By Krystal Smalley
ksmalley@wbcowqel.com
The Bucyrus City Council took a giant step forward Tuesday night when it comes to outdoor dining.
In front of nine audience members and with an oversized wineglass standing witness, Councilman Mark Makeever introduced a draft piece of legislation for outdoor dining and requested council suspend the rules in order to vote on it. The ordinance added outdoor seating under conditional use for the city’s Codified Ordinance, though it stipulated a development plan would need to be prepared and approved by the Board of Zoning Appeals.
Makeever and Steve Pifer, who have been vocal in their support of outdoor dining, voted in favor of suspending the rules, as did Dan Wirebaugh, Monica Sack, and Bruce Truka. Small smiles could be seen on the faces of those in attendance after Council President Sis Love said they achieved the necessary votes to continue.
Wanda Sharrock, who has voiced concerns over Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA) requirements, continued to do so, but this time she backed up her concerns with the oath she took to uphold the laws.
“We all took the oath to uphold the state constitution and we would abide by those laws. I took that oath thinking we would work within those guidelines,” Sharrock said. “I have looked at what we have on the books and what other cities have on the books. I think we can do this; I think we can do it legally, but I think it needs to have some guidelines.”
Using legislation from the City of Delaware as comparison, Sharrock believed the proposed legislation for Bucyrus was haphazard.
Councilman Bill O’Rourke, who has long expressed his concerns for areas being ADA compliant though many have pointed out other areas in the city that are not meeting requirements, said he would go along with the legislation. He cautioned, however, that businesses would need to find the necessary width in order to comply with the ADA.
When Makeever took the floor to comment on the issue, he said that guidelines would create loopholes.
“If we set guidelines, unless we make them very vague, the problem is you create loopholes,” Makeever said, relating his conversation with Bucyrus Zoning Administrator John Rostash. “If we don’t cover everything, you create loopholes that we have to somehow come back and we have to plug them.”
He also advocated for addressing the issue of outdoor dining on a case by case basis.
“I disagreed with the reasoning of those who opposed because I feel we could work it out,” Makeever said after the meeting. “Like Steve Pifer said, let’s take it one step at a time. We don’t have to have those guidelines before we pass the bill. Let’s pass the bill and then work on the guidelines.”
Truka said he knocked on doors in his ward to get a sense of how people felt on the matter. He reported that everyone he talked to was in favor of outdoor dining.
“Everyone I talked to – they don’t understand why it’s taken so long, why aren’t we behind the voters. Everybody was so positive; they wanted to see us move forward, make Bucyrus more appealing to everyone,” said Truka, who added that he needed to vote the way the people in his ward want.
A letter was also read from Chris Gasuras, who owns Little Athens Greek Restaurant. According to Gasuras, the restaurant has had tables outside its storefront since 1994. He expressed his dismay over a local government that seemed to hinder business growth.
O’Rourke had one final say on the matter and noted that outdoor seating was just one hurdle – they still might face strong opposition to drinking alcohol outdoors in public.
The legislation passed council with flying colors as all seven councilmembers voted to adopt it, though Sharrock hesitated before saying, “yes.” Because the legislation was not passed as an emergency, it will go into effect in 30 days.
“I wanted to say thank you for at least giving us the opportunity,” said Natalie Norman, owner of Norman’s Niche. “I do think it’s good for all the downtown businesses.”
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Council passed nine other pieces of legislation, including creating a Tree City USA board, amending ordinances in relation to the part-time code enforcement officer position, advertising for bids for the Southern Avenue sanitary sewer trunk line, material bids, and a Sandusky River bike path planning study.
One resolution approved an Ohio Department of Transportation project that would resurface Ohio 19 from the Bucyrus south corporation limit to Ohio 4, which accounts for approximately 2.46 miles. The construction is tentatively scheduled for this year.
Council approved an airport runway project that will be paid for with the help of a Federal Aviation Administration grant. The project costs $832,048.67 and the grant will cover $748,843.80 of that amount. The state will pay $41,602.43 with the city paying for $26,531.94, though the price will be partially covered with a $15,070.49 land credit. The project will reconstruct drainage on Runway 4/22 and on Taxiway A. There will be a partial remarking of the terminal apron.
The council also authorized the Service Safety Director to advertise for bids for the 2017 mill and pave project.