Shenandoah zoners approve tire shop in former Ron’s Ice House building
‘Be a good neighbor,’ zoning chairman asks business owner
KAYLEE LINDENMUTH / SHENANDOAH SENTINEL - The former Ron's Ice House building on West Poplar Street on April 4, 2024.
SHENANDOAH – Shenandoah’s zoning hearing board gave the green light for a tire shop to open in the former Ron’s Ice House building on West Poplar Street Thursday afternoon.
The board met at borough hall to hear a request for a variance to open the shop, which is zoned residential.
Maribel Ramirez, through a translator, said she plans to operate a tire repair shop out of the building at 323 West Poplar Street with her son.
It would operate Monday through Saturday, 9am to 7pm, offering various services including tires, oil changes, and state inspections.
She has a one year lease from the property owner, Wesley Kacilowicz.
Neighbors raised concerns over some impacts to the neighborhood, including traffic and noise, as well as where cars, tires, and parts would be stored.
Code Enforcement Officer Mark Pronio asked that the board seek Ramirez’s commitment to follow borough ordinances in operating the business. Zoning Board Chairman Charles Vascavage added the request that the business “be a good neighbor.”
Ramirez agreed.
Pronio also emphasized that any violations could fall on Kacilowicz as well.
Dennis Gawrylik, who lives across the street, worried about noise from music being played by workers or the sound of air compressors.
“I had enough with Harrison down there,” Gawrylik said. “When he moved in down there, he used to go in down there and chop that ice from 8 in the morning until 11 at night.” Ron Harrison operated the ice facility.
Vascavage and Gary Hronec voted in favor of approving the variance.
The variance was necessary as, while the building was used commercially for decades, it was grandfathered in, having been operating prior to the neighborhood’s residential zoning designation. Ron’s Ice House closed in 2013 and the building had been largely vacant since.
Harrison sold the property to Kacilowicz in 2019 for $1,500.
Ron’s Ice House was one of the last ice producers in Schuylkill County when it closed.
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