Commission okays self-storage zoning changes; shipping-container wording left for later review

The Augusta Planning Commission approved a proposed amendment to Section 10.36 of the city's zoning regulations to set rules for commercial self-storage facilities. The commission approved the version of the ordinance recommended by staff, with changes made after staff consultation with a local industry representative. The amendment will be forwarded to City Council on April 21 for final approval.

Staff said revisions were made to reflect industry practice and to address neighborhood impacts. Key changes adopted by the commission include a prohibition on outdoor vehicle and equipment storage (the draft language allows such storage only if it is within an enclosed structure), a required 15-foot side setback for storage units that face residential zoning districts (in place of the current 5-foot side setback), and a maximum lot-coverage allowance set to a stated percentage (percent value not specified in the staff report) subject to setbacks, buffering and screening requirements.

Cammie, planning staff, explained the change on outdoor storage: "I had included no vehicle or equipment storage, including recreational vehicles. And based off of our conversations, we included the word no outdoor vehicle and equipment storage, including recreational vehicles. That's just so if someone has a vehicle or a piece of equipment within an enclosed structure, they're still allowed to have that." Staff also clarified that paving requirements from Article 7 still apply, but that drive aisles "may be exempt" and could remain gravel; concrete approaches and required parking areas for any office or public access portions of a facility may still be required during site-plan review.

The draft also revised access/driveway language so primary ingress must be provided from an arterial street, with one additional driveway allowed to a local or collector street for corner lots. For storage facilities adjacent to residential zoning, staff added the larger 15-foot side setback to reduce impacts on nearby homes.

The draft originally included a line prohibiting the use of prefabricated shipping containers as self-storage units. Kevin Unrein, a local self-storage business representative who attended the hearing, urged caution on a blanket ban. "There is a line in here that says prefabricated shipping containers shall not be used as storage self storage units. So we talked about this for a while yesterday. I think there's a compromise that can be made," he said. Staff said the shipping-container language may be better handled in a separate or returning amendment and suggested that a site-plan review requirement or a planning commission review could be used to address atypical container proposals.

The commission voted to approve the amendment as modified by staff; the motion carried on a voice vote and specific roll-call tallies were not recorded in the transcript. The item will be transmitted to City Council for final action on April 21.

Background and implementation notes: permits for commercial self-storage will continue to be subject to site-plan review. Where office space and public customer access are provided, staff said those areas may require paved parking and approaches; back-of-site drive aisles may be gravel if approved during site review. The commission and staff discussed the need to avoid ad hoc placement of one or two containers on oddly shaped lots, and staff said language can return to the commission to require planning review for such proposals.