Edmond commission approves site plan, variance for U‑Haul storage at 913 S. Broadway

The Edmond Administrative Planning Commission voted 4–0 on May 5 to approve a variance and the site plan (SP24‑18) for a proposed U‑Haul storage development at 913 South Broadway, sending both items to the Edmond City Council for final consideration on May 26, 2026.

Planning staff presented the application for a roughly 6.3‑acre site on the west side of Broadway near 10th Street that proposes two storage buildings—the west building about 27,000 square feet and the east building about 88,000 square feet—with building heights shown at about 39 feet and 45 feet. The application requests a variance to reduce the sensitive border setback along the southern property line; staff recommended approval of the site plan contingent on granting that variance.

Todd McInnis, speaking on behalf of the applicant, said the variance is necessary because adjacent uses and zoning to the south (a mobile home park and duplexes) create a context where the setback would not apply if the uses were the same. "This is a $12,000,000 project," McInnis told the commission, and he emphasized design commitments including refacing an existing retail building, installing insulated metal panel facades, planting 105 trees 8–10 feet tall at planting and providing roughly 36,000 square feet of landscaping compared with a commonly required 27,000 square feet.

McInnis also said the project would close three of five existing driveways and bring two remaining driveways up to current standards, and that the east building—described as a U‑Box storage building—would operate on a daytime schedule; "those windows exist, but there's no way to look out those windows because there's no access for humans to be up there," he said, describing those features as aesthetic.

A public commenter, Todd Oberding of Edmond, urged commissioners to favor businesses that generate retail sales tax on Broadway, saying, "sales tax is what drives this city and Broadway is a haven for stores and shops." McInnis responded that the site already generates taxable activity—he said there are over 6,000 taxable transactions annually at the location—and that construction of the $12 million project would produce additional taxable sales on building materials collected by the city.

Commissioners asked whether the applicant had a written letter from the adjacent landowner, Mrs. Casey; McInnis said he did not have written confirmation at the hearing but had met with her and would follow up after the meeting. The commission approved the variance by a 4–0 vote and then approved the site plan by the same margin; both approvals were forwarded to the City Council meeting scheduled for May 26, 2026.

The City Council will review the variance and site plan at its May 26 meeting, where final action will be taken.