AutoZone, new housing coming to Berea

Berea will be getting some new housing and a new retail outlet has submitted plans to open in town, it was revealed last week.

At a meeting of the Berea Planning Commission on Tuesday, Codes and Planning Administrator Amanda Haney announced that AutoZone has submitted an application to build a new store at the corner of Richmond Road and Glades Road. The national chain sells automotive parts, supplies and accessories.

If ultimately approved, the store would be built on the lot where Exodus Driver Training is currently located. The driving school hosted its grand opening in the fall of 2023.

The announcement came on the heels of a zone-change request hearing for another Richmond Road property currently owned by Berea City Councilmember/businessman Jerry Little. 

P&Z recommended a zone change for 599 Richmond Road N., which would designate the entire plot as a B-2 major business zone. The building is owned by Jerry Little.

Little owns a building at 599 Richmond Road N, which is currently designated within two different zoning classifications. The portion fronting Richmond Road is zoned B-2 business district, while the rest of the building, which stretches back toward Oakwood Drive, is zoned R-3 multi-family housing. Most recently, the building housed The Everything Store, along Richmond Road.

Little explained the building, which was purchased by the Marion Oliver family in 1959, operated as a Chrysler dealership, Buick dealership, as well as several other businesses since. The Oliver family sold the property approximately four years ago, Little said.

Little petitioned the planning commission to rezone the entire property as B-2, eliminating the multi-family housing zoning. Little said he didn’t realize the dual zoning on the property until well after he bought it.

 “I would advise anybody that buys a piece of property to find out what zone it is,” Little said. “Just because it’s been used for something one way doesn’t mean that’s how it’s zoned. I never thought to check it.”

Commissioners Stephanie Hembree and Martin Richards supported the change, noting the property should be reclassified as one uniform zone.

The commission unanimously voted to recommend approval of Little’s request, and the petition will now be reviewed by the Berea City Council for a final decision.  

In other news, the final plat for a tract of 42 condominiums was approved unanimously for Ridgewood Villas Townhomes on Ridgewood Drive near exit 77.

“There will be several different designs. There will be some cottages, some ranch houses, some two stories with garages, and there are ranches with garages,” said Pat Sowers of Berea Property Development.  

Sowers said the tracts include dwellings with both two and three bedrooms. He noted the ranch-style homes have been especially popular with older buyers and retirees. Most homes are between 1,200 – 1,300-square-feet in size, he added. Similar homes at another development are selling for $180,000 for two-story townhomes, and ranch houses are going for between $208,000 and $229,000, Sowers said.  

The final plat was unanimously approved with two variances. A utilities easement at the front of the development was reduced from 25 feet to 20 feet, while a property setback at the rear of the lots was reduced to zero. Haney said the adjustments will allow for adequate fire protection and maintenance. The property will be under the management of a homeowner’s association, which will manage common areas, Sowers said.

In other business, Greg Lakes was elected by the board to serve as chairman, Martin Richards was elected vice chair, and Ben Robinson III was voted in as secretary.

Also Tuesday, Haney announced that sidewalks and streets on Queensborough Street in Central Park North were completed by developer Jared Carpenter and accepted into the city’s street plan. The bond insuring the completion of sidewalks for the project was released.

The next meeting of the Berea Planning Commission is slated for Feb. 11.