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Council approves rules to allow outdoor vehicle and equipment storage in select commercial and industrial zones
Summary
Ordinance 2025-13 amends the Land Development Code to add and regulate outdoor storage of vehicles, construction equipment and similar items as conditional uses in specified commercial and light industrial districts with buffering and enclosure requirements.
The City of Pinellas Park City Council on March 27 adopted Ordinance 2025-13, expanding the Land Development Code to regulate outdoor storage of vehicles, construction equipment and similar equipment in additional zoning districts.
Senior planner Lizzie St. Pierre and Planning Coordinator Todd Byron explained that the code currently allows outdoor storage only in heavy industrial (IH) districts; the ordinance adds outdoor storage as a conditional use in the CH Heavy Commercial and M1 Light Industrial districts, limited to properties with an industrial limited land-use designation in CH. Byron said the proposed definition covers storage of vehicles and equipment for longer than 24 hours in an unenclosed, open-to-the-sky space and includes references to salvage and junkyards.
The nut graf: the ordinance creates a regulatory framework for outdoor equipment storage outside heavy industrial zones while attempting to confine such uses to appropriate industrial areas and protect nearby residential uses.
Key provisions include a required minimum 300-foot separation from any residential zoning district (measured property line to property line); enclosures of storage areas by a solid wall or fence at least 8 feet high; and a 10-foot-wide landscape buffer along the right-of-way that provides primary access, consistent with Section 18-15-33.15. Proposed parking requirements are one space per 10,000 square feet of storage and one per 300 square feet of accessory office space. Administrative approval is allowed unless an applicant requests waivers, in which case Planning & Zoning Commission and City Council review would be required. The Planning and Zoning Commission recommended approval on Feb. 6, 2025.
After the public hearing was closed, Vice Mayor Seville moved to approve the ordinance on second and final reading; the motion was seconded and carried unanimously.
Ending: The ordinance expands where outdoor storage is permitted in the city but ties approvals to separation, enclosure and landscape conditions and retains council oversight for waiver requests.
