Brunswick City Zoning Code
CHAPTER 1266
I-L Light Industrial District
1266.01 PURPOSE.
The I-L Light Industrial District is established to accommodate light industrial uses in the fields of manufacturing, processing, wholesale activities, assembling, fabrication, distribution, technology, smart manufacturing, artificial intelligence, and research and development, free from the encroachment of residential, retail and institutional uses. The I-L District is intended to focus upon and accommodate a broad spectrum of clean value added industries operating under high performance standards with strong employment. The I-L District allows uses which a) benefit from relatively greater isolation from non-industrial uses, and b) generates more and larger truck traffic requiring a close proximity to the I-71 Center Road (S.R. 303) interchange.
(Ord. 71-2021. Passed 9-27-21.)
1266.02 PRINCIPALLY PERMITTED USES.
The following uses are permitted in an I-L Light Industrial District:
(a) Light industry in the form of manufacturing, fabricating, processing, assembling and packaging of materials or substances into new products;
(b) Wholesale establishments;
(c) Contractor's headquarters or plant;
(d) Machine shop;
(e) Laboratories and research facilities;
(f) Building materials sale yards and lumber yards;
(g) General administrative and business offices;
(h) The Planning Commission, with the approval of Council, shall have the power to permit any other use comparable in character to any of the specified uses listed in this section; and
(i) Wireless service provider structures.
(Ord. 34-2020. Passed 7-27-20.)
1266.03 PERMITTED ACCESSORY USES.
1266.04 CONDITIONALLY PERMITTED USES.
The Planning Commission may issue conditional zoning certificates for uses listed herein, subject to the applicable provisions of Chapter 1274:
(a) Governmentally-owned and/or operated buildings and facilities, subject to Section 1274.08(d) and (g);
(b) Public utility structures, except communication towers, subject to Section 1274.08(d); and
(c) Communication towers, subject to section 1274.14.
(Ord. 34-07. Passed 4-27-07.)
(d) (EDITOR’S NOTE: Former subsection (d) was repealed by Ordinance 23-2021, passed April 26, 2021.)
(e) (EDITOR’S NOTE: Former subsection (e) was repealed by Ordinance 28-2021, passed May 24, 2021.)
(f) (EDITOR’S NOTE: Former subsection (f) was repealed by Ordinance 28-2021, passed May 24, 2021.)
(g) Medical and adult use marijuana processors, as licensed under Ohio Revised Code Chapter 3796 and Chapter 3780 respectively.
(Ord. 14-2025. Passed 5-12-25.)
(h) Warehousing, excluding self-service storage facility or mini-warehouses, that is accessory to and necessary for the support of a principally or conditionally permitted use.
(Ord. 34-2020. Passed 7-27-20.)
1266.05 AREA AND HEIGHT REGULATIONS.
Lot area, yard and height regulations in an I-L Light Industrial District are as follows:
(a) Minimum lot area: one acre.
(b) Minimum lot width: 100 feet, except 275 feet where the side yard abuts a residential district.
(c) Minimum front yard width: 50 feet. Corner lot second front yard width: 50 feet.
(d) Minimum side yard: 25 feet, except 200 feet where the side yard is adjacent to a residential district.
(e) Minimum rear yard: 25 feet, except 200 feet where the rear yard is adjacent to a residential district.
(f) Maximum building height: 55 feet.
(g) Adjacent to R District. Where the side or rear lot line abuts a residential district, 50 feet of the minimum side yard width or rear yard depth, measured from the side or rear lot line, shall be used as a screening yard as required by Chapter 1282, Landscaping and Screening. The remaining 150 feet of space may be used for off-street parking, for loading space or for any permitted purpose other than a building or permanent structure or any type of processing activity.
(h) Buffering and Landscaping. Required front yards in an I-D district shall be landscaped as required by Chapter 1282
, and shall not be used for parking, loading or material storage. However, parking and loading may be located in one of the required front yards of a corner lot. All landscaping shall be installed and maintained as required by Chapter 1282
. Landscaping and buffering provided shall also be used to minimize or eliminate potential annoyances such as those resulting from noise, light glare, and wind, as well as to screen unsightly buildings, and outdoor storage areas from view.
1266.06 OUTDOOR PRODUCTION AND STORAGE.
All business, production, servicing, processing and storage shall take place within completely enclosed buildings, except as may be shown on site plans approved by the Planning Commission as provided in Chapter 1278. Where approved by the Commission, outdoor storage shall be permitted only as an accessory use, and shall be incidental and subordinate to a principal use permitted in the I-L District, subject to the following:
(a) Outdoor storage shall be screened from view from all streets (including Interstate 71) and from adjacent residential districts. Screening may include building walls, solid fences, mounds, landscaping or any combination thereof which forms a year-round solid screen.
