Commission approves conversion of West Lone Mountain Road home into landscape showroom with limits on heavy equipment and hours

The Planning Commission approved a rezoning and special use permit to convert a single‑family property at 5924 West Lone Mountain Road into a landscape materials showroom and display garden operated by Living Water Lawn & Garden.

Owners Mark and Christine McClune told the commission they plan a botanical display garden and an office/showroom aimed at residential customers, not an industrial lumberyard. They emphasized they would not dispatch crews from the site nor keep heavy equipment outdoors. The applicants added that the front yard will remain landscaped and that they had removed debris neighbors had complained about.

Patricia Reed — who had opened public comment earlier in the meeting — told the commission she opposed item 18 and asked whether there were penalties for previous unpermitted activity. "Why would you reward them for not following the law?" she asked during the public‑comment period.

Staff recommended approval with conditions. Commissioners added an explicit restriction: the outdoor storage of heavy construction equipment, machinery and vehicles is prohibited and on‑site parking must be limited to passenger vehicles with a maximum capacity of one ton. The commission also adopted hours of operation aligned with the applicants' written justification: Monday–Friday 8 a.m.–4 p.m., Saturday by appointment, closed Sundays and major holidays.

The motion carried and the item will proceed to City Council on Feb. 18 as required by the appeals process.