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Planning commission approves conditional use permit for Mercedes of Collierville parking lot with landscape condition
Summary
The Planning Commission approved a conditional use permit to allow a 3.36‑acre parking area for Mercedes of Collierville (about 308 spaces); commissioners discussed and recorded objections from the applicant to a required 20‑foot landscape buffer and berm (Condition 5A) but approved the permit subject to the conditions in Exhibit 2.
The Collierville Planning Commission voted to approve a conditional use permit (case 250763) allowing a 3.36‑acre lot north of Shelby Drive and west of Summit Chase Lane to be used as part of the Mercedes of Collierville campus for vehicle parking and inventory storage. The property owner was identified as Higginbotham Automobiles of East Memphis and the applicant’s representative was Grayson Vaughn of Township Development Services.
Staff said the site is in the Houston Lehi Business Center plan development overlay (Area 2 for this property) and that automotive uses in that area require a conditional use permit. Staff described an administratively pending site plan modification for roughly 308 parking spaces, a landscaping plan, a lighting plan and a condition that prohibits adding buildings on the lot without returning for amendment of the CUP. Staff also noted that the town engineer will evaluate whether on-site detention is required and that water and sewer are available for the parking use; if a building is later proposed, utilities would be re-evaluated.
A principal point of disagreement in the review was Condition 5A, which, per the zoning standards for automotive dealerships, requires a 20‑foot landscape buffer along specified property lines with an undulating berm 1–2 feet high supplemented by evergreen shrubs and trees. The applicant’s representative said the site grade is low relative to the adjacent drive and that a 2‑foot berm would not screen vehicles from street level; he asked that the berm requirement be removed or modified. Staff replied that, under the conditional use permit process and the town code, the permit must meet the zoning standards or applicants must pursue a different relief mechanism (plan development amendment, variance or code amendment). Staff suggested the commission could recommend modifications that meet the same spirit and intent but said code limits make striking the standard via CUP difficult.
The commission discussed landscaping, irrigation and the technical grading points raised by the applicant. Commissioners also noted public-safety concerns tied to parking on Summit Chase Lane and supported conditions in the permit requiring no parking signs on Summit Chase Lane and Shelby Drive to ensure emergency access.
A motion to approve the conditional use permit subject to the conditions in Exhibit 2 passed on roll call with these recorded votes: Given — yes; DeBose — yes; Stamps — yes; Green — yes; Goddard — yes; Sledd — yes; Rozanski — yes; Fletcher — yes; Cotton — yes. Staff said the CUP will go to the Board of Mayor and Aldermen on June 9; separate administrative review of the site plan modification will be completed before construction can proceed.
