YOUNGSTOWN — The city’s board of zoning appeals endorsed a series of waivers to parking, landscaping and lighting requirements for a $25 million improvement project to the Public Library of Youngstown and Mahoning County’s main branch.

City council still needs to authorize the board’s recommendation given at a Tuesday meeting held virtually.

Among the key requests were permitting more parking at the 305 Wick Ave. location than allowed under city code, eliminating the requirement of a minimum of one landscape island with a tree placed at the end of each row of car stalls or within the row per 15 adjacent parking stalls, and allowing lighting to illuminate adjacent properties.

The library currently has 118 parking spots and wants to increase that to 131, said Nancy Lonnett-Roman, a principal with Pashek+MTR, the project’s Pittsburgh-based landscape architect. But city code wouldn’t permit more than 102 spots for the improvement work, she said.

The project doesn’t have the space for a small section of trees on Rayen Avenue because the street is being widened, Lonnett-Roman said. The island with trees will be put on every required location but three, she said.

Also, a row of lights on the library property is intentionally going to light up a section of Grove Street, near the library, but that isn’t permitted under city code without a waiver, Lonnett-Roman said.

The board unanimously agreed to all of the requests.

“This is a very thorough presentation, and the design exceeds what the code had anticipated,” said Hunter Morrison, the city’s planning consultant who ran Tuesday’s meeting. “You’re planting the trees in a more favorable way. It looks like a very good plan.”

The library project is expected to start shortly and be finished by spring 2022. The first part of the project will be the parking lot overhaul, and then work on the library building is to start in the fall.

The renovation will include a 6,000-square-foot addition and an adjacent outdoor space.

The building will add a large children’s space, a maker space and recording studio and study room as well as enhance space for public-access computers.

The city’s design review committee on May 5 approved the exterior plans for the library.

The library, which opened in 1910, has had two major renovations. In 1954, the front stairs and lamp posts were removed from the side of the building facing Wick Avenue, which will be recreated in this project; and in 1996, there was a large addition and relocation of the entrance to the side of the original structure.

dskolnick@tribtoday.com

m of one landscape island with a tree placed at the end of each row of car stalls or within the row per 15 adjacent parking stalls, and allowing lighting to illuminate adjacent properties.

The library currently has 118 parking spots and wants to increase that to 131, said Nancy Lonnett-Roman, a principal with Pashek+MTR, the project’s Pittsburgh-based landscape architect. But city code wouldn’t permit more than 102 spots for the improvement work, she said.

The project doesn’t have the space for a small section of trees on Rayen Avenue because the street is being widened, Lonnett-Roman said. The island with trees will be put on every required location but three, she said.

Also, a row of lights on the library property is intentionally going to light up a section of Grove Street, near the library, but that isn’t permitted under city code without a waiver, Lonnett-Roman said.

The board unanimously agreed to all of the requests.

“This is a very thorough presentation, and the design exceeds what the code had anticipated,” said Hunter Morrison, the city’s planning consultant who ran Tuesday’s meeting. “You’re planting the trees in a more favorable way. It looks like a very good plan.”

The library project is expected to start shortly and be finished by spring 2022. The first part of the project will be the parking lot overhaul, and then work on the library building is to start in the fall.

The renovation will include a 6,000-square-foot addition and an adjacent outdoor space.

The building will add a large children’s space, a maker space and recording studio and study room as well as enhance space for public-access computers.

The city’s design review committee on May 5 approved the exterior plans for the library.

The library, which opened in 1910, has had two major renovations. In 1954, the front stairs and lamp posts were removed from the side of the building facing Wick Avenue, which will be recreated in this project; and in 1996, there was a large addition and relocation of the entrance to the side of the original structure.

dskolnick@tribtoday.com