STAFF REPORT

To: Municipal Planning

Commission
Meeting Date:
December 3, 2015
Applicant:

Prepared By: Ronald M. Traub, Director

Economic & Community Development

James R. Kleinfeldt, Group President/Development for the Boldt Company for Mentor
Exempted Village School District

Status of Applicant: Developer for School District

Requested Action: Formal Rezoning
Purpose:

To rezone 11.059 acres of Mentor School District property from R-4, Single Family
residential to B-2, General Business for an 85,000 sq. ft. two-story building for a
medical office, wellness and aquatic center.

Existing Zoning:

R-4, Single Family Residential (22,000 sq. ft.)

Parcel ID Number:

16-C-086-0-00-015-, 016-0 and 16-C-084-0-00-006-0

Location:

Northwest corner of Market Street and Munson Road intersection

Size:

11.059 acres

Existing Land Use: Vacant land.

Surrounding Land
Use and Zoning: North: Jerome T. Osborne Stadium
East: vacant land; zoned C-1, Conservation
South: Laketran Park and Ride Lot; zoned C-1, Conservation
West: Meldon Mansionaire Subdivision and practice fields for football and soccer; zoned
R-4, Single Family Residential
Zoning History:
The Planning Commission reviewed the informal rezoning request at the November 5,
2015 meeting. The undeveloped property has been utilized for overflow parking for
events at the stadium and City fireworks display.
Applicable
Regulations:

Public Utilities:

Charter 3.09 Ordinance and Resolutions

Chapter 1137 Amendments
Chapter 1137.04 Information Required
Chapter 1153.01 Districts Established
Chapter 1155.01 Schedule of District Regulations
Utility service is available in the street right-of-ways.

Engineering Comments:
TRAFFIC
Left turn lane on Market Street shall be constructed as indicated in the October 19, 2015 study prepared
by Environmental Design Group. 100 (min.) storage length required. 180 (min.) approach taper
required. A meeting with the City Engineers office is recommended to review proposed design.
CIVIL/SITE
Improvements to the City roadway system shall be constructed as part of the development and its permit,
the developer shall provide inspection fees, a testing deposit and a surety representing 100% of the cost
of improvements.

Fire Department Comments:

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No comment

Police Department Comments:

No concerns
Analysis:

The applicant proposes to rezone 11.059 acres of undeveloped school property from R-4, Single
Family Residential to B-2, General Business for an 86,000 sq. ft., two (2)-story building for a
medical office, urgent care, wellness and fitness and aquatic center. The parcels to be rezoned
include 16-C-086-0-00-015-0, 16-C-086-0-00-016-0 and a portion of 16-C-084-0-00-006-0. The
proposed development is collaboration between the school district and the developer, and will
include a competition-level pool for its student athletes, a center for evolving wellness initiatives
for the staff and faculty, a relocation of the Cardinal Clinic, and an opportunity to have career
technical students and others with career exploration opportunities. The school district may lease
or sell the property to the developer who in turn will lease the building to Lake Health Systems.
The Administration is recommending that the property be zoned to B-1, Community Service in
lieu of the B-2, General Business classification. The purpose of the B-1, Community Service
zoning district is to locate certain commercial services and other activities supportive of and
compatible with residential areas adjacent to such residential areas. Permitted uses in the B-1,
Community Service district include offices, financial institutions, hospitals, libraries, clinics,
churches and public facilities. While commercial recreation is not specifically listed in the B-1,
Community Service district, the proposed use of aquatic center and pool by the school district is
similar to a public facility. A conditional use permit could be granted for the commercial
recreation component as a similar use.
Members of the Administration are concerned that rezoning the property to B-2, General Business
would permit more intensive land uses. While the rezoning request is specific to medical office,
wellness and aquatic center outlined in the formal rezoning request, there use concern arises
should Lake Health Systems vacate the building.
In November of 2015, the Commission reviewed the conceptual plan for the proposed 86,000 sq.
ft. two-story medical office/wellness and aquatic center as part of the informal zoning request.
The building was setback 56-ft. from Market Street and 94-ft. from Munson Road, the site plan
submitted as part of the formal zoning shifts the proposed building further away from the street
intersections and closer to the residential properties. The proposed building is setback 235.4 ft.
from Market Street and 111 ft. from Munson Road. The proposed building will be located 118-ft
from the closest rear property line of Packard Court. The Administration is recommending that
the footprint of the building be shifted away from the residentially zoned properties on Packard
Court so that it is setback in close proximity to the street intersection of Market Street and
Munson Road.
Per Chapter 1162.11 Buffering Requirements, a two-story building greater than 40,000 sq. ft.
requires a Buffer Type H when adjacent to single-family residential properties. Buffer Type H
requires a minimum setback of 50 ft. for building and parking areas as well as a six (6)-ft. berm
with a 3-1 slope, an eight (8)-ft. solid fence and a mixture of landscape plantings. As part of the
informal rezoning review it was suggested that the applicant maintain the existing buffer
consisting of a mound and tree stand located at the east side of Packard Court. The applicant has
revised the plan to include a 91.5-ft landscape buffer along the residential properties on Packard
Court adjacent to the proposed parking lot. The buffer includes an eight (8) foot board on board
fence approximately ten (10) feet off the curb of the driveway. The proposed landscape and
buffering plan indicates that the existing mound and trees along the west property line will be
maintained and a new mound will be constructed along the south property line behind the existing
trees. The plan indicates that additional material will be installed in the buffer area meeting the
requirements of the buffer ordinance.

