Council hears public testimony on zoning text amendment to define automobile uses; commerce center seeks changes to PI zone rules

The Mayor and Common Council of Westminster on July 28, 2025, held a public hearing on Ordinance 2025‑0101, a proposed text amendment to Chapter 164 of the city zoning code that would add definitions and adjust where automobile-related uses are permitted.

City planning staff described the amendment as an effort to modernize the zoning ordinance so it clearly defines automobile detailing shops, automobile repair and service shops (major and minor), and automobile sales, and to replace the term "service station" with "automobile service station." The amendment would update permitted and special-exception uses across multiple zones, including the PI (Planned Industrial) zone. Planning staff said the ordinance was introduced to the council on June 9, 2025, and referred to the Planning and Zoning Commission, which held a public hearing on July 17 and forwarded a set of recommendations to the council.

Representatives of the Carroll County Commerce Center — Kelly Schafer Miller and Brian Ditto — testified in favor of moving two low-intensity automobile uses (automobile detailing shops and automobile repair and service shops, minor) into the list of permitted uses for the PI zone so they would not count against the PI zone’s 15% retail-area threshold. "We are requesting that those be moved to uses that are permitted in the PI zone because we do not think that those are appropriate to be counted against our more general retail uses," Kelly Schafer Miller said, describing prospective tenants such as Safelite (auto glass replacement), a van-to-food-truck retrofit operator, and a car-audio installer as examples.

The Commerce Center representatives said the PI zone was designed as a cohesive, park-like industrial setting and that the two auto uses under discussion are lower-intensity and compatible with existing industrial tenants. They said treating those auto uses as permitted in the PI zone would avoid forcing property owners to amend an existing development plan (and potentially trigger the 15% retail cap) when a compatible tenant seeks space.

Planning and Zoning Commission recommendations presented to council included: keeping restaurants as a permitted use in the PI zone under the motor inns/motels cluster; removing restaurants and lunchrooms (with or without drive-throughs) from a separate retail list; and moving the two auto uses into the PI zone's permitted-use section. City staff and the zoning administrator raised two concerns in their report: first, that deleting restaurants from the PI zone as currently written could unintentionally remove a by-right restaurant use intended as an accessory amenity to motor inns and motels; second, that moving the new auto uses into the permitted-use section without subjecting them to the same conditions and restrictions that apply to other retail/service uses in the PI zone could create an imbalance in how similar uses are regulated. Staff also cautioned that some of the commission's recommended changes may require reintroducing the ordinance to restart the review process.

Councilmembers asked about timing and next steps. Staff reminded the council that it is required to take final action within 90 days after the public hearing closes. A councilmember also asked planning staff how much developable acreage remained at the Commerce Center; the Commerce Center's representative said there are about nine acres within the center currently in the city and about 13 acres in an adjacent parcel not yet annexed.

No final vote on Ordinance 2025‑0101 was taken at the July 28 meeting. The Planning and Zoning Commission’s recommendations and the staff report were entered into the record for council consideration as the ordinance moves toward a future adoption vote.