It’s noteworthy how rare such rejections are.
Most municipal governments our reporters contacted denied perhaps one zoning or permitting application for new business uses in the past three-plus years. Miami Twp., Washington Twp. and Springboro personnel said they had no rejections of note in that span.
There are exceptions, of course. Troy, Fairborn and Huber Heights each had about five rejections since January 2021 — but even those amounted to just a handful of denials in busy, growing communities.
Cities work with applicants
“Overall, planners do try to work with businesses so they can open or expand and be successful in their respective community,” said Aaron Sorrell, city planner for Huber Heights. “We spend a lot of time working with businesses on site plans, signage, elevations, etc. so their plans best reflect the community character and values, and those vary depending on the community.”
Sorrell thinks the chief reason disapproval numbers are low is cities try to be “upfront with applicants.”
“The vast majority of bad proposals never make it to the application stage, because they don’t bother applying, or their plans are substantially modified to reflect community values, and thus ultimately approved,” he said.
Michael Gebhart, Fairborn’s city manager, has worked in city planning. He said land owners have a right to seek rezonings, although cities don’t necessarily have to grant those requests. Zoning staff should give owners “honest feedback” on what ideas do and don’t make sense, he said.
“When something doesn’t look like it’s going to work, those folks don’t even apply,” he said.
Credit: JIM NOELKER
Credit: JIM NOELKER
City Council members typically have the final say on these kinds of requests. Building inspection staffers, police, firefighters and even local utilities can offer their feedback on proposals, he said.
By that point, proposals should be well vetted, he said.
“We want all of our departments that are involved in development review ... we want them to see customer service as a priority. See if you can find ways within the code to make something happen,” he said.
But, Gebhart added: “At the end of the day, if you can’t, if it compromises the code, make sure the applicant knows it.”
Tom Robillard, planning and development director with Kettering, said a business may decide not to go forward due to an unwillingness to make site and architectural modifications city leaders wish to see.
Robillard sees that as a business decision, not a rejection or denial by a city.
Gas station rejections
Lately, a flood of new gas station proposals have been approved by local cities — Sheetz already has six new stations open — but there have been some prominent rejections, too.
In October 2023, Centerville City Council voted unanimously to reverse a decision made by Centerville Planning Commission in August to allow a Sheetz gas station and convenience store at 6318 Far Hills Ave. That case is the subject of an ongoing legal battle.
Also last October, Kettering Planning Commission unanimously recommended city council reject a land use change at 1490 W. Dorothy Lane at the South Dixie Drive intersection for a Sheetz gas station-convenience store.
In December, Fairborn city council rejected a proposed Wawa station at 600 E. Dayton-Yellow Springs Road by a 5-2 vote, and in April, Beavercreek shot down a projected RaceTrac gas station at U.S. 35 and Factory Road that would have offered diesel refueling.
Other denials and appeals
One business proposal Huber Heights rejected since early 2022 included a motion to approve a special use of the city’s agricultural code at 7860 Bellefontaine Road for a paintball facility. City planners denied that motion in a 4-1 vote.
Similarly, when a zoning change applicant who had been operating a truck and heavy equipment repair business at 7416 Taylorsville Road (again, in Huber Heights) requested a variance for diesel truck and equipment repairs, that motion was denied.
In Fairborn, at 418 W. Dayton Drive, a proposal for a drive-through associated with an approved coffee shop was denied in April.
Also in Fairborn, at 403 W. Xenia Drive, Planning Board denied the addition of a drive-through at an approved gas station in January this year.
In June 2022, Fairborn planners recommended denial of a vehicle repair business at 326-334 E. Xenia Drive.
Troy has had five business rejections since 2021. Two were commercial zoning rejections downtown for a tattoo business and an event venue. Two were occupancy permit rejections in strip malls, including a pet grooming business, and the most recent was a rejection for a home beauty business.
In Beavercreek, RaceTrac is the only business to have been denied by the city of Beavercreek since January 1, 2021. RaceTrac’s proposal “just didn’t make sense,” Beavercreek Mayor Don Adams said last month, when City Council denied the proposal.
“Listening to the residents, and how passionate they were about it, and having an idea of what I have experienced over in that area ... traffic cannot be considered, but it just didn’t meet what I think it should be there,” Adams said.
Most applications approved
Centerville city spokeswoman Kate Bostdorff said Centerville has issued 216 “new business/zoning verification” applications since Jan. 1, 2021. Just one such application has been denied since then.
In 2022, Centerville planners denied a proposal for a Valvoline oil changes business at 6238 Far Hills Ave., but City Council ultimately approved the plan.
Since January 2021, Miamisburg has seen 29 applications submitted to either establish a new business or expand an existing business, said Development Director Chris Fine.
Only one of those 29 was denied — a tea shop wanted to go into a shopping center with a drive-thru window, but the site could not accommodate that feature in a safe manner, Fine said.
Staff writers Aimee Hancock, Ed Richter, London Bishop and Nancy Bowman contributed to this story.
