The Concord Zoning Board of Adjustment on Wednesday approved three variances for Enterprise Mobility at 28 Manchester Street, allowing an 18-foot side setback for an expanded vehicle wash/garage bay, preservation and expansion of a nonconforming motor-vehicle rental/use, and reduced lot frontage where the site predates current Gateway Performance District frontage rules.

Becky Marcinkovich, property development and facilities manager for Enterprise Mobility, and Jeff Lewis of Northpointe Engineering described a confined site that was developed in about 2003 when floodway maps required buildings to be sited close to the street. The property holds a motor-vehicle rental and service operation that was permitted by variance in 2003; the applicant seeks to expand an existing single-bay wash/garage into a larger indoor bay to keep vehicle cleaning and equipment inside the building.

Marcinkovich said the site is no longer in the mapped floodway under updated maps, but the use remains nonconforming in the Gateway Performance (GWP) District. She told the board the expansion would not increase the number of vehicles, customers, driveway cuts, or overall intensity; rather, it would move cleaning activities indoors to protect employees from the elements and improve operations. Jeff Lewis said the addition’s roof overhang would encroach to an 18-foot side setback where 25 feet is required. The site also lacks the GWP’s 300-foot minimum lot frontage; the record shows historical frontage of about 71.98 feet.

Board members found hardship in the site’s original development within a floodway and the constrained parcel layout, and discussed utility connections, existing oil/water separators and the impracticality of building a separate wash structure that would consume parking. Senior board member Perkins and others said the expansion preserved the ordinance’s spirit and would not harm surrounding property values.

The board moved three motions: to grant the reduced side-yard setback to 18 feet (section 28-4-1-d), to allow expansion and continuation of the nonconforming use (section 28-8-4), and to permit the existing ~71.98 feet of frontage where 300 feet is required (section 28-4-1). Each motion adopted the applicant’s proposed findings; all passed by unanimous vote of the three members present. The approvals include reference to existing site plan records and noted that code enforcement raised no objections during the hearing.