Pinellas Park City Council unanimously approved a conditional-use permit on July 10 to allow a used-car dealership at 6767 U.S. Highway 19 North. The request, filed as case CU032500009, was presented by Michael Cariglio, the city’s associate planner, and was recommended for approval by the Planning & Zoning Commission on June 5.

Cariglio told council the property — currently owned by Creel Motors Inc., doing business as Automex — is zoned General Commercial B-1 and meets the conditional-use criteria in the land development code. He said the proposal includes about 4,200 square feet of new landscaping, 19 new trees and 31 parking spaces; the code requires 13 spaces for vehicle sales on the site. He also said portions of the property are in FEMA flood zones X and AE and that multiple units of title cover the parcel.

When asked whether the conditional use would run with the land or only with the current business, Cariglio said the approval runs with the land and would permit subsequent owners to operate a new-and-used automotive dealership on the property.

Vice Mayor Tim Cadell moved to approve the first-and-final-reading conditional-use ordinance; the motion received a second and carried unanimously. No members of the public addressed the council on the item.

Why it matters: The approval alters how the site can be used in the long term by allowing automotive sales to remain a permitted conditional use on the parcel, and it increases the built and landscaped footprint along a major commercial corridor.

Council and staff contact: Michael Cariglio, Associate Planner, City of Pinellas Park.