Council schedules Sosby Auto Supply special-use permit for review; staff signals tighter outdoor-storage standards

At a Feb. 12 work session the Lawrenceville City Council scheduled consideration of a special-use permit (SUP2024-000977) for Sosby Auto Supply, 905 Grayson Highway, for the regular Feb. 20 meeting.

Todd Hargrave, director of planning and development, described the application as a request to allow outdoor storage at the facility. He said the planning commission recommended approval with the standard staff-recommended conditions. Hargrave noted a prior 2020 SUP at the site had included a condition prohibiting outdoor storage; the current request would change that status for specified areas of the property.

Council and staff discussed display items and screening. Hargrave said the business historically has displayed lawnmowers and similar items and that some canopy structures are already in place. He told the council that a prior condition requiring an enclosed dumpster had not yet been satisfied by the landlord and that the applicant was open to meeting conditions as part of the current SUP.

Hargrave and councilmembers also discussed drafting tighter, citywide standards for front-of-store displays (the council referenced a so-called "Home Depot rule" used elsewhere). Options discussed included requiring covered display areas, limiting the hours displays could remain on the public façade (brought in at close of day), and specific screening or height limitations; Hargrave said staff would prepare proposed ordinance language for council review.

No final approval or denial of the SUP occurred at the work session; the item was scheduled for the Feb. 20 regular meeting, where conditions and any ordinance language would be discussed.