Plan Commission approves planned-development overlay and reduced parking for Bayshore photography studio

The Oshkosh Plan Commission approved a zone change to add a planned-development (PD) overlay, a general development plan and a specific implementation plan for 536 Bayshore Drive to allow a personal/professional service (boutique photography studio) to operate without on-site parking, and adopted staff findings by unanimous vote.

Staff said the site is an existing industrial building in an Urban Mixed Use district; the applicant plans to reuse the building as a low-volume photography studio with no changes to the building footprint and limited exterior updates (painting and window replacement). Code requires one parking stall per 300 square feet for personal/professional service uses, which would total roughly 35 stalls for the building’s gross floor area. The applicant requested, and staff supported, a BSM to allow 0 on-site parking because insufficient space exists on site and the applicant expects three to four spaces will meet typical demand.

Staff reported about eight on-street parking stalls are available on Bay Street and Bayshore Drive adjacent to the site and said the proposed improvements will enhance the building appearance to offset the off-street parking reduction. The commission discussed the scale of the building and parking expectations; several commissioners expressed that the 35-stall requirement was excessive for a boutique, low-volume studio.

The commission adopted the staff findings and recommendations and approved the rezoning with PD overlay, the GDP and SIP, and the off-street parking reduction, unanimously. The motion carried 7-0.