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Board grants parking and driveway variances for Pete Ellis oil‑change project with conditions
Summary
The board approved a redevelopment plan for a two‑bay oil‑change business at 2550 South Pete Ellis Drive, granting a modified parking allowance (up to eight employee spaces plus required ADA) and approving a limited driveway-width variance after the applicant and board reconciled a safer, workable site layout and conditions.
The Bloomington Board of Zoning Appeals approved revised variances May 28 for redevelopment of the former Pizza Hut site at 2550 South Pete Ellis Drive into a two‑bay Valvalene oil‑change facility, after extensive testimony from the applicant, engineers and neighbors about circulation and parking needs.
Staff presented two variances: one to exceed the UDO’s parking maximum for the proposed vehicle‑repair use and one to allow a wider one‑way driveway in the front yard. Staff recommended approval of a more limited parking allowance (six on‑site spaces, seven including ADA) but opposed the driveway‑width variance because staff had identified a compliant alternative site layout.
The applicant’s planner, Jonathan Woker, submitted a parking study and argued the operator expects up to eight employees on site during busy periods and that the design reduces impervious surface and provides required landscaping and stormwater improvements. Owner and local developer advocates described the lot as a tight redevelopment site bounded by an existing shopping center driveway and a Goodwill drop‑off, making the compliant alternative impractical and potentially less safe for vehicles and pedestrians.
After hearing engineers, neighbors and petitioner testimony and reviewing an alternate site layout the applicant had provided at staff’s request, the board concluded the requested relief represents the minimum practical modification needed to allow safe, functional redevelopment. The board amended staff findings to allow up to eight employee parking spaces (plus one required accessible space), required permeable material for additional stalls, and approved a short, tapered driveway width limited to the configuration before the street entrance. The board also modified conditions to lock the approval to the submitted site layout and building design.
Board members emphasized the redevelopment benefits—replacing a vacant building with landscape and stormwater improvements—while balancing circulation and pedestrian safety concerns. Roll-call votes recorded approval with conditions.
