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Planning board backs rezoning of West 10 Mile storage site to commercial despite resident drainage concerns
Summary
The planning board recommended rezoning of a long-standing self-storage site at 1980 West 10 Mile Road to a Commercial district; staff said the use appears to be a legal nonconforming use since 1997, the applicant plans upgrades and buffering, and residents and flood advocates cited stormwater risks.
The Escambia County Planning Board on Aug. 5 recommended approval of a rezoning request for 1980 West 10 Mile Road that would change split Low Density Mixed Use and Medium Density Residential zoning to a single Commercial district (case Z2025-06).
County planner Caleb McCarty presented maps and aerial photos showing the site and its 500-foot surroundings and noted the site's Future Land Use designation is Mixed Use Suburban. McCarty and other staff said the site contains an existing, long-running self-storage operation; county records indicate the storage use dates to approvals issued in the 1990s.
Alessandria Palmer of Kimley Horn and Associates, representing Storage Rentals of America, told the board the property includes about 7 acres and eight single-story buildings totaling roughly 35,000 square feet, and that the owner seeks the zoning change to formalize and modernize the existing use. Palmer said the applicant plans to remove uncovered outdoor storage from perimeter areas, add landscaping and fencing buffers adjacent to single-family homes, and modernize with additional climate-controlled indoor units.
Caleb McCarty and staff concluded the rezoning met the land development code's approval criteria and noted the Commercial zoning would formally allow the existing storage use and encourage corrective actions where outdoor storage is nonconforming.
Three residents spoke in opposition. John Schuman, who lives near the property, asked why the site should be rezoned to commercial when much of West 10 Mile Road lacks commercial zoning and warned that commercial zoning "means you can have anything and everything." Jody Schuman Davis said the property has been in her family since the 1800s and expressed concern that adjacent new subdivisions were not adequately notified that a commercial zoning change could occur. Flood advocate Chris Curb cited the 8 Mile Creek basin's history of flooding and argued county rainfall design standards are out of date; he calculated that using more recent NOAA rainfall data would significantly increase required stormwater capacity.
Beau Raisin, vice president of development for Storage Rentals of America, said the company intends to build a 30,000' to 40,000'square-foot single-story storage building with screened covered RV parking, and to pursue site-specific engineering, geotechnical and stormwater studies before construction. Raisin said the firm is long-term oriented and expects to invest in compatibility measures and screening.
Staff also referenced a July 22 memo from the county's transportation/traffic office indicating no capacity concerns on West 10 Mile Road for the proposal as presented. Board members pressed staff on readiness to address off-site drainage impacts and were told county engineering reviews consider off-site and cumulative impacts during site-plan review.
A motion to approve the rezoning based on staff findings passed. The planning board's recommendation will be forwarded to the Board of County Commissioners for final action.
