Proposed warehouse receives conditional approval in Peters Township

February 16, 2020

A new office-warehouse complex could be coming to southern Peters Township.

During their Feb. 10 meeting, members of township council unanimously approved a conditional-use request by Five Hundred Nineteen Properties LLC, which owns 1.86 acres at 430 Venetia Road.

The intention for the property is to construct three 4,000-square-foot buildings to provide contractors working locally with storage space for vehicles, equipment and materials, according to Tom Helkamp of CE Group, the civil engineering firm for the project.

Each building would have about 750 feet of office space, including restrooms. No manufacturing or processing is planned at the site.

“This conditional approval is for concept only, not any specific site plan layout or building design,” township planning director Ed Zuk said at a Jan. 27 public hearing regarding the project. “A complete site plan must be submitted in accordance with all township ordinance requirements and be approved by both planning commission and council.”

On Jan. 16, the township planning commission voted to recommend the conditional use for approval, provided that the applicant meet the 10 specific conditions for an office warehouse as specified in the municipal zoning ordinance.

The commission added four conditions pertaining to fire protection, as recommended by Peters Township Fire Department, and also stipulated everything stored by contractors be placed indoors, including vehicles.

At the recommendation of township manager Paul Lauer, two other conditions were added prior to council’s vote: pitched roofs that are “compatible with surrounding residential developments” be required for the buildings, and the allotment of space for a minimum of 15 parking spaces.

“Under our ordinance, the number of parking spaces would be a fraction of that,” he told council Feb. 10. “And given the uses that were described, I think you’re going to have employees reporting there, and they need somewhere to park.”

The property is across Venetia Road from the entrance to the Great Meadows residential plan. Neighboring properties house a warehouse and landscape supply business, and Peters Creek is to the rear.