Centerville staff requested the moratorium while the city undergoes a comprehensive planning process to update its land-use goals and policies. That request was approved unanimously by Centerville City Council on Monday.
Centerville’s new planning effort will help with “redevelopment of underutilized properties to maximize their potential for creating new jobs and increasing property values,” said Centerville’s city planner Ian Vanness.
“There are existing fueling stations, convenience stores and small-box discount stores in proximity to these areas that already provide the public ample options for these types of goods and services,” Vanness said. “It is possible for these uses to oversaturate local commercial corridors, thus reducing the overall variety of goods, services and jobs available to the community.”
Last October, Centerville City Council rejected a proposal for gas station-convenience store chain Sheetz to build a new store on the current Far Hills Avenue site of an Elsa’s restaurant. Sheetz and Elsa’s subsequently sued the city, and that court case is ongoing.
The city defines “small box discount store” as a retail use between 5,000 and 15,000 square feet, selling a variety of convenience and consumer goods, with most items costing less than $10 or 20% to 40% less than similar goods at a grocery store or a pharmacy.
Many local dollar stores would fit that definition.
The city of Centerville has about eight gas stations, six of which also have convenience stores, and there are approximately 11 gas stations in neighboring jurisdictions, according to the city. There is one small-box discount store in Centerville and at least one in the neighboring jurisdictions.
These uses are clustered around Centerville’s commercial corridors of South Main Street (Ohio 48), Wilmington Pike, and Far Hills Avenue (Ohio 48).
“For these corridors to thrive, it is important to have a healthy mix of businesses that will provide greater variety of goods and services to the public,” Vanness said. “Furthermore, a variety of businesses provides the community with more diverse employment opportunities. Typically, these uses hire fewer employees at lower wages than other commercial uses often found along these corridors.”
The city’s existing comprehensive plan, Create the Vision, was adopted in 2004 and is in the process of being replaced. The city’s new comprehensive plan, “Centerville Forward,” will establish land-use goals and strategies that will be derived from public input.
“Centerville Forward will also establish a new future land-use map that will serve as a development roadmap for Centerville’s near-and-long-term future,” Vanness said. “The city is in the midst of the first round of community engagement that is gauging where the public would like to see change, and what that change might look like in the built environment. The results will inform staff on where these uses are most appropriate in Centerville.”
Residents can participate in a survey for Centerville Forward and share their ideas for the future of the city at www.centervilleforward.com.
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