Planning Commission approves Dana Interchange Business Center preliminary plat and site plan with direction on trailer parking

The Dayton Planning Commission voted 4–0 to approve the preliminary plat and site plan for the Dana Interchange Business Center, a proposal to combine two lots into a larger parcel and construct a speculative office/warehouse building. Staff said the project would create a roughly 126,000‑square‑foot building on a combined lot and noted several design issues for commission consideration: trailer and dock storage orientation near County Road 81, missing ornamental trees required by code (staff estimated about 92 ornamental trees are needed), stormwater pond placement and potential retaining walls, and the location of trailer parking relative to a railroad right‑of‑way and a parcel guided for mixed use across the street.

Commission discussion focused on orientation and screening. Some commissioners supported orienting the building and primary entry to Territorial Road to improve tenant visibility and reduce retaining wall costs; others said trailer parking and dock doors facing County Road 81 created pedestrian‑oriented and visual concerns and asked the applicant to explore shifting trailer spaces deeper into the site and increasing landscaping buffers. Applicant Scott Moe (Canal Properties) said flipping the building orientation reduced retaining walls and improved access and that the team would work with staff to adjust trailer parking and add landscape screening where feasible.

A commissioner moved to approve the preliminary plat and site plan as presented, with direction that staff and applicant continue to coordinate on trailer parking shifts and added landscape buffering. The motion passed 4–0. The decision advances the project to the city council review phase.