A developer who owns more than 2 acres near Solon Village on Aurora Road wants to build a restaurant on that commercially-zoned land.
But city planners want to revert the land, once slated to be part of a redevelopment of the Solar Center shopping plaza, back to office zoning.
Restaurants are not permitted uses in office zoning.
Planning Director Rob Frankland told City Council Tuesday night that Percap Realty Ltd., a former partner in past efforts to redevelop Solar Center, owns the 2.5-acre parcel in question and would like to build a restaurant on the property.
Frankland also said he has been receiving calls from restaurants inquiring about building on that land.
City Council on the property in May as city planners figure out what to do with it.
On Tuesday, Frankland said both the planning commission and the master plan committee have recommended rezoning the land back to office.
When Solon voters decided to rezone the Solar Center in 2009 so the outdated shopping plaza could be developed, a key piece was an undeveloped 2.5 acre parcel along Aurora Road.
So the shopping plaza, and that parcel, were rezoned from office to a commercial district.
But now, with , that parcel is no longer important to the development efforts, but is still zoned commercially.
Frankland said converting the land back to office zoning would be a better transition from the shopping plaza to the residential area just to the east, the Carrington Court senior apartments. It's also still zoned office across the street, so that makes better sense from a planning perspective.
City council scheduled a public hearing on the matter for its next meeting later in September.
The item would have to be put on the ballot, but that likely won't happen until May.
