The plans call for eight self store and lock buildings comprising 50,000 square feet and two office warehouses, each measuring 12,000 square feet. A pond exists on the property, about half of which lies in the 100-year flood plain, as well as a federally protected stream.
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Prior to approving the project, Councilwoman Julie Vann questioned whether the land should be developed at all.
“The reason the federal government forced us to have flood plain management is so that we could make sure and provide the ecological systems for success of the whole community. If we build within that, it concerns me,” Vann said.
The regulations require any buildings constructed on a flood plain to be at least two feet above the base 100-year flood stage, and the proposed buildings at this site will be three to four feet in elevation, according to City Planning Director Jeff McGrath.
“Everything on this site will be FEMA certified,” McGrath said.
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Property owner Robert Arnold challenged the concerns about building on a flood plain, pointing out that many developments in the city are in flood plain areas.
“Flood plain is something we’ve dealt with in Beavercreek for years and years in our developments, and it’s nothing new for us to develop flood plain,” Arnold said.
The land lies adjacent to a residential development and sits across from Greene County’s water and sewage treatment plant. Susan Marticello, who lives in the nearby neighborhood, said she’d rather not see the land developed and questioned the need for more storage facilities when there are at least four within a mile of the property.
“It’s not like we are lacking in storage units,” Marticello said.
The number of similar businesses in the area is not a factor that can be considered as part of the approval process, said City Planner Randy Burkett.
Mayor Bob Stone said options in developing or using the land are limited in large part because of the nearby sewage treatment plant.
“Certainly residential doesn’t want to be right up against the sewage treatment plant, and most retail places don’t want to be up against the sewage plant,” Stone said. “This is going to be above and beyond as far as most store and locks that you see.”
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The proposed buildings are to feature brick siding on all four sides and brown shingles, as well as decorative fencing surrounding the store and lock buildings.
The developer will now seek various permits. Construction on the store and lock buildings and an access road could begin this fall and be complete by 2021; construction on the office warehouses is slated to begin in the spring 2020 with completion by the fall of 2022, Burkett said.
A cost estimate on the project was not available, but it’s expected to be a “significant investment in the area,” Burkett said.
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