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Council tables decision on cool-seal parking condition at Lovejoy Lane medical center for further study
Summary
Council voted 5-0 to table a requested condition amendment for the parking lot cool‑seal requirement at 604 Lovejoy Lane, asking staff and the applicant to develop a defined pilot approach and measurable parameters.
The Woodstock Mayor and Council on July 28 voted unanimously to table a condition‑amendment request related to the parking-lot solar‑reflective ("cool seal") coating at 604 Lovejoy Lane until staff and the applicant return with defined parameters for a pilot and measurable evaluation criteria.
When the medical office project was annexed and rezoned in 2022, the council attached a condition requiring the applicant to install underground infrastructure for five EV charging stations and to apply a solar‑reflective coating to the parking surface as a sustainability measure that would allow an applicant to exceed parking maximums. The facility opened this year; the applicant provided escrow ($26,950) because cool-seal installation required several consecutive days above 60 degrees and could not be completed before the certificate of occupancy was released.
Planning staff advised council that the escrow agreement covered only a subset of spaces and that staff’s reading of the original condition expected coating of the entire parking surface; staff also noted a large power easement on the property limits shade-tree mitigation. The applicant and their attorney argued the scientific literature is mixed, that cool-seal coatings may have counterintuitive effects (e.g., reflecting heat upward), and that ongoing maintenance and periodic reapplication are costly.
The planning commission recommended partial approval — coating of drive aisles rather than the entire lot — and staff suggested focusing on the areas most exposed to sunlight. Council directed staff and the applicant to return with a demonstration/pilot plan that outlines pre- and post-measurements, maintenance standards and a clear scope of work; councilmember Johnson moved to table for at least 30 days, and the motion passed 5-0. Council suggested alternatives to evaluate included planting trees where possible, installing one active EV charger (the underground infrastructure is already in place) or narrowing the scope to overflow spaces as an interim measure.
The tabling will allow staff to work with the applicant and, if appropriate, the product manufacturer to define measurable outcomes and maintenance expectations before council acts on a permanent amendment.
