Commissioners direct staff to tighten mini-warehouse standards, favor multistory designs

Planning staff presented draft zoning text and design standards for mini-warehouse (self-storage) uses as part of the annual zoning ordinance amendment process, and commissioners directed staff to revise the draft to emphasize multi‑story facilities and limit outdoor storage.

Arnie, planning staff, explained mini-warehouse uses are currently allowed in the C2 zoning district only by conditional use permit and that staff assembled sample language and photographs from multiple jurisdictions to inform a local standard. He noted concerns that single-story, sprawling storage facilities consume limited land within the city and suggested encouraging multi-story construction to make more efficient use of scarce land. He also pointed out existing zoning provisions, noting the C2 district has a 45-foot maximum height.

Draft provisions offered to the commission included requirements that mini-warehouse buildings “shall be a multi-story structure designed to emulate multifamily or office buildings,” facade transparency targets (30–70 percent), facade articulation at least every one-third of a building length, and restrictions on blank or mirrored facades. The draft included suggested primary materials and landscaping requirements and referenced existing parking and parking-lot landscaping standards. Staff noted parking and loading are addressed in the zoning code and that current parking for mini-warehouses calls for a minimum of three spaces plus one per 100 storage units.

Commissioners questioned allowing a live-in manager, debated whether to permit outdoor storage for RVs and boats, and discussed the operational difficulty of enforcing hard caps on office square footage downtown. Several commissioners said they preferred limiting new mini-warehouse approvals in downtown or key corridors to multi‑story designs that match surrounding building heights and include architectural articulation. One commissioner also highlighted that multi‑story facilities would reduce sprawl and make better use of land.

The commission asked staff to return with revised language that: focuses on multi‑story facilities rather than single‑story sprawl, strengthens facade articulation and material standards, clarifies transparency/fenestration expectations, and tightens rules on outdoor accessory storage and visibility from the public right-of-way. Staff said it would prepare a revised draft for a future meeting and eventual advertising for public hearing if commissioners direct.