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The main entrance to the building is located on the south building elevation. The first floor of the
facility will include the fitness center with a gymnasium, men and women locker rooms, kids
fitness area, climbing wall, a babysitting area, leisure pool, competition pool and a warm water
therapy pool. The remainder of the first floor includes a rehabilitation area, sports medical
department, radiology and blood draw area and a separate urgent care area. The urgent care area
is located on the south side of the building with an ambulance entry. The second floor of the
building will house a free weights area, track, and two (2) rooms for group exercise in the fitness
area. The remainder of the second floor includes a retail spa, wellness institute, primary care
offices, conference/test kitchen and an integrative medicine area.
The preliminary building elevations for the 35-ft high building indicate it will be constructed from
split face block on the lower four (4) feet of the building with brick veneer above it. The
elevations include large storefront windows with metal panels on all building elevations. The
elevations indicate individually screened roof top mechanical units extending 10-ft. above the roof
line of the building. It may be appropriate to question the applicant about the possibility of
installing ground mounted units with less visibility.
Access to the site is provided by a 36-ft. wide apron onto Market Street that will align with the
entrance to the Laketran Park-N-Ride lot and 30-ft. wide access drive onto Munson Road. The
Munson Road drive includes right-in, right-out turn restrictions. The plan indicates left-turn
stacking lanes will be provided on Market Street. A Trip Generation and Traffic Impact Study
were prepared by Environmental Design Group. The City Engineer has commented that results of
the Traffic Impact Study require the construction of a left turn lane on Market Street with 100-ft.
of storage and a taper of 180-ft. It is recommended that the developer set up a meeting with the
City Engineer to review the proposed design of the left turn lane. The Administration is
recommending that a sidewalk be installed on the existing right-of-way on Market Street between
north side of the existing Audi of Mentor sidewalk to the intersection of Mansion Blvd. and
Market Street. This will complete the sidewalk system on Market Street.
The site plan indicates 425 parking spaces are required while 435 spaces are provided including
nine (9) handicapped spaces. The Traffic Impact Study indicates the floor area use designations
are 50,000 sq. ft. of fitness, 25,000 sq. ft. of medical office, and 10,000 sq. ft. of urgent care. The
fitness use would require a minimum of five (5) spaces per 1,000 sq. ft. and a maximum of seven
(7) spaces per 1,000 sq. ft. The fitness area requires a minimum of 250 spaces and maximum of
350 spaces. A clinic use requires a minimum of five (5) spaces per 1,000 sq. ft. and maximum of
5.5 spaces per 1,000 sq. ft. The urgent care and medical offices (clinic use) requires a minimum of
175 spaces and maximum of 193 spaces. The fitness and clinic uses require a minimum of 425
spaces and maximum of 543 spaces. The site plan indicates an overflow event parking area and
youth recreation area at the south side of the parking lot. It may be appropriate to secure a
shared parking agreement between the school system and the developer to address overflow
parking for school and City events such as football games and the fireworks display.
A photometric plan has been submitted indicating the level of lighting at the property does not
exceed 11 lux and or one (1) foot candle. The plan indicates 29 light poles with full cut off
fixtures will be located with the parking areas and 14 fully recess light fixture will be installed
under the entrance canopy. It may be appropriate to install timers on the outdoor lighting poles
and dim or turn them off when the facility is closed.
Per Chapter 1137 Amendments, the first step to amend the Official Zoning Map is to file an
informal request, which is followed by the formal rezoning application to the Mentor Municipal
Planning Commission. The Commission makes a recommendation to City Council, who will then
vote on the ordinance of the zoning amendment. Per the City Charter Section 3.09 Ordinances
and Resolutions A 1., legislation providing for a zoning change of lands from any residential
district zoning classification to an industrial or commercial zoning district classification requires
approval of a voter referendum by the majority of the electors of the City of Mentor at the next
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general or primary election occurring not less than sixty (60) days after passage of such
legislation. The filing deadline for the upcoming March 15, 2016 Primary Election is January 15,
2016.
Conditions:
1. Comments per the City Engineer shall be addressed as part of the preliminary site plan submittal.
2. The zoning classification for the proposed medical office, urgent care, wellness and fitness and aquatic center
uses shall be designated as B-1, Community Service in lieu of B-2, General Business.
3. The footprint of the building be shifted away from the residentially zoned properties on Packard Court so that
it is setback in close proximity to the street intersection of Market Street and Munson Road.
4. A shared parking agreement between the school district and developer shall be explored to allow for overflow
parking for school and City events.
Exhibits:

Application, Cover Letter, Site Plan, Landscape Plan, Photometric Plan, Building Elevations, GIS
Map

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