Commission approves Northland Oil parking-lot site plan with screening and landscaping conditions

The Planning & Zoning Commission approved a site plan amendment April 8 permitting construction of a parking lot for Northland Oil across from 1000 Rainbow Drive in the R2CZ Conditional Zoning District. The application seeks to build the parking area before the office building the conditional zone previously envisioned.

Staff noted the area is a mixed-use corridor between industrial uses north of Rainbow Drive and residential uses to the south. The staff report recommended landscaping and a solid fence to screen the lot’s west and south property lines from abutting residences and required a stormwater-prevention plan for engineering review. Traffic staff recommended a mid-block crossing on Rainbow Drive include a rectangular rapid-flashing beacon if a sidewalk is required; planning later removed the sidewalk requirement for this request.

Zach Shimp of Northland Products told the commission the lot is intended to manage employee and contractor parking currently on a muddy slope and that the space will be too small for semitrailer parking. He said the company is constructing a separate facility east of the site that will accommodate semitrailer parking as part of ongoing site work. Neighbors raised concerns about semitrailers staging on Rainbow Drive, curb cuts onto Hannah Boulevard, lighting spillover and tree-removal; a longtime resident urged that semi parking be prohibited and asked for larger, faster-growing trees rather than a wood privacy fence on the west side.

The commission revised the staff condition to require a solid fence on the south property line and landscaping as an alternative on the west and approved the site plan amendment; the final site plan must still meet applicable city codes and drainage requirements.