08-28-2002 Council Agenda - Laserfiche WebLink

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911.040. H. Motor Vehicle Sales Lots. Except in cases where the permitee will lease or own. but not physically occupy designated outdoor sales /display /storage area. the city may issue a Conditional Use Permit for an outdoor sales lot, provided that: Paragraphs 1 -9, no change. 10. Where the applicant is applying for a motor vehicle sales lot conditional use permit but will not occupy the designated sales /storage /display area with vehicles or equipment, the City may, at its discretion, waive the provisions of this ordinance relating to square footage of principal building (Section H.1.), square footage of display area per vehicle (Section H.3), separation from other licensees and residential areas (Section H.7.) and number of eligible licenses (Section H.8.). All other performance standards of this ordinance and other applicable regulations shall continue to apply. This text would allow office -only applicants to locate in office locations without the limitations placed on those that have display lots on -site. At issue for the City has been the state's purpose in requiring that offices have on -site sales lots, and whether this ordinance would permit an applicant to circumvent a state requirement that serves other objectives beyond land use regulation. Second, and important for the City, is enforcement of this type of regulation. In a parking lot of an office building, five spaces would have to remain empty to meet this requirement. Monitoring compliance with this standard could be a problem. Finally, the applicant has applied for a CUP under this clause, on the anticipation that the City would adopt the amended text. It should be pointed out that there are other companies on a waiting list that have asked for a motor vehicle sales lot permit if one becomes available. While it may be assumed at this time that each of the waiting list applicants would want outdoor display, the applicant should be aware that others may be interested in pursuing this type of permit as well. Assuming that this applicant would be in line for a permit following an adoption of this amendment, the proposed location appears to meet the requirements for the ordinance, including parking supply and site improvements as specified. Summary and Recommendation Adoption of the amendment would permit office -only retail automobile or equipment dealers to locate in Little Canada office buildings without the need for a display lot. Planning staff has two primary concerns with this type of ordinance. First, the purpose of the state requirement for an on -site display lot is not clear to staff. We are reluctant to recommend an ordinance that effectively circumvents the intent of the state regulations. Second, it could be that this type of ordinance would present enforcement problems. In the proposed location, this concern is probably less likely, since the applicant sells heavy equipment and not automobiles, and the site is a well - developed office parking lot. However, in other locations, this type of allowance could become an enforcement issue.