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Planning commission recommends approval of auto-dealer use at 333 N. First Ave. with parking and sight-distance conditions
Summary
The State Planning Commission recommended approval of a conditional-use permit to allow an automobile dealership at 333 N. First Avenue, subject to a reduced parking requirement of four spaces (including one handicap space) for the existing detailing business and measures to preserve sight distance at the nearby intersection.
The State Planning Commission recommended approval Tuesday of a conditional-use permit to allow an automobile-dealer use at 333 N. First Avenue, a 0.23-acre parcel in the commercial-retail zone that currently houses an automotive-detailing business.
Chair Larry McKinley opened the public hearing and said the application was for a conditional use allowing a dealership to operate alongside the existing detailing business. McKinley told attendees that Oregon land use law disclosure materials were available and that staff would introduce the report.
Staff summarized the application and the site history, saying the proposal would not construct a new building and that traffic impacts were expected to be minimal. The staff report noted an outstanding parking issue: the applicant’s plan did not clearly show the number or placement of spaces for the existing detailing business. “One key issue raised in the analysis pertaining to parking is that the applicant submitted a parking plan, and we did need to require 8 spaces for the existing detailing business,” a planning staff member said during the hearing.
Applicants identifying themselves as “the Zaners” told the commission they have been members of the community for about nine years and that the principal has 27 years in the automotive industry. The applicants said most mechanical operations would continue to occur at their primary facility and that vehicles would be brought to the First Avenue site when ready for sale.
Commission discussion focused on parking layout, the number of bays used by the existing tenant Master’s Touch, the need to identify a handicap parking space, and maintaining sight distance at the intersection near the site. Marion County staff (John Raspenuste) had advised staff to avoid parking that would block sight lines; staff relayed that caution to the commission. Commissioners asked the applicants to move display cars farther back toward the building and to identify where a designated handicap space would be placed.
After deliberation the commission voted to recommend approval of the conditional-use permit with modifications: reduce the parking requirement for the detailing business to four spaces (staff explained that rule is four spaces per bay if Master’s Touch occupies a single bay), require one designated handicap-accessible space, and require that site distance (sight-line) standards at the nearby intersection be met prior to final approval. The commission’s approval was recorded by voice vote; individual roll-call votes were not entered into the record. Chair McKinley closed the hearing after the motion carried.
The decision allows the applicant to operate a dealership use at the address alongside the detailing business under the conditions adopted by the commission. Additional ministerial steps such as a revised parking plan showing the four spaces and the handicap space and verification that sight-distance requirements are met were discussed as conditions to be completed before final permitting.
