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Wayne planning board approves small used-car sales with storage limits and screening
Summary
The Town of Wayne Planning Board approved Johnny Deblois’s application for used-car sales and outdoor storage of boats and vehicles, conditioned on meeting the ordinance’s 100-foot setback from back and side lot lines and providing vegetative or wood-fence screening for storage areas.
The Town of Wayne Planning Board voted to approve an application from Johnny Deblois to operate a small used-car sales business with outdoor storage for boats and vehicles, provided the storage meets local ordinance requirements on setbacks and screening.
Deblois, the applicant, told the board the flea-market events and vehicle displays would be limited in scale. "It's not gonna be, like, a 100 cars out there," Deblois said, describing plans to keep displays small and to place storage well to the rear of the property.
Board members spent substantial time clarifying whether the flea market was part of tonight’s application (it was previously approved and not required as part of this hearing) and distinguishing between cars actively displayed for sale and longer-term storage of boats, RVs and trailers. Chip Havens, the town’s code enforcement officer, urged the board to set clear parameters that would make the use "palatable to town," highlighting the importance of limits, screening and setbacks.
The board considered both numeric caps and size/visibility-based standards. One member noted the applicant suggested 12 cars for sale would be typical; the discussion ultimately focused on using the town ordinance’s screening and setback language rather than prescribing a strict numerical cap for cars displayed. The ordinance language read to the board requires that "outside storage area shall be screened with evergreen vegetation and or natural wood fencing so as to not be visible from abutting properties, roads, streets during any season," and elsewhere limits exterior storage to a fraction of the lot (the board referenced a provision that such storage shall not exceed 33% of a lot’s open space).
After discussion the board approved a motion providing conditional approval: the applicant must meet the ordinance by maintaining a 100-foot setback from the rear and side lot lines for storage areas and provide vegetative screening or equivalent wood fencing so the storage is not visible from abutting properties or public ways. The motion, read aloud by a board member, specified compliance with the ordinance and was seconded; the chair declared the application approved.
The decision will be memorialized in writing and is subject to the town’s standard appeal period as noted by staff. The board and staff also agreed to a potential site check (stakes or ribbons) and code-enforcement inspection to verify setbacks and screening once the applicant marks the proposed storage area.
What’s next: the applicant will receive the written decision and the code officer will inspect for compliance; the board indicated the applicant could return with amended plans later if operational needs change.
