Peculiar board approves variance to allow personal car hobby use at 355 Trackside Drive

The Board of Zoning Adjustment of the City of Peculiar voted unanimously to approve a variance allowing the owner of 355 Trackside Drive to use the property as a personal storage and car hobby workshop, subject to conditions limiting outside storage and commercial activity. The motion passed on a 4-0 roll call vote: Chairman Wilson Aye; Board member Harrison Aye; Board member Kelly Aye; Board member Clausing Aye.

Alec Adolfson, the applicant, told the board he recently purchased 355 Trackside Drive and intends to “use it as a personal space as a shop, put my own stuff in it, and work on my own things in it.” City staff summarized the request as a variance to municipal code section 400.502, the city’s approved land use table, because the property is zoned C-1 General Commercial and lies in the DOD downtown overlay district while being surrounded by residential parcels.

Staff said the building was originally a detached garage that later operated for years as an auto repair shop. That operation did not renew its business license and staff determined the property lost its legal nonconforming status after the license expired. The staff report noted the structure contains a vehicle lift and a living quarter area that did not have a record of a building permit.

City staff recommended approval with three conditions: (1) any use beyond the approved personal storage, car hobby activities and workshop must receive prior city approval; (2) no outside storage is permitted and any vehicle-related work must be conducted indoors; and (3) the property must comply with all applicable provisions of the Peculiar city code. Staff reported 23 notices were mailed to adjoining property owners within 300 feet, two notices were returned, and no objections were recorded in the staff report.

Board members asked staff to clarify enforcement. Dylan, city staff, said driveway parking remains permitted but that multiple vehicles in visible disrepair could trigger code-enforcement action. When asked whether there were historical complaints related to the site, Dylan said he found no code-enforcement complaints in the record.

Adolfson asked whether he could build an extension and park a trailer in what is now a shallow runoff depression; he said an engineer advised filling the depression with about 3 feet of clean stone and placing gravel and a roof. Dylan said such work would require a building permit and must meet city code requirements.

The board’s approval followed a motion to adopt the staff recommendation with its three conditions and a second. The official action recorded in the meeting minutes authorized the variance with the listed limitations.

Looking ahead, staff said any change toward commercial promotion or obvious commercial activity at the site would prompt a city review and potentially require the owner to return to the board for a different approval or permit.