BEAVER TOWNSHIP Officials plan to ask county to review B.J. Alan request
B.J. Alan wants to replace the store destroyed by fire in September.
VINDICATOR STAFF REPORT
NORTH LIMA -- Beaver Township planning officials will ask Mahoning County to review a request from B.J. Alan Fireworks to open a new fireworks store here, despite a township ban on fireworks sales.
The Youngstown-based company's Phantom Fireworks store on state Route 46 was destroyed in a fire that started around 3:39 a.m. Sept. 16, said the Beaver Township Volunteer Fire Department.
The store, a 50-foot-by-60-foot metal pole building on a fenced-in property, sold small firecrackers and sparklers.
The township zoning code prohibits fireworks sales, but the Phantom Fireworks store was exempt from the rule because it opened before the ban took effect.
Bruce J. Zoldan, president and chief executive at B.J. Alan, has indicated he would like to resume selling and storing fireworks in the township, possibly at a site on Market Street, township officials said.
Meeting to discuss the matter Tuesday, the township planning commission agreed to ask the Mahoning County Planning Commission to review Zoldan's proposal and its ramifications to the fireworks ban.
Commission members also scheduled a public hearing on the issue, set for 6:30 p.m. Dec. 2 at the township administration office.
Once the commission gets input from county planners, the members said, it will make a recommendation to township trustees on whether they should overturn the prohibition to accommodate Zoldan's request.
Zoldan could not be reached to comment this morning, and zoning inspector Michelle Swope also was unavailable.
Following procedure
"This is the process that the township must follow," said George Smerigan, township planning consultant.
"Once it's open for discussion, the planning commission and the trustees can decide whether to do away with the prohibition. There's a whole process the township must go through. By sending it to the county, the township is opening it up for discussion and review. Then they can decide whether to change it."
Smerigan said if the township were to change its stand on the issue, he would recommend several conditions be placed on retailers. For example, the township could require a retailer to have a fire-prevention plan in place.
"If the township decides to allow the sale of fireworks, it would be recommended that there be conditions and criteria the retailer must meet," he said.