CLAYTON — City council held a public hearing Dec. 18 for a request to modify the final development plan for Phase II of the Village of North Clayton. The council meeting originally scheduled for Dec. 21 was changed to Dec. 18 due to the Christmas holiday.

The request was submitted by Bella Sorella Pizza Company, LLC to permit the construction of a new restaurant on 3.7884 acres located at the corner of National Road and Esther Price Way, which was previously known as Proaction Drive.

“This particular case was submitted to staff on Nov. 8, 2023,” said Jack Kuntz, director of development. “It is for a plan modification for a previously approved final development plan.”

Clayton owns the land that is subject to the requested modification. A legal notice was placed in the Dec. 9 issue of The Register-Herald and letters were mailed Nov. 28 to any affected property owners.

“Bella Sorella is a locally owned small business owned by sisters Elizabeth and Gail,” Kuntz said. “They have become one of the region’s most popular mobile food vendors. They have been out at the Northmont Community Market and go to a lot of the fundraisers out at the YMCA, locally as well as regionally in the Montgomery County / Miami Valley area.”

Kuntz told council that one of the reasons that made this project very appealing to city staff was the fact that it met an economic development feature requested by local residents that wanted to see more locally owned restaurants in the community.

“This new space would eventually expand to also include a 3,000 square foot event space that would serve as a prep kitchen and their continued mobile food vendor business as well as a sit down restaurant including outdoor seating,” Kuntz stated.

The city has held informal conversations over the years with the owners of Bella Sorella for the potential of locating their business in the Village of North Clayton, according to Kuntz.

“For their future growth plans they had anticipated putting a new, free-standing restaurant somewhere in this region,” Kuntz said. “We had discussions about this particular site. They are born and raised in the city of Clayton and they felt that the site would fit what they were looking for.”

Original plans the business prepared came in way over budget due to workforce and supply chain issues as a result of Covid, according to Kuntz.

“They went back to the drawing board and came up with some new plans and those plans are what is before you today for consideration,” Kuntz said. “The reason it is before city council today is because it is different than what was originally approved, which was a 180,000 square foot sports complex.”

Kuntz said the proposed plan consists of a 3,000 to 4,000 square foot restaurant with the potential to expand another 3,000 feet.

“That is the reason for the plan modification part of it. That is what is up for approval tonight,” Kuntz said.

A high pressure gas pipeline on the property posed development issues. Those issues have been dealt with by locating the restaurant further back on the site. The plan met the approval of residents in the village.

The proposal allows for certain modifications of the plan as needed at a later date that must be approved by city council.

The planning commission reviewed the case on Nov. 27 and unanimously voted to grant approval of the plan modification. Kuntz also urged council to approve the plan with a list of conditions.

The recent past president of the village’s home owners association told council that the residents are unanimously in favor of the proposal. No residents spoke against the proposal.

Council went into executive session to discuss the sale of the property to Bella Sorella. The resolution adopting the new plan submitted by Bella Sorella was passed unanimously.

An ordinance authorizing the sale of the land to Bella Sorella for $200,000 including forgiveness of the loan for the purchase price in return for maintaining an agreed level of employment and other conditions contained within a certain purchase and sale agreement was tabled by council.

The ordinance will come before council for a vote in January.

Reach Ron Nunnari by email: [email protected].