Planning commission recommends approval of Global Storage PUD after neighbors raise traffic and nuisance concerns

The Englewood Planning and Zoning Commission voted 6–3 on March 4 to recommend approval of ZON-2024-001, a Planned Unit Development (PUD) proposed by Global Storage to repurpose about 9.8 acres at and near 2800 West Shenango Avenue for contractor and outdoor vehicle storage.

Staff Planner Eric Sampson told the commission the application combines four parcels, some of which have a split zoning that includes light industrial and residential. The applicant, Robert Beatty of Global Storage, asked to extend the adjacent storage site into the vacant parcels to create about 23 contractor storage lots, retain a small number of existing single-family houses for on-site offices and employee housing, and provide perimeter screening, landscaping and stormwater detention.

Sampson summarized staff review and recommended approval with three conditions: the new Union Drive access must be reconstructed to meet the Americans with Disabilities Act, the proposed Decatur Street access would be closed to general traffic and designated for emergency access only, and the disturbed site must provide a detention pond for stormwater management. Public works and utilities staff participated in the hearing and described site-specific engineering requirements.

Public comment was split. Several long-time residents and property owners from the Chenango and Shenango neighborhoods said the site’s ongoing activities — commercial truck and tow-vehicle traffic, loud vehicles, after-hours horn honking, and what residents described as poor site maintenance — already cause neighborhood impacts. Those speakers asked the commission to deny the rezoning and keep the site available for future residential transition consistent with the city’s comprehensive plan. A dozen residents and two adjacent property owners also described repeated incidents at the site, citing gate breaches, vehicles parked in the easement and occasional law-enforcement responses.

Other nearby property owners and tenants of adjacent lots said Global Storage has made site improvements and that formalizing and fencing the operation with the proposed screening would improve conditions compared with the current, largely unmanaged situation. Several neighbors who said they had worked with the owner credited him for installing an interior gate that has reduced through-traffic on Chenango; an adjacent property owner who uses an easement described ongoing congestion and asked the city to ensure the access is not “overburdened.”

Applicant Robert Beatty described security measures and management practices the company uses: perimeter fencing with 98% opaque screening fabric (which Beatty said has longer life than PVC slats), corner-directed, motion-activated downlighting for security, on-site management and periodic drone overflights and patrols to monitor activity. Beatty told commissioners the retention basin would be placed in a natural low spot on the property and that a pump-connected detention solution would be used only when needed. Public-works staff said the applicant would be responsible for maintenance of any pump and detention equipment and that an easement would allow the city to perform maintenance if the owner fails to do so.

Commissioners debated the application’s consistency with the city’s comprehensive plan, which designates the area as a residential transition zone on the city’s adopted 2017 plan; some commissioners said the comp plan’s longer-term intent favors denser housing or ‘missing-middle’ residential forms, while others said the property historically contained industrial uses and that there is a policy interest in retaining existing local businesses. Commissioners also expressed concern about the present nuisance-style activities that residents described and asked staff and the applicant how enforcement would work if the PUD were approved. Staff said tenants would be bound by lease terms and that the applicant could evict tenants who repeatedly violated site rules.

After debate and the chance for commissioners to propose additional conditions, the commission voted to forward a recommendation of approval to City Council with the staff conditions described above. The vote was 6–3 (Haggerty, Austin, Bridal, Adams, Hubka/Hebka and Chair Martinez voted yes; Renson, Kaplan and Cicero voted no). The commission’s recommendation will go to City Council for public hearing and final action; staff said the Council hearing is scheduled for April 7.

The commission hearing record includes numerous resident statements and a written letter from a Littleton student complaining about noisy, off-hours vehicle activity and citing criminal incidents reported to the police. Public works, utilities and planning staff told the commission they will require detailed engineering for the detention facility, stormwater conveyance and ADA-compliant access during permitting. Public-works staff said they will expect the site owner to maintain stormwater pumps and that the city would have an easement to step in and maintain the system if the owner fails to do so.

Commissioners and staff noted options that would remain even after a PUD approval: the PUD can be amended later (requiring new public hearings) if a future owner seeks residential redevelopment; alternative routes include vacating the PUD and reverting to prior zoning if the new land use never proceeds. Several commissioners said they were approving the recommendation in part because closing the Decatur/Chenango access would restore some neighborhood safety and because the conditions attach specific infrastructure and screening requirements to any expansion.

The commission’s recommendation does not authorize construction. If City Council adopts the rezoning, Global Storage must still obtain permits and meet engineering, landscaping and noise controls during the building and site-permit process.