Council reviews conditional-use path for storage expansion at 2005 Hawthorne Ave amid neighbor concerns

The 2 Rivers City Council on Monday considered a planning commission recommendation to allow two new self-storage buildings at 2005 Hawthorne Avenue, but with a firm condition: the new buildings cannot be occupied until the site is brought into full compliance with existing conditional-use permits for the property.

The recommendation, carried to council from the Planning Commission’s June 9 meeting, requires that the storage units “shall not be occupied until the site is brought into full compliance with our previously issued [conditional use permits] for 2005 Hawthorne Avenue,” a staff memo presented at the meeting states.

Why it matters: the site hosts multiple businesses — including auto service, landscaping sales/operations and U-Haul equipment — and neighbors say long-standing outdoor storage, tires and other materials have affected nearby residences and the riverfront. The condition ties approval of the new storage buildings to resolution of those compliance issues and to any amendments to earlier permits that might be granted through the normal public-review…