YOUNGSTOWN Zoning board grants variances

A city property owner wants to someday farm his East Side acreage.
By ROGER G. SMITH
CITY HALL REPORTER
YOUNGSTOWN -- A school, a video store and barn make up the mix of projects that have gained city approval.
The city zoning appeals board granted three variances Tuesday for the new Williamson Elementary School on the South Side. The old school will be demolished and the new building put up in its place.
The appeals board granted variances that reduced the required front setback from 100 feet to 40 feet; reduced the front setback for parking from 100 feet to 20 feet; and reduced the rear setback from 50 feet to 25 feet.
The school sits on fewer than five acres, though such a building should have about 15 acres, architects said.
Nonetheless, the new school won't by any closer to the street than it already is, they said.
The new school will be the same size as the old one, preserving a small play area. The design also includes one-way car access between Myrtle and Williamson avenues and a pull-off for buses on Williamson. Now, buses stop right on the street and let children off.
A resident who lives across the street, Anita Williamson, objected to the school being built. The neighborhood's population is dwindling and a new school there isn't needed, she said. She didn't object to the design, however.
OK'd plan for barn
The board also approved variances for a barn on rural property on Oak Street Extension on the East Side.
The board increased the maximum barn size allowed from 770 square feet to 2,880 square feet and increased the maximum height from 12 feet to 14 feet.
The barn would be nearly 300 feet from the road and 210 feet from the nearest other property line.
The property owner, John Gresko, has more than 40 acres on each side of Oak Street Extension. Gresko has heavy equipment to clear the land, which he wants to store in the barn.
Someday he wants to operate the acreage as a farm, he told the board.
Video store
The board also approved a variance for a new Family Video store at 2048 E. Midlothian.
The variance reduces the required rear setback from 25 feet to 5 feet and requires at least a 6-foot high fence.
Family Video, a chain throughout the Midwest, also is converting a former Rite Aid store on Market Street in Boardman.
Two businesses in the area objected to the new store as did a Midlothian resident, Patricia Sirls. She asked that the building be at least 10 feet from neighboring residential properties and feature a 10-foot high fence.
The board, which doubles as the city planning commission, also recommend to city council a zone change for the Midlothian property from institutional to general business.
Acting as the planning board, the panel also recommended to council:
* A zone change at 130 Madison Ave. on the North Side from general business to multifamily residential. The North Side Citizens' Coalition is renovating the property to sell it.
* Allowing the zoning board to grant use variances in the federally-designated renewal community zone. The move would let the zoning board review and grant use variances. That would let a business moving into the renewal zone skip the zoning change procedure, which can take three to four months.
rgsmith@vindy.com