There was much debate at Tuesday’s Jackson Planning Commission Meeting over the permit for a parking structure at Buscaglia’s on Jackson Gate Road. The owners plan to turn the original restaurant that sits on the road into a parking structure and single hotel room with the same Tuscan design as the new restaurant on that property. The planning commission Site Review Committee determined that the project may need environmental review for possible historical significance. Owner Ron Sette (SETTY) says he looked but was unable to find any historical significance to the building. Commissioners overturned the ruling of the committee primarily because the history of the building was not addressed when the project was originally permitted back in 2002.

The original restaurant was remodeled years ago and there is almost nothing left except some yellow Ione bricks. Commissioner Terri Works felt the commission should support planning staff’s recommendation so as not to set a precedent. Also, she is not fond of the Tuscan look, which she feels does not fit in with the mining aesthetic of the area. References were made to the recent Jackson Economic Development Workshop where citizens generally agreed that Jackson should keep the mining theme. However, other residents were quick to point out that Jackson’s General Plan is still being updated, so enforcing a particular look, especially when the Tuscan style was already allowed for the new Buscaglia’s restaurant, did not make sense.

Jackson resident John Plasse, who also attended the Economic Development Workshop, said that citizens were requesting better restaurants to revitalize downtown Jackson. He felt if everyone in Jackson had to jump through these same hoops to remodel and upgrade buildings on Main Street, “We might as well throw in the towel.”  He felt that the owners of Buscaglia’s have done a beautiful job and the restaurant is an asset to Jackson. In the end, commissioners overturned the committee’s recommendation and allowed Sette to continue with his plans for converting the old restaurant to parking. Commissioner Dave Butow, past president of the Historical Society, considers Jackson Gate, North Main Street and Broadway as culturally sensitive areas. He suggested there should be a historical corridor in the General Plan, then owners would know up front if there were additional permitting requirements.