Village Could Allow Dance Studios in Industrial Areas

For seven years, Lisa Wainwright has owned in the Bluestone Commons. But with a village ordinance likely to pass, she could dance out of the commercial area and into a larger, cheaper gym in industrial space.

The Village Board had its first read of an ordinance Monday night that would allow dance studios to apply for special use zoning and operate in industrial parks.

"I’m looking forward to having more space in a cost-effective situation," Wainwright said. "There are a lot of families I care about and want to be able to provide the best service possible. A dance studio needs a lot of space."

She requested the change to the village, and said the boards have been "amazingly open" to creating this new opportunity for dance studios, which would join other such businesses that operated in industrial parks, which tend to have much lower rent than commercially zoned areas and also provide more space to the places that need it.

For instance, the Heat Elite Allstars cheerleading operate a gymnasium in industrial space, as do The Hub and the Curtain Call Warehouse Theatre. Wainwright said she would like to remain as close to Bluestone as possible.

But this change in ordinance wouldn't just affect W Dance Studio, but all others. The studios would be able to apply for special use, and if the board didn't think a studio worked well in a certain space, it could still be denied.

The main issue discussed was parking, but this would be evaluated on a case-by-case basis and determined by the Village Board if there was enough parking and whether there are any safety issues.

“A lot of the time, the kids are there after the industrial park has closed or on the weekends when it’s closed," Trustee Ray Tuminello said.

Trustee David Smith suggested discussing in committee the other types of businesses that could benefit from being handled similarly, such as karate studios.