A local businessman will continue with plans to develop a new boat storage condominium complex on Colorado Avenue in Lorain.
On Nov. 3, the Lorain Planning Commission voted 3-2 for a conditional use permit for the facility on seven acres next to the Dollar General store at 2600 Colorado Ave.
It was unclear if the land has its own street address, said applicant Bryan Dall of Lorain-based Flipper Boat Storage.
Boat storage has been in demand around Lorain, especially since Oasis Marinas moved in, Dall said.
That company took over operations at the Lorain Port and Financing Authority’s Lakeside Marina in 2019.
Neighboring property owner Debra Calabrese spoke in favor of the project because a lot of people trespass on her lot and use the land for illegal dumping.
Planning Commission member Henry Patterson asked if there was a preliminary plan or sketch to show a layout on the land.
That morning, the Planning Commission and Zoning Board of Appeals had blueprints for projects such as residential garages, Patterson said.
Without those, he said he did not have a clue about the project’s size or traffic flow.
Dall estimated there would be 50 to 60 heated and plumbed units likely built in two phases, with a possible lounge or restroom structure for unit owners.
He said he did not yet have a drawing because he needed the conditional use permit to buy the land.
But the finished units will look nice inside and out, which is good for the business and for the look of Colorado Avenue, Dall said.
The drawings were not required for the conditional use permit request, said city Planning and Zoning Administrator Drew Crawford.
Dall pledged to work with the city planning staff to create a design that would be aesthetically pleasing for Colorado Avenue.
Planning Commission members Mayor Jack Bradley, Safety-Service Director Sanford Washington and Michael Nardini voted in favor of the permit. Patterson and member Ken Kramer voted against it.
