The Bowling Green Zoning Board of Appeals voted on Wednesday to approve a zoning variance for Applebee’s restaurant. Pictured, from left, are Chris Ostrowski, Chair Judy Ennis and Jay Sockman.
Applebee’s was on the menu for the Bowling Green Zoning Board of Appeals on Wednesday, and they didn’t send it back.
The ZBA approved a series of variances for the restaurant, paving the way for Applebee’s to build.
“Congratulations, Applebee’s got their variance, you’re coming to town,” said ZBA Chair Judy Ennis after the vote.
According to the informational packet prepared for the ZBA, Matt Lewandowski of Lewandowski Engineers, on behalf of Applebee’s, requested a variance to allow the construction of a new building, which would encroach 15.5 feet into the 20 foot required rear yard setback to the east at 1175 S. Main St., which is zoned B-2 General Commercial. Variances are also requested to allow parking to encroach (1 foot into the 5 foot) required setback to the north and to provide 52 off-street parking spaces, rather than the required 59 spaces.
The document requesting the variances states they are being requested to “accommodate Applebee’s corporate footprint on this site that has a limited building envelope.”
The proposed building would encompass just under 5,400 square feet, and be located in front of Home Depot.
Speaking Wednesday, Lewandowski told the ZBA that when he informed some in the community that he was working on an Applebee’s project in Bowling Green, they had laughed. He later learned that an Applebee’s restaurant had been proposed for Bowling Green in recent years, but that effort had never come to fruition. Lewandowski noted that he had spoken to Applebee’s corporate offices about the matter and they had no knowledge of it.
Ennis noted that in 2014, when the city was working on its Land Use Plan update, “we heard a lot about Applebee’s coming to Bowling Green and it was a very hot topic.” However, she later noted that the city “took a lot of slams” when Applebee’s didn’t come to the city previously.
Councilman Bill Herald addressed the ZBA, noting that “the position that I have with the city is such that I try to go out every year and knock on doors, sometimes to the tune of thousands in a year,” and that nearly every year someone will ask why Bowling Green doesn’t have an Applebee’s, even to the point of wondering if the city wasn’t being business friendly.
“There are a number of people that constantly talk about Applebee’s,” Herald said. “And on a personal note, I would greatly appreciate it if there were an Applebee’s, because they could then start talking about why there’s no Outback in Bowling Green.”
“I agree,” said Ennis, “there is a lot of interest out there.”
ZBA member Rod Noble asked Lewandowski whether, in his dealings with the city, he had encountered any obstacles.
“This community has been fantastic,” Lewandowski said, noting that he’s accustomed to facing opposition at zoning board meetings but, citing his positive reception on Wednesday, “I’m going to buy a lottery ticket on my way home.”
The ZBA approved the variances unanimously.
Lewandowski said that they hope to begin building in the fall, though an estimated completion date for the restaurant was not yet available.
Also at the meeting, the board:
• Unanimously approved a variance for A-Gas America, located at 1100 Haskins Road. Thomas Bateson, on behalf of RMM Holdings, requested the variance to exceed the 50% maximum total coverage in the M-1 Light Industrial Zoning District by 17.1% (67.1% of the lots would be covered by impervious surfaces) to allow additional paving at the site.
• Approved two variances requested by Eric Hager, on behalf of All Size Self Storage. The first, approved unanimously, was to allow the construction of a 6-foot-tall fence (already constructed) in the 25-foot front yard setback, which would be 2 feet taller than the four-foot maximum allowed at 2041 Victory Lane, which is zoned B-2 General Commercial. Also approved was a variance to allow new paving to encroach 5 feet into the 5-foot required setback across three parcels to the property line to the west. Members Matt Bostdorff, Noble, Ennis and Jay Sockman voted to approve, while members Chris Ostrowski and David Pfleger voted against. A third variance requested to allow the construction of a new building, which would encroach 14 feet into the 20-foot required rear yard setback to the east, was voted down by a vote of 5-1, with only Bostdorff voting in favor. It was noted that Hager has the option of appealing this decision to the Wood County Court of Common Pleas.
