Avon commission continues Nirvana Sports plan after shared-parking and design concerns

The Avon Advisory Plan Commission voted to continue consideration of DPR 2609, a development plan for Nirvana Sports, to the July 27, 2026 meeting so the petitioner can revise designs and coordinate with the homeowner association and adjacent property owners.

Staff described the proposal as a roughly 15,000-square-foot indoor recreation building on a remainder parcel at 313 Shiloh Crossing Drive and outlined four requested waivers: A -- to waive required foundation plantings along portions of the south and west facades (UDO 6.5A); B -- to waive facade articulation for facades longer than 100 feet (design standard); C -- to allow only one roof feature where two are required (UDO 7.10E); and D -- to waive an interior/exterior pedestrian connection to the nearest public sidewalk (UDO 7.19). Staff recommended denial of all four waivers, saying the requests appeared driven by a desire to fit a larger building footprint rather than by site-specific constraints.

A recording submitted by the petitioner shows a shared-parking easement recorded in 1996 across lot 14C and the movie theater parcel. Staff said the recorded easement allows shared use of parking and drive aisles and that, by counting spaces, there are substantially more spaces than needed to meet UDO parking requirements; staff's parking analysis found the site could meet the UDO's required 38 spaces for the proposed indoor recreation use through the shared arrangement.

Petitioners, represented by architect Joseph Leacey and owners Pratik Parekh and Parag Pandey, said they would work with staff and the HOA to resolve outstanding items and indicated they intended to withdraw waivers C and D or to redesign to eliminate those waivers. "We are willing to work with staff on C and D and will try to resolve A and B through design revisions," the architect said. Owner Parag Pandey told the commission Nirvana Sports aims to provide recreation closer to west-side families and framed the project as a community-serving small business.

Regal Cinemas' general manager, Michael Sandy, told the commission his corporate office and landlord were unaware of the 1996 recorded declaration and asked for time to consult legal counsel. "We just found out about this agreement," Sandy said, adding Regal has maintained and paid for the parking lot for 31 years.

Commissioners said they would not issue a conditional approval because the UDO requires clear findings on waiver requests; several commissioners urged a continuance to allow the petitioner to coordinate design changes and for Regal and other affected parties to resolve parking maintenance and access questions. The commission voted unanimously to continue DPR 2609 to July 27, 2026 and asked the petitioner to submit revised materials at least two weeks before the next hearing.

The continuance preserves the commission's ability to act on the waivers after staff and petitioner negotiations and gives Regal time to seek legal advice on the recorded shared-parking easement.