P-J photo by Michael Zabrodsky
From left, Lakewood Village Trustee Nancy Jones, Trustee Ben Troche, Mayor Randy Holcomb, Trustee Richard Fischer, and Trustee Ellen Barnes discuss business Monday.
LAKEWOOD – A Wal-Mart expansion, and two new fast-food restaurants received the go-ahead Monday from the Lakewood Board of Trustees.
A variance for Wal-Mart at 350 E. Fairmount Ave., and a Chipotle and Popeye’s co-development project at 318 E. Fairmount Ave., were recently recommended for approval by the Lakewood Zoning and Planning Board.
According to Andy Johnson, principal engineer at ECO Strategies Engineering and Surveying of Falconer, the site plan calls for a request for the use of the empty parking spaces at Chautauqua Mall in front of JCPenney and redevelop the existing space. The plan is to take this space and build two new outparcel buildings to house Chipotle and Popeye’s fast-food restaurants. The redevelopment will include reduction of impervious surfaces and addition of green space in the form of rain gardens.
ECO submitted the application on behalf of the Chicago-based company, Quattro Development LLC.
Johnson said the plans also call for adding six to eight trees to provide some shade and habitat aesthetics, and to improve the storm water runoff.
Since the project has received approval from trustees, Quattro now can close on the property with Kohan Retail Investment Group, which owns Chautauqua Mall.
“The plans are very solid. I think it will help beautify Fairmount Avenue on that section,” said Trustee Ben Troche.
Johnson said previously that Quattro strategically picked the spot at the mall so that the company didn’t need to add extra driveways or disrupt the flow of traffic.
For Wal-Mart, Justin Lattierre of Colliers Engineering previously said the plan asks for the construction of a building expansion of about 5,460 square feet for both online pickup and delivery expansion, and to the garden area along with associated grading, striping, and signage work. The proposed project will not result in more than one acre of disruption and there will be minimal changes to the proposed drainage patterns.
In other business:
The board approved a pay raise for lifeguard Donavan Brown to $15.25 per hour. He was at $15.00 per hour.
Trustees heard a report from Department of Public works Supervisor Tom Pilling regarding the removal of three pine trees at the tennis courts near Lakewood Beach. The trees are scheduled to be cut down this week.
The next board meeting is wscheduled for July 8.