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Planning commission recommends Tractor Supply conditional use permit for outdoor display area at Highway 92 store
Summary
The commission unanimously recommended approval of a conditional use permit and concurrent parking variance to allow a fenced 11,000‑square‑foot outdoor display area and additional seasonal display space at the former Lidl‑sized retail building at 11956 Highway 92, subject to staff conditions and updated August 22 elevations.
Woodstock City planning commissioners unanimously recommended Sept. 4 that city council approve a conditional use permit to operate a retail outdoor display area for a proposed Tractor Supply store at 11956 Highway 92, subject to staff‑recommended conditions and the applicant’s updated August 22 site plans and elevations.
Planner Hannah Menard told the commission the parcel is zoned General Commercial with a parkway overlay and lies in the Community Village Center character area. The site has an existing roughly 28,000‑square‑foot retail building with 122 parking spaces built for a former Lidl grocery store. The applicant seeks a conditional use permit for a retail outdoor use (a conditional use where merchandise is stored outdoors) and a concurrent parking variance to convert portions of the parking lot for fenced outdoor displays and seasonal open displays.
The proposal includes an approximately 11,000‑square‑foot fenced outdoor display area that would remove roughly 31 parking spaces, a 1,300‑square‑foot trailer/equipment display area (about eight parking spaces) and a 1,200‑square‑foot sidewalk seasonal display area. The applicant plans to retain the majority of the existing building and make relatively minor architectural changes, including a corrugated metal sign band and red awning consistent with Tractor Supply branding.
Staff and the Development Process Committee (DPC) discussed the location of certain outdoor display elements and asked the applicant to shift one equipment display area toward the back of the lot to help screen visibility from Highway 92; staff incorporated that guidance into conditions 3–5. Conditions 6–11 address storage of merchandise, signage, trash pickup and deliveries. Staff also included a requirement to meet with store management before opening to explain the conditions and prevent code enforcement issues, the planner said.
Applicant Jeff Miller of Miller Commercial Properties said Tractor Supply values the outdoor sales area as part of its business model and that the site was significantly over‑parked for the building’s square footage as‑built. The applicant told the commission the property could open within about 12 months and that the outdoor area would be secured with a high‑quality aluminum fence rather than chain link.
No members of the public signed up to speak on the case. Commissioners accepted a friendly amendment to adopt the applicant’s August 22 elevations and site plans as the approved set. The commission’s recommendation will be forwarded to city council for final action.
