Applicant seeks conditional rezoning for auto-repair storage in Jackson Township; planning staff recommends denial
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Summary
At a public hearing, an applicant asked the county to rezone a front portion of a parcel on Mary Elizabeth Church Road to allow expanded vehicle storage and limited service work; staff recommended denial and the planning board voted 4–3 to deny. No final decision by the Board of Commissioners was recorded at the meeting.
A public hearing on June 16 drew residents and the applicant for a conditional rezoning request in Jackson Township to allow expansion of a legal nonconforming automobile maintenance and storage operation.
Senior Planner Bjorn Hansen presented the request (listed in the agenda as 25-365, conditional rezoning 2025CZ002, "Gordon"). Hansen said the applicant asked to rezone roughly the front portion of a parcel on Mary Elizabeth Church Road from RA 40 to light industrial to regularize several acres that had been cleared and used for storage. Staff said a portion of the existing operations is a legal nonconforming use that predates current zoning, but recent clearing and grading exceeded what the legal nonconforming status would allow. Planning staff recommended denial because the parcel sits in an area designated rural residential on the land-use map and the proposed industrial designation is inconsistent with that plan; staff also said the rezoning followed a code-violation enforcement action.
Applicant representative Jackson Township resident (identified in the hearing as Mr. Gordon) said the operation primarily serves the local community, including daily drivers and farm equipment. He described a small 40-by-40 shop, limited capability for heavy-truck repair, a natural hedge used as screening and supply-chain delays during COVID that sometimes required longer onsite storage of vehicles awaiting parts.
Neighbors spoke against the rezoning at the hearing. Michelle Brunette, a 35-year county resident who lives on Potter Road adjacent to the parcel, said she is concerned about property values and described larger commercial vehicles she has observed on the site. She said the rezoning is permanent and that the owner regularly exceeds the half-acre storage allowance the business previously had.
Hansen told the board the planning board had a split deliberation and ultimately recommended denial by a 4–3 vote. At the end of the public hearing the county commission closed the hearing; the transcript does not record a final action on this rezoning at that meeting.
Ending: The public hearing closed with the matter left for subsequent action; staff noted the planning board’s recommended denial and commissioners can vote on the petition at a future meeting.
