Owners of 2 Bull Lugs LLC seek to remove parking conditions for West Highway 10 parcel; neighbors raise easement and traffic concerns

The commission opened a public hearing on a requested amendment to a 2021 parking variance that would allow 343 parking spaces instead of the ordinance-required 400 for a 0.48-acre parcel on West Highway 10, and would authorize a payment-in-lieu waiver and removal of two conditions tied to that lot.

Scott Walls of Bridal Land Surveying addressed the commission on behalf of the applicant, identified in the hearing as 2 Bull Lugs LLC. Walls said the original 2021 variance involved the Boys and Girls Club thrift store and that, since then, portions of the parcel (including the sites of an Aldi and Snap Fitness) have been sold off, leaving the half-acre tract as a candidate to be sold as a standalone lot. "None of the parking improvements have been done since the variance was granted in 2021," Walls said, and, to his knowledge, "there's no parking issues out there at all." He added that the proposed drive-through business would meet city parking requirements and the site plan includes some green space.

Nearby property owner Robert Strand spoke during public comment and urged the commission to consider how the change would affect access and overflow parking. Strand said he bought 1315 West Highway 10 in 2021 with the expectation that the adjacent green space would be available as overflow parking under the earlier variance. He warned that sale of that land to the bank had already diminished access and that if the commission releases the parcel from the prior condition, other business owners and the Boys and Girls Club could be left absorbing additional traffic and backups. "If my business expands, I can't use that as overflow parking anymore," Strand said, adding that the bank should bear the burden of access reconfiguration if its parcel benefits from the sale.

An applicant who identified himself only as Ben, described the site's operational plans and queueing capacity, saying the property can hold a 10-car stack on-site and that their operational goal is about 2.5 minutes per vehicle. "So, by the time they order and the time they're gone should be less than 2 and a half minutes," Ben said, adding that the layout responds to an existing easement and that the applicant has discussed the project with the Boys and Girls Club.

Commissioners asked whether barriers or reconfiguration would be needed, and compared expected queue lengths to a nearby Caribou location cited as holding about 14 cars. A staff member reminded the body that the commission's role at the hearing is to determine whether the variance request meets ordinance criteria, not to approve a site plan or judge aesthetics.

The transcript also records discussion of whether access could be routed via the bank's west driveway to reduce impacts on neighboring lots; the applicant said that possibility would depend on what the bank ultimately decides and noted that a lawyer had reviewed existing easement language. The record provided ends after public comment; the transcript does not include a final vote or formal decision on the variance in the segments supplied.

Votes at a glance - Approval of minutes: Motion made by Scott Walls and seconded by the Chair; the commission approved the minutes by voice vote (all in favor said "aye"). (Transcript segment: approval recorded SEG 019–028.)

What to watch next The commission may take formal action on the variance at a later point (not recorded in the supplied transcript). Key outstanding issues: whether the applicant can demonstrate that the reduced parking meets ordinance requirements, the legal status of the shared easement, and whether bank-owned adjacent parcels will be reconfigured in a way that preserves access for neighboring businesses.