the planning board for consideration before council action. "Everybody's favorite topic," the chair said at the start of the presentation. Staff walked members through the summary sheet, the redline, and the clean code in the meeting packet and said the November meetings are intended to give the board an opportunity to provide detailed feedback.

Major proposals reviewed

- Food-service commercial kitchens: Staff proposed adding "food service commercial kitchen" as a permitted land use in several commercial districts (ORDC, EMD, BMD and CC) to accommodate delivery-only or shared kitchen operations commonly described as "ghost kitchens." Staff described that use as distinct from a restaurant because customers would not typically dine on-site.

- Vape shops and smoke shops: The draft would add ‘‘retail vape shop / smoke shop’’ as a conditional use in the Community Commercial (CC) district with supplemental conditions. Staff proposed a 500-foot buffer from other vape shops, parks, residential districts and schools and that these businesses not be co-located with other uses in the same building; board members debated whether the city should actively discourage the use or permit it under extra scrutiny.

- Setbacks and lot dimensions: The package includes several setback and lot-size changes: an exemption to the maximum front setback in BMD and EMD where parcels are in the municipal streetscape easement (up to 45 feet in some cases), a reduction of certain rear setbacks in CC from 20 to 10 feet to enable infill development, and a change to attached single-family (townhome) lot minimums (width from 23 to 21 feet and lot length from 100 to 75 feet), which staff said aligns the code with common product and prior variances.

- Large-format retail and signage: Staff proposed a new "retail extra large format" category for buildings over 50,000 square feet and suggested different parking and signage treatments for those uses (including an allowance for a wall sign at each public entrance plus one additional primary-business sign). Board members expressed concern about allowing too many tenant signs on a single large building and asked staff to provide a survey of existing extra-large-format signage in the city to calibrate any numeric limits.

- Parking and EV infrastructure: The draft applies a tiered parking standard for warehousing/processing/laboratory uses (an example: a 200,000-square-foot warehouse would require 48 spaces under the proposed tiered formula) and would require one installed, operational EV charging station for new developments with 20 or more parking spaces. Staff emphasized the charger must be installed and operational, not merely stubbed-out wiring.

- Nonconforming provisions and other technical edits: The nonconforming section was rewritten and staff proposed changing the legal nonconforming time period from three months to six months to comply with the Ohio Revised Code. Staff also proposed clarifications for replacing legal nonconforming wall signs ("like-for-like" replacements without increased width, height or area), additional lighting allowances for semi-trailer loading areas, updated commercial design materials and rules about temporary storage containers (allowed on active construction/renovation sites but not as permanent accessory structures).

Board discussion and direction

Board members asked for more data on existing signage counts and examples before adopting numeric limits for tenant signs on large-format buildings and raised design and enforcement concerns for allowing multiple tenant signs. Members also debated whether allowing vape shops as a conditional use effectively encourages them; staff said the conditional-use path would allow extra scrutiny, including separation and location restrictions.

Staff agreed to correct scrivener errors identified at the meeting, tighten ambiguous language where requested (for example, distinctions among "food service commissary," "commercial kitchen," and on-site sales), and return with any requested analyses in time for the Nov. 20 meeting. Staff told members that if the board votes to recommend the package on Nov. 20, the recommendation would go to city council for first consideration in December and likely a final council vote later that month.

What happens next

The board set Nov. 20 as the next review and potential recommendation meeting. No formal motions or votes were taken on Nov. 6; staff said they will prepare edits and supplemental information requested by members and resume consideration at the Nov. 20 meeting.

Sources and attribution

Quotes and positions in this article are attributed to participants in the Nov. 6, 2025 Reynoldsburg Planning and Zoning Board meeting and to staff presenters. Speaker attributions use the transcript designations provided by the meeting record (Chair; Staff member; Committee member).