Nov. 28 – Cleveland Board of Zoning Appeals
Covered by Documenters Kaitlin Bender-Thomas and Giorgiana Lascu

What happened: The board approved plans for an addiction-treatment facility in a two-family residential district. Bay Presbyterian Church owns property in the Clark-Fulton neighborhood. The Hispanic Urban Minority Alcoholism Drug Abuse Outreach Program (UMADAOP) wants to establish a residential drug and alcohol treatment facility there. Rafie Sturgis from UMADAOP presented. He addressed concerns from community members about the facility being near a school. “We, in fact, had a previous facility offering the same services on the same campus there,” Sturgis said. “And we were there for over 15 years and never had any incident.” People could stay at the facility for up to 30 days and receive 24-hour-a-day treatment. There are 12 beds. City Planning and Ward 14 Council Member Jasmin Santana supported the project.
Tattoo studio approved: The board approved variances from the zoning code to allow a tattoo studio in Slavic Village. Services will be available by appointment only from 11 a.m. to 6 p.m. Monday through Saturday.
And also:Â The owner of a convenience store in the West Boulevard area can keep a drive-thru window. Owner Jatin Popat installed the window before getting approval from the board. Ward 11 Council Member Brian Mooney said he and Popat agreed on some compromises to give drivers a clearer view of the street. The store will close at 10 p.m. The board approved the drive-thru with those conditions.
Read Documenter Giorgiana Lascu’s live Tweet from the meeting:
Want to learn more about zoning? Check out this introduction to Cleveland zoning by City Planner Matt Moss.