06-08-06 Planning Comm. Agenda - Laserfiche WebLink

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/~~9 LORI PETERSON VALOR ENTERPRISES, INC. 8026-131st Street Apple Valley, MN 55124 Phone: 651-603-8934 or 612-432-0286 APPLICATION FOR VARIANCE TO ORDINANCE FOR RETAIL MOTOR VEHICLE LICENSE PROPERTY ADDRESS: 3161-3167 SPRUCE STREET (CURRENT OCCUPANT: DAN SEBESTA) 1. REFER TO THE FOLLOWING: A. Site plan. B. Photos of existing property. No new construction is planned. 2. STATEMENT OF INTENDED USE: As stated in our application for the conditional use permit for outdoor storage for this property, Valor Enterprises, Inc. is mainly in the business of repairing cars for resale to other dealers. Approximately 90% of our sales are wholesale transactions conducted through the three local wholesale auctions. The remaining 10% of our sales are retail sales of "salvage" title vehicles that do not have a wholesale market due to the nature of the business. These vehicles provide a healthy addition to our cash flow. They are typically late model, low mileage cars in high demand such as Hondas and Toyotas. The fact that we repair them and warranty the repairs makes them attractive to buyers who find they can purchase upscale cars (newer, lower mileage) from what their budget allows due mainly to the damage history. We retail approximately 1-2 of these cars per week on average, usually no more than 5 per month. We typically turn our retail salvage titled cars within 60 - 90 days from purchase to sale. Our wholesale inventory turns faster--usually within 30 days. We are not in the habit of storing cars indefinitely since we have to recoup our investment for future purchases. As stated in the ordinance section 913 for the B-W District, item G, number 7, "Such use is not located within five hundred (500) feet of a residentially zoned property, nor within five hundred (500) feet of a similar use" and number 8, " No more than four (4) licenses may be in force at any one time in the B-2, B-3, B-W, I-1 and I-P Districts in the City, combined." There is a license currently available according to the licensing office. However, one of the licenses currently in force happens to be within the 500 feet limitation of the ordinance as written. As prospective buyers of this property, we would need to have a variance approved to allow us to conduct the few retail sales that we do. We are currently licensed by the State of Minnesota to operate as a used car dealer, permitting us to both wholesale and retail cars. The used car dealer license allows us to purchase and display dealer license plates and in-transit license plates, saving the cost of registration tax on all our cars. It also allows us to avoid paying excise tax. If we are forced to reduce our state license to wholesale only, both of these priviledges would be denied us, thereby raising our cost of operation and restricting unnecessarily our business activities. We understand there may have been some problems in the past with other businesses that made it difficult for the City to enforce minimum standards and that is why this ordinance was