Business & Tech

Changes May Be Coming to Twinsburg Storefront Sales

City Council will discuss a proposal from the planning commission that would make changes to legislation regarding storefront sales and storage

New changes may be coming to a storefront near you.

Twinsburg City Council will discuss a new ordinance tonight that will change parts of the zoning code, specifically related to outdoor sales.

Director of Planning and Community Development Larry Finch addressed the planning commission Monday, Feb. 28 with changes that would limit the outside storage areas a business may have and may require additional parking, depending on the nature of the outside sales or storage. You can read the full version of the changes in the PDF at the right.

They voted unanimously in favor of sending the changes to council.

Marc Cohen, chair of the planning commission, said this has been a topic of discussion for a while.

“There had been questions and concerns about certain things that were causing some issues in the city from a planning commission standpoint,” Cohen said. “For example, the Redbox.”

The Redbox machines, typically found outside of stores, have brought up some issues with parking in local lots.

“The reason why it was a concern is because they are typically located close to where handicapped parking is,” Cohen said. “People seem to find it advantageous to just zip in there, park in the handicap space, and help themselves to the service it provides, and take off.”

“Redboxes are treated like a vending machine and we don’t really regulate vending machines,” Finch said.

Finch also said the new additions to the code would not require businesses to change their practices.

“It will not impact an existing business, but if someone coming in wants to do outside sales, they would be required to comply,” Finch said. “Even with existing businesses, we limited the outside sales area.”

One of the specifications states that the area shall be “confined” to no greater than 10 percent of the gross area of the building.

“To my knowledge there’s not a business where the outside display material exceeds that 10 percent,” Finch said.

Storing products on the outside of the building, such as rock salt, will still be allowed unless it causes problems with access or building maintenance.


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