Findlay examines zoning for drug rehabs

FINDLAY — A gap in Findlay's zoning code that leaves drug rehabilitation facilities undefined has become part of a broader review of more businesses that could require city approval before opening. Findlay City Council's Planning & Zoning Committee is expected to revisit the issue when it meets on Thursday. The meeting will be held at 1 p.m. in the Findlay Municipal Building, 318 Dorney Plaza. All committee meetings are open to the public and the meeting will be livestreamed on Findlay's YouTube channel: Findlay Ohio. The larger discussion centers on how much oversight the city should have before certain businesses or institutions open in commercial districts. The Hancock Regional Planning Commission has recommended moving several of them into a process that requires city approval, arguing that some uses carry impacts the city ought to review in advance. Drug rehabilitation facilities aren't addressed in the city's zoning code at all, leaving the city little room to manage where they locate or how they operate. Findlay currently handles drug rehabilitation facilities through a hodgepodge of zoning categories. Outpatient clinics are treated like medical offices, and overnight treatment centers are dropped into the same category as convalescent homes — even though neither label really fits. Officials say this patchwork approach makes it hard for the city to manage where these facilities go or what rules should apply. There was no recommendation made to the committee about zoning for drug rehabilitation facilities at its Feb. 12 meeting. Commission Director Matt Cordonnier said he needed more time to review the issue and would bring back definitions and a recommendation on whether outpatient clinics and overnight treatment centers should have their own categories. At its February meeting, Cordonnier walked the newly seated committee through how different types of businesses and facilities are handled in the city's zoning code. He explained that while some uses are currently allowed by right, they can sometimes create traffic, lighting, or neighborhood impacts that the city should be able to evaluate before they open. Requiring city approval, through what's formally known as a conditional-use application, allows the city to attach conditions and gives nearby property owners notice before a use begins operating. Unlike a permitted use, which can operate in a zoning district automatically, a conditional use must go to the Findlay Planning Commission, where the city can review the proposal, hear input from neighbors, and impose conditions to address issues such as traffic, lighting, or outdoor activity. In November, council approved new business zoning that makes the establishment of fueling stations, oil change facilities, and small-box retail stores conditional uses in the "C2" commercial zone. Self-storage units, zoned "I-1" light industrial, are now also considered a conditional use. The Planning & Zoning Committee is now being asked to consider expanding the list to include uses across all commercial districts. In the "O1" office district, the commission has recommended requiring city approval for parks, schools and community centers. Cordonnier said that private parks, in particular, can vary widely in intensity, and it would be helpful for the city to have a mechanism to review those proposals in advance. In the "C1" local commercial district, the commission has proposed requiring city approval for convenience stores, bed-and-breakfasts, private clubs, fraternal organizations and community centers. The "C2" general commercial district, which includes Tiffin Avenue, Trenton Avenue, and other major corridors, has generated some of the most detailed discussion. The commission has recommended that automotive sales, minor automotive repair shops and taxi services be required to seek city approval, explaining that while these fit well along high-traffic corridors, smaller "C2" pockets sit close to residential neighborhoods. The committee is also expected to revisit proposed changes in the "C3" downtown commercial district, where bars, convenience stores, taxi services, bed-and-breakfasts, clubs and parking structures could also be moved to a city-approval process. The proposal to add microbreweries and boutique distilleries as defined uses stems from last year's debate over how a downtown micro-distillery should be classified. Committee members include Councilwoman Heather Kensinger, R-at-large, as chairwoman, with council members Kevin Cullen, I-5, Brad Wagner, R-at-large, and Dan DeLong, R-7, as members.