Derby BZA approves larger outdoor display area for proposed Tractor Supply on Rock Road, 7-2

Derby Board of Zoning Appeals on May 1, 2025, voted 7-2 to grant an exception that allows a proposed Tractor Supply store at the northwest corner of Meadowlark and Rock Road to increase its outdoor display area and to waive part of the code's covering requirement, subject to staff-recommended conditions including site-plan review, screening and traffic improvements.

The exception permits outdoor display up to 120% of the enclosed building's floor area (staff and the board presented that as a percentage rather than a fixed square footage to allow design flexibility). The applicant's submission described about 20,000 square feet of outdoor display area and roughly 4,000 square feet of sidewalk display; staff recommended concrete surfacing, an 8-foot decorative metal fence around the fenced display area, a 4-foot masonry screen along the sidewalk and that all outdoor areas be used only for merchandise for sale.

City planning staff member Scott Knabe presented the staff report and described how the B3 General Business District's use limitations normally restrict outdoor display to a 20% expansion of the enclosed area. Knabe said staff recommended granting an increase capped at 120% of the enclosed floor area, a waiver of the 50% coverage requirement for the outdoor area, and other conditions including a required site-plan review within 180 days and compliance with a traffic impact analysis acceptable to the city engineer. Knabe said staff expected the project to provide an ADA-accessible pedestrian connection and that the site be paved in concrete and kept free of trash and weeds.

Jay Cook of the Baughman Company, the applicant's agent, told the board the applicant would work with staff through site-plan review and said the live-plant/garden center would be a relatively small portion of overall sales. "As the agent for the applicant and the developer, we've been doing our best to make sure we're abiding by all of those use regulations and making sure that we're meeting staff's desires," Cook said.

One resident, Robert Nelson of 1336 Broadmoor Street, spoke in opposition during public comment, raising concerns that the expanded outdoor display could harm nearby independent garden centers. "It feels like allowing this expanded area is going to be detrimental," Nelson said, referencing a nearby business, Stutzman's.

Board members discussed traffic and compatibility with adjacent residential (R-1) zoning. Knabe said the applicant's customer numbers should be doubled to estimate daily trips; staff estimated about 500'to'750 projected vehicle trips per day (accounting for arrivals and departures) and recommended a left-turn lane and deceleration/right-turn lanes on Meadowlark as identified by a traffic study acceptable to the city engineer. Board members confirmed the applicant will be responsible for constructing required lane improvements identified by the city's review.

Other conditions spelled out by staff and incorporated into the approval include: no outdoor storage except for merchandise on display; prohibition of temporary signs/banners on the fencing for this property; required solid visual screening toward the southwest and north adjacent residential areas (achieved by fencing, landscaping or a combination); paved, maintained concrete surfacing; designated safe vehicular circulation routes through the outdoor area; and a requirement that any screening or fence design be approved at site-plan review. Knabe also noted that if the underlying B3 zoning is not approved by the city council, the exception would be null and void.

Chris Voth moved to adopt the resolution granting the exception and Gary Remberger seconded. The motion carried 7-2 with Board of Zoning Appeals members Mitch Adams, Weston Heflin, Eric Petrie, Gary Remberger, Chris Voth, Joe Wells and Jamie Werbin voting yes; Dana Quigley and Phil Hesseltyne voting no. Jessica Ryan was absent. The board's action is final for the exception; subsequent site-plan review and any required zoning action remain to be completed.

Next steps: the project must complete site-plan review within 180 days and satisfy any traffic-impact analysis and design requirements acceptable to the city engineer; the outdoor-display exception depends on final B3 zoning approval by the city council, if required.