(b) All materials or waste which might cause fumes or dust or which constitute a fire hazard or which may be attractive to rodents or insects shall be stored outdoors only in closed containers designed for that purpose.
1266.07 PERFORMANCE STANDARDS.
Any assembly, production, processing, cleaning, servicing, testing, repair or storage of goods, materials or products within the I-L District shall be conducted so as not to create odor, dust, noise, vibrations, smoke, glare, radiation, or electromagnetic interference in amounts greater than those permitted by appropriate Federal, State and/or performance standards established in this section.
(a) Noise. All uses in the I-L District shall comply with the noise standards established in Chapter 634 of the Brunswick Codified Ordinances.
(b) Glare. All exterior lighting and all lighting or glare resulting from industrial processes shall be installed and/or shielded in such a manner that the light source will be sufficiently obscured to prevent glare on public streets and walkways or into any residential district. All exterior lighting shall comply with the standards in Section 1276.12
.
(c) Electromagnetic Interference. Electromagnetic interference with radio and television reception is prohibited.
(d) Vibration. All uses shall cause no inherent and recurring generated vibration perceptible without instrumentation at any point along the boundary of the I-L District.
(e) Odor. The release of materials capable of becoming odorous either by bacterial decomposition or chemical reaction in amounts perceptible at the property line shall be prohibited. Any process which may involve the creation or emission of any odors shall be provided with a secondary system so that control will be maintained if the primary system should fail.
(f) Hazardous Materials. It is the intent of the City of Brunswick to limit the manufacture, processing, generation, storage or other use of hazardous materials in order to preserve the health and safety of persons both near the I-L District as well as those who are employed within the I-L District. Toward that end, all uses which employ hazardous materials are subject to the following:
(1) Uses which employ hazardous materials classified in the H-1, H-2 or H-3 Use Groups, as defined in Chapter 3 of the Ohio Basic Building Code (OBBC), shall be permitted, subject to the following:
A. Buildings with gross floor areas of 50,000 square feet, or less, shall have no more than 10 per cent of the gross floor area so classified by the OBBC; and
B. Buildings with gross floor areas of more than 50,000 square feet shall have no more than 5 per cent of the gross floor area so classified by the OBBC.
(2) Uses which employ chemicals which are health hazards as defined and classified in the H-4 Use Group by Chapter 3 of the OBBC shall be prohibited.
(3) The above limitations or prohibitions on use of hazardous materials shall also apply to outdoor storage, subject also to the outdoor storage requirements in Section 1266.05 above.
1266.08 SITE PLAN.
(a) Review Required. All uses in the I-L Light Industrial District shall be permitted only after review and approval of site plans by the Planning Commission as provided in Chapter 1278. Site plans required by this chapter shall also comply with the provisions of Chapter 1276 Parking and Site Design and Chapter 1282 Landscaping and Screening.
(b) Compliance with Performance Standards. In addition to the other information required by Chapter 1278
to be included on site plans, all site plans in the I-L zone shall include information showing compliance with the performance standards in Section 1266.07
. This information shall also include non-proprietary information on production processes, raw materials, by-products, waste products, discharges into the air or the sanitary or storm sewer systems, and the nature and extent of any outdoor storage. The quantity of any hazardous materials employed by the applicant and the Material Safety Data Sheets (MSDS) must be included. The Division of Permits and Inspections may also require that the above information accompany applications for zoning certificates in the I-L zone where a site plan review is not required.
(c) Additional Studies. The Commission may determine the necessity of additional studies or expert advice as to the applicant's compliance with the performance standards in Section 1266.07
. The cost of securing such studies or advice shall be borne by the applicant.
(d) Planning Commission Modifications - Less Restrictive. The Planning Commission may modify the specific performance standards in Section 1266.07
in individual, unique situations where such standards are clearly inapplicable. The concurring vote of 3 members of the Planning Commission shall be required to modify any of the specific requirements of Section 1266.07
as authorized by this subsection. In modifying such standards, the Commission shall make specific findings as follows:
(2) That the intent of the specific performance standard will be maintained;
(3) That near-by residential areas will be reasonably protected; and
(4) That the public interest will be served.
(e) More Restrictive. The Commission, by a majority vote of the members in attendance, may impose more restrictive requirements where warranted by conditions on the site, on the adjacent street system or on adjacent property.