Avon plan commission approves Ray Skillman Mazda with two waivers, reduced building size

The Town of Avon Advisory Plan Commission on Oct. 25, 2025, approved a development plan for Ray Skillman Automotive of Avon, clearing the way for a 21,360-square-foot Mazda dealership on about 6 acres at the southeast corner of U.S. 36 and County Road 900 East and granting two waivers to local design and landscaping requirements.

The waivers and plan matter for the U.S. 36 corridor’s appearance and for how the dealership will display vehicles and route customer and service traffic. The commission approved (1) a design waiver to permit no masonry on building facades where the U.S. 36 overlay normally requires 80% masonry on the front facade and 50% on side facades, and (2) a waiver of the foundation-planting requirement for roughly a 50-foot stretch of frontage, with the petitioner relocating required landscaping elsewhere on site. Staff recommended approval of both waivers and of the development plan review, subject to the routine three staff conditions listed in the staff report.

Planning staff told the commission the project is a revision of an earlier submission. "The overall square footage of the building has been reduced by about 10,000 square feet," staff said, describing the change from the June filing. Architect Tom Montgomery said the earlier footprint was about 31,000 square feet and that the revised building is 21,360 square feet, and described the exterior as a mix of white and black aluminum composite panels, curtain wall glazing and EIFS/drive-it accents consistent with recent Mazda prototypes.

Petitioner Justin Munsey said site work includes new sidewalks along U.S. 36 and County Road 900 East, a new right-of-way drive on 900 East and a detention pond that will be drained and enlarged to meet current stormwater requirements. On drive placement, Munsey said, "we shifted that east, so that it would align with kind of the main vehicle pathway around the building," explaining the decision to keep sales and service circulation separate.

Staff reported the parcel is mostly zoned C-2 (commercial) with a small portion zoned I-2 (industrial) and that the site meets the town’s Unified Development Ordinance standards aside from the waivers. The Board of Zoning Appeals previously granted a special exception to allow auto sales in Tier 1 of the U.S. 36 overlay and a variance to allow the dealership building to sit 250 feet from U.S. 36 and to exceed the overlay’s typical limit on the number of parking rows in front of the building.

Commission discussion generally supported the design revisions and the relocation of foundation plantings; commissioners said the overall number of required plantings remains on site and that relocating a short stretch of foundation plantings would allow better vehicle display while preserving streetscape landscaping elsewhere. No public remonstration or public supporters spoke during the public-hearing portion.

The commission voted unanimously to approve waiver A (no masonry per U.S. 36 overlay), waiver B (foundation-planting relocation), and the amended development plan review (DPR 25-08) for Ray Skillman Automotive of Avon, each vote taken separately and each motion carried. Approvals were made "subject to the approved findings of fact" and the standard three staff conditions noted in the staff report. The petitioner filed a companion final plat application; two other blocks in the subdivision remain unimproved and could be developed in the future.

Meeting attendees were given the staff report and revised plans before the hearing; staff and the petitioner answered commissioner questions on drive alignment, landscaping, material samples and internal circulation. No additional town approvals beyond the commission’s conditions and any required building permits were specified during the hearing.