Jerome Township will be home to the first City Barbeque restaurant with a drive-thru.
Developers of the final outparcel at the Dublin Green shopping center were before the township trustees Tuesday to request a development plan modification.
The 7,524-square foot building, which will be located on the north side of Route 161 between Industrial Parkway and Cosgray Road, will have up to three units, capped with restaurants on either side.
The trustees approved an earlier modification in September 2020, which reduced the shopping center from a four-unit building to a three-unit building.
At the time, developers said they lost several of the initial tenants due to delayed construction. However, a number of restaurants expressed interest and City Barbeque was deemed the best fit.
During the previous modification request, developers said they preferred City Barbeque because it would have a covered, outdoor patio space.
The other end unit of the building is intended to be a Tropical Smoothie Café. It will have a drive-thru window, so developers initially said they preferred to bring a restaurant that wouldn’t add another.
However, at Tuesday’s meeting, Chris Jolley, with Walsh Construction Group, said the developers have redesigned to accommodate for drive-thru windows on both sides of the building.
He said representatives from City Barbeque recently approached the developers, as they have seen a significant increase in their take-out traffic throughout the pandemic.
“They don’t currently have drive-thrus at any of their other locations and they see this as a good opportunity to introduce that into their business model,” Jolley explained.
The City Barbeque drive-thru will have two entry points that merge before reaching the drive-thru window.
Zoning Inspector Eric Snowden said the township zoning commission previously recommended that both of the entrances are angled in the same direction. The applicant modified plans to do so, which ensures there is no potential conflict point for entering vehicles.
Jolley added that the two entry points are an effort to allow restaurant employees to process orders more quickly, but should not negatively impact the traffic flow.
He said the drive-thru will allow eight vehicles to “stack,” meaning there is adequate space for eight cars from the window through the drive-thru lanes.
There will also be six dedicated parking spaces for City Barbeque at the site, Jolley noted.
Although plans for the larger, covered patio were nixed, Jolley said there will still be some space allocated for outdoor dining, “just not the same type of amenity.”
Also due to the addition of the drive-thru, the smokers will be moved from the east side to the north side of the building. Jolley said they will still be housed in stainless steel, all-weather enclosures.
The trustees voted unanimously to accept the recommendation of the zoning commission and approve the development plan modification.
While the Costco in the area is not a part of the Joint Economic Development District between Jerome Township and Marysville, the new building will be.
In other business:
– The trustees unanimously approved a zoning text modification that will alleviate issues surrounding pools, patios and fences in the township.
Snowden said the previous setbacks were “so restrictive” that pools were effectively prohibited in planned development districts, or more “suburban” areas.
The amendment will make the setback for pools and patios 10 feet from the rear yard line, when it was 30 to 40 feet, depending on the development.
“This will… frankly, make a lot of people happy,” Snowden said.
While zoning regulations do not always please residents, Snowden said they “need to be reasonable.”
“When everyone is asking for variances, that’s when you know you have a problem,” he said.
He noted that he and the township’s legal counsel have met with representatives from a number of developments to ensure that the new zoning text will not interfere with any private covenants.
– Trustees planned to reschedule a special meeting to answer resident questions about development, that was to be held June 22.
Trustee Chair Megan Sloat explained that Fiscal Officer Robert Caldwell would not be able to attend on the original date.
Since Caldwell and Director of Departments Douglas Stewart were absent Tuesday, the trustees canceled the June 22 meeting and planned to set a new date during the next regular trustees meeting.