The Jefferson County Plan Commission on Aug. 5 recommended unfavorably to the county commissioners on a request to rezone a 2-acre parcel at 700743 West New Bethel Road in Saluda Township from Agricultural (AG) to General Business. The commission voted unanimously to send a nonfavorable recommendation after public comment and staff presentations outlined ongoing zoning violations and multiple regulatory hurdles for operating an auto body business there.

The application was filed by Olegario Mendez, who told the commission he repairs cars and intended to operate OM Auto Body Repair LLC from the property. “I do a little bit of, like, bodywork,” Mendez said during the public hearing, adding he planned to add gravel parking and fencing and that family members sometimes live on the parcel.

The most detailed public opposition came from resident Marcy Marshall, who said the parcel has been operating in violation of the county’s Unified Development Ordinance since about 2020 and that the LLC began operating there in December 2023. “It would be unwise and inappropriate to reward zoning violations by approving a rezoning request on a noncompliant parcel,” Marshall told the commission, citing multiple unauthorized dwellings and the presence of campers and other stored vehicles.

Staff and commissioners raised several compliance and practical barriers to allowing the change. County staff said the parcel currently has multiple campers or recreational vehicles on site and a pole-barn structure; the county’s ordinance limits the number and duration of RV occupancy and treats inoperable or unlicensed vehicles, trailers and RVs as restricted on a per‑parcel basis. Commissioners and staff said converting the site to general business would also remove the property’s allowance for residential use, meaning occupants now living there could become nonconforming or be required to relocate if the use is discontinued.

Commission members also noted separate state and county requirements that any business with customers or employees would need to meet: building permits reviewed by the state, paint-booth and other environmental or fire-safety regulations for body-shop operations, and septic and restroom requirements. One commissioner observed that even if the commission recommended approval, the applicant would still face obstacles including building and septic permits and state approvals that may be difficult to meet on the existing parcel.

After discussion, a motion to issue an unfavorable recommendation passed on a roll-call vote. Commissioners recorded “yes” votes from Warren Archer, David Braemert, David Ferguson, Lisa Hammock, Mike Pittman, Greg Copeland and Larry Winn; the motion passed unanimously. The commission’s recommendation will be forwarded to the Jefferson County commissioners, who have final authority on the rezoning request.

Commissioners and staff invited Mendez to consider alternative properties already zoned for commercial use and said county staff would work with him on permitting options if he pursues a compliant location. The commission’s decision does not itself change the property’s zoning; it only advises the county commissioners, and building or enforcement actions on extant violations remain a separate administrative process.

Votes and next steps: the commission voted to send a nonfavorable recommendation to the Jefferson County commissioners; county staff said they would continue enforcement conversations and work with the applicant on timelines to remove or regularize unauthorized units or stored vehicles on the parcel.