Royal Oaks outdoor patio request likely will be turned down

YOUNGSTOWN — The planning commission today recommended city council reject a request from an East Side bar/restaurant to vacate a portion of Lansing Street for an outdoor patio.

The rejection came because fire Chief John J. O’Neill Jr. said closing the road would cause a delay in response time to houses and businesses on the streets behind the Royal Oaks Bar & Grill at 924 Oak St.

Those houses and businesses “require Lansing as our quickest and easiest means of access,” O’Neill wrote in a letter to the commission. “Although ‘going around the block’ may appear to be a minor delay,” it “is a delay nonetheless. More troubling is [other] trucks arriving for a structure fire that will be coming from the east will have greater delays.”

For the complete story, read Wednesday’s Vindicator and Vindy.com