Council approves CUP amendment to permit warehouse self-storage at Taft Avenue after DAB modifies architectural controls

The Wichita City Council on May 6 approved an amendment to an existing community unit plan (CUP) to permit warehouse self-storage on a parcel near West Taft Avenue and South Broadway, and granted a limited waiver of the supplementary-use rule for a resident-manager requirement.

Planning staff said the parcel is zoned GC (general commercial) within a larger CUP and that warehouse self-storage is ordinarily allowed in GC but that the CUP's architectural controls would have limited use of metal materials. The applicant asked to exclude the parcel from CUP architectural controls so metal could be the predominant exterior material. The Planning Commission recommended approval of the CUP amendment but denied the request to remove architectural controls; the District Advisory Board (DAB) recommended a modified approach that would allow metal to cover up to 30% of certain building facades facing West Taft Avenue and the eastmost building's east facade while permitting fully metal west- and south-facing facades.

At council, staff recommended adoption of the Planning Commission findings. Council voted to override and adopt the DAB's modified conditions, approving the CUP amendment according to the DAB's façade-percentage allowances and the conditional use waiver for the resident-manager requirement. No members of the public spoke during the Planning Commission hearing, and no formal protests were filed. The council adopted the resolution and authorized the necessary signatures.