Planning Commission Approves Rezoning For Cleveland Clinic Medical Center, Audi Site Plan

The Mentor Planning Commission had a lengthy agenda with some high-profile businesses on it Thursday night, including the Cleveland Clinic, Penske Automotive Group, Melt and Great Lakes Mall.

The Commission unanimously approved Cleveland Clinic's request to rezone

A "medical campus" zone can be used for diverse reasons. It can include everything from physician's offices to a full medical center with a helicopter pad.

Cleveland Clinic has been coy about its intentions regarding the property and continued to be so at the meeting.

When Commission Member Katherine Cimperman asked Brian Smith, the director of strategic project development for the Clinic, if its building would be taller than six stories, Smith replied, "We haven't designed anything yet."

Also at the Commission meeting:

• The Commission approved Melt's permit to use a patio.

More importantly, Matt Fish -- the owner of the specialty grilled cheese shoppe -- said it would be .

• The Commission approved the final site plan for the

, Penske Automotive is looking to relocate its Willoughby Audi dealership to 8599 Market St., which will bring about 50 jobs to the city and generate about $30 million in sales.

Allen Dresselhouse, the regional project manager for Penske, said they hoped to break ground on the dealership before the end of the year.

• A split Commission approved the site plans and, more divisively, a permit for a patio for Red Wine & Brew.

Red Wine & Brew is a beer and wine seller that would also like to have a tasting room at its proposed location on Old Johnnycake Ridge Road.

However, several Mentor residents who live nearby where the business intends to open opposed the patio at the meeting.

Beth Jenkins said she was concerned about noise and light pollution.

"When I think of the noise, I think of skunk odor," she said. "It gets in the air and it just travels.

Jenkins and her neighbors clarified that they had no problem with the business opening -- just in them having an outdoor patio.

The owners of Red Wine & Brew told the Commission that their location would not be a rowdy bar. Instead they described it as a "wind-down lounge."

They also agreed not to have live music on the patio as initially proposed.

Ultimately, the Commission voted 5 to 2 to allow the business to have a tasting room and 4-3 to allow outdoor drinking and dining on the patio.

Bill Snow and Thomas Huth voted against both permits. Cimperman joined them on the latter one.

• The Commission approved a proposed change in the city's code that would allow for a in Mentor.

The second resolution says that commercial indoor shooting ranges can be allowed in the city's industrial zones.

The City Council still needs to vote on the change before it becomes law.