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Council considers code changes on drive‑throughs, auto repair and airport overlay; asks staff to return
Summary
City staff presented four planning-docket code amendments: allowing gravel surfacing for industrial storage aprons, revising drive-through standards (stacking and screening), adding auto repair/body shop uses to certain zones, and adopting an airport overlay to protect takeoff/approach areas. Council asked staff to separate drive-through changes if
City planning staff presented four recommended code amendments brought forward from the planning commission and asked the council for direction on adoption and any desired changes.
Senior Planner Nathan Pate described the package: (1) allowing gravel for main storage and associated aprons in certain industrial zones (with a paved apron for emergency access), (2) rules to permit drive-through uses in specified zones with conditional-use design criteria—staff proposed a design standard “for five” stacking lanes rather than an absolute numeric maximum to preserve flexibility—(3) adding auto repair and auto-body uses to the land-use chart for C1, C2 and light/heavy industrial zones, and (4) an airport-overlay rewrite intended to protect airport approach/departure corridors while offering transfer development rights (TDR) to mitigate impacts for affected property owners.
Council spent significant time on the drive-through language, discussing whether the code should require a minimum designed stacking capacity of five vehicles, allow additional stacking where the site configuration permits it, and add screening/setback language to protect adjacent properties and downtown pedestrian character. Council indicated it could separate the drive-through section from the rest of the docket to move the other items forward to adoption while the drive-through details are refined and returned for another public hearing.
Jeremy Davis, vice chair of the Moses Lake Airport Commission, said the airport-overlay language follows Washington State DOT aviation guidance and that overlay zones are standard practice to protect approach/departure safety while allowing property owners options such as TDRs. Council asked staff to bring the other three items back for adoption and to return the drive-through modifications after clarifying the stacking and screening language and any downtown walkability impacts.
No final ordinance was adopted at the meeting; staff were directed to return with refined language and (where required) a separate public hearing for amendments.
