SOUTH EUCLID, Ohio — City Council voted Monday (Sept. 8) to regulate small-box retail stores — more commonly known as dollar stores — by specifically detailing where they can operate within South Euclid.
By a 7-0 vote council passed legislation that had been percolating for well over a year’s time. First introduced in January, 2024, the legislation allows small-box retailers to open in only four areas of the city.
Planning and Development Director Michael Love said the legislation took a while to be approved because it went through the city’s Planning Commission for a recommendation after council discussed it, off and on, while working to hone it into “what makes the most sense.”
“What eventually was settled on was that they (small-box retail stores) would be allowed in a C-2, general commercial district, as a conditional use,” Love said following Monday’s meeting, “which means they will have to go through the Planning Commission and City Council for approval. But there will only be one (store allowable) every 5,000 feet.
“What that equates to is, basically, probably three to four in the city,” he said. “And it was decided (that such stores), in the Mayfield-Green (downtown district) and Cedar Center areas, would be prohibited, not allowed.”
Love said that the C-2 zoning district, where dollar stores would be allowed, encompasses Mayfield Road, roughly from Sheffield Road to Warrensville Center Road, and the Cedar Road corridor, outside of the Cedar Center area.
The third and fourth permissable areas are the manufacturing district at Monticello Boulevard and Green Road, and the commercial portion of Warrensville Center Road, which takes in the retail areas in and surrounding Oakwood Plaza (where Walmart is the anchor).
Again, in all four of these areas, anyone seeking to open a dollar store will need Planning Commission and council approval, and open at least 5,000 feet from another such store.
As for the need for small-box regulation, Love said, “With the small-box retailers, we’ve had a lot of issues. They consume a lot of time and resources — from the police department, the county health department, our building department.
“They have historically been understaffed and unable to maintain their stores at an acceptable level.
“So, they require a lot of, for lack of a better term, ‘babysitting’ by our various departments to keep them operating, without adding a lot of value to the city, hence the reason why we want to restrict the number and have them only in certain districts.”
There are currently three small-box retail stores operating in South Euclid.
They include a Dollar General store at Mayfield Road and Belvoir Boulevard, a Family Dollar at Monticello and Green, and a Dollar General at 375 S. Green Road, near the South Euclid-Cleveland border.
These three stores can continue to operate, but if they should close and a new owner try to re-open in the same storefront, Planning Commission and council approval would be necessary.
City Hall Open House
The annual South Euclid City Hall Open House will be held from 11 a.m. to 2 p.m. Saturday (Sept. 13), at 1349 S. Green Road.
The police and fire stations at city hall and the mayor’s office will be open for residents to tour, while city department representatives will man information tables. Free food will be available from the Urban Wrap Co. food truck.
For children, the event will include a bounce house, face painting, and balloon twisting.
“It’s just an opportunity to come out and explore city hall and learn more about it, and more about our safety services, and have a nice time,” Love said. “It’s a free, family-friendly event.”
Langerdale retention basin
Mayor Georgine Welo called a recent designation one of the most “personal and special” achievements in her 22 years as mayor.
The Langerdale retention basin/marsh, completed in 2008 between South Green and Langerdale roads, was recently designated by the city’s Landmark Commission a city historical landmark.
“One says to themselves, ‘Why would this marsh, this urban marsh, the Langerdale retention basin, become a city historical landmark?’” Welo asked. “And I say to myself, ‘It is historical.’ It was a crumbling piece of cement that was going to cost us millions and millions of dollars to repair.”
Welo credited former service director, the late Ed Gallagher, and former city engineer Andy Blackley, with coming to her with the idea of turning the retention basin into a marsh.
“It took some convincing with quite a few engineers, and it came true,” she said.
“I’m very proud of this,” she added, noting that there were those who were convinced that the change would lead to flooding of nearby homes. That flooding did not occur.
“If there’s a really bad rain, and you want to see something fascinating, go to it (the basin),” she said. “You will see the water all the way up to the top, then you’ll see it (water) start to come down and go over the weirs and go out to Nine Mile Creek.”
Ward 4 Councilmamn John Fahsbender added that, while one may not typically think of a marsh as a landmark, “It became a model for the nation.
“It has not only helped alleviate flooding, but it did it in a way that created a really vibrant ecosystem.”
Fahsbender said that Welo recently showed the marsh to a group of young girls, Brownies, and they witnessed a coyote catch a deer in the marsh.
“So,” he quipped, “a lot of kids grew up that day.”
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