Plan commission denies conditional use permit for proposed TR Cruz auto lot at 22nd Avenue

The Kenosha City Plan Commission on Jan. 8 voted to deny a conditional use permit for a vehicle facility proposed at 5514 22nd Avenue after members said the application depended on an off-site parking parcel that had not been coordinated or fully applied for.

Representatives for the applicant said the business would use nine spaces on a parcel across 22nd Avenue and that site improvements and a nine-space lot were in progress. Maria Ramirez, speaking for the adjacent parcel owner, said the lot has historically been used for parking and that a site plan was in process. The commission’s staff, however, told members it had no completed plans for the off-site lot and that prior review in December had been deferred to allow coordination.

Commissioners pressed the applicant on operational details and the business plan’s financial projections. One commissioner challenged the math in the applicant’s plan, saying, “The business plan doesn’t appear to be, quite, genuine,” and questioned whether projected sales and startup estimates would allow the operation to survive its first year. Commissioners also raised public-safety and land-use concerns about using a separate parcel across a busy thoroughfare for customer parking and vehicle movement.

After an initial motion to defer for further coordination was withdrawn, Commissioner Spotsberg moved to deny the permit, arguing that conditional use permits are difficult to revoke once issued and that approving the request without a comprehensive package would weaken leverage to address problems on the adjacent lot. The commission approved the motion to deny by voice vote.

The denial means the applicant must either withdraw, substantially revise the proposal with full, coordinated applications for both parcels, or wait to reapply. The planning commission’s action closes the matter at this meeting; any future filing would return to the commission for consideration.