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Commission approves temporary parking reduction for industrial site after staff conditions
Summary
The commission granted a request for a parking reduction at an industrial site (IG/Cardinal Glass) after staff found the facility operates with fewer on-site employees at one time; approval is conditioned on building 21 approved spaces within six months and returning if employment increases.
The Planning and Zoning Commission approved a request to reduce required parking at the IG/Cardinal Glass industrial site following staff review and conditions.
Planner Bria Miller presented the case and said the site was built in stages: the IG glass plant received site-plan approval in 2017 and was completed in February 2019; a tech center was approved in 2020 and completed in February 2023. The proposed expansion would remove 18 existing spaces and reduce the on-site parking count from 205 to 187. Miller said the Ocala code requires 272 spaces for the new improvements, placing the site at an 85-space deficit; using the ITE parking manual raises the requirement to 315 spaces (a 128-space deficit). Miller said staff’s parking study assumed 203 employees, and that the plant’s shift-based, highly automated operations mean not all employees are on site at once.
Staff recommended approval with conditions: (1) the 21 additional parking spaces that were previously approved must be installed within six months of approval, and (2) any increase in employment beyond the study’s 203 employees requires an updated parking review. When asked who enforces employee-count-based conditions, staff acknowledged practical limits but said the condition is intended to require a new review if employment rises or if future building expansions are proposed.
Tom Hartman, representing Cardinal Glass/owner Roger Shaughnessy, told the commission the 21 spaces have already been completed. "We've already completed the 21 spots that were requested," Hartman said, and he described the plant as a large, lightly populated facility with shift scheduling that mitigates peak parking demand.
With no public opposition, the commission voted to approve the parking reduction subject to the staff conditions. The approval includes the requirement that the 21 spaces be fully built out as specified and that the site return for review if employment increases.
