Committee approves PUD allowing CDL school to park vehicles overnight after debate over fence height

The Land Use and Zoning Committee on Sept. 16 approved a PUD rezoning (ordinance 2025-0499) for a commercial site on Hart's Road to allow a commercial truck-driving school to continue operating and to permit the overnight parking of training trucks and trailers on the property. Planning staff recommended approval with conditions; the committee added a planning-commission condition requiring an 8-foot opaque fence and voted 5–1 in favor of the rezoning as amended.

Planning staff said the 2.05-acre site already contains a 24,000-square-foot warehouse and existing parking, and that the proposal would allow overnight parking of the truck cabs and trailers associated with the CDL school. "The request is simply to allow for the overnight outside storage and parking of the truck cabs and trailers in connection with the CDL Trucking School," a planning staff member told the committee and recommended one condition: visual screening (a fence) to minimize the visual impact along Hart's Road.

Applicant Josh Cockrell said the school is an existing use on the site and that allowing vehicles to remain overnight would reduce daily trips to and from the property. "We are requesting the ability to park these trucks overnight because otherwise, these trucks would have to come in every morning prior to class starting at 8 a.m. and leave in the evening," Cockrell said, adding that students do their classroom time and pre-trip inspections on site and that driving instruction occurs at other facilities. Cockrell said the applicant initially proposed a 6-foot fence but agreed to an 8-foot fence recommended by the Planning Commission. The nearby community pushed for taller screening; some residents asked for 10 or 12 feet citing visibility of tractor cabs above the fence line.

Neighbors raised concerns about noise, diesel fumes, truck routing on local streets and late-night truck movements; speakers also questioned whether trucks test on Hart's Road. Residents said the property is visible from Hart's Road and that student drivers and coupling/uncoupling activity can be noisy. In response, Cockrell and the operator said training driving takes place off-site and that trucks used for the course are typically unladen and lighter than commercial haul trucks. Staff and the transportation division reviewed routing and did not find the operation would exceed roadway capacity.

Committee members debated fence height and other conditions. Councilmember Gaffney proposed a 10-foot fence to fully screen truck cabs; the applicant declined that request citing practicality and cost. Planning staff noted 8 feet is allowed in residential contexts and the Planning Commission had negotiated the 8-foot compromise. A motion to require a 10-foot fence failed; the committee adopted the Planning Commission amendment requiring an 8-foot 95%-opaque fence and other conditions limiting allowed uses. The final recorded vote on the rezoning as amended was "5 yays, 1 nay." The PUD excludes several high‑impact commercial uses and requires compliance with staff-recommended landscaping and access conditions.

The committee record notes staff found the request consistent with the 2045 comprehensive plan and that the fence and buffer conditions were intended to reduce impacts on the small number of residences that back onto the site.