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Plan Commission approves conditional use permit for You Drive It Now with parking limits and spot checks
Summary
The commission approved a conditional use permit for a You Drive It Now auto‑sales office at 1531 E. Moreland Blvd., imposing restrictions on inventory and drive‑aisle parking while allowing limited overnight parking in front of garage doors and directing staff to conduct spot checks; the vote was 5–1.
The Waukesha City Plan Commission on Feb. 26 approved a conditional use permit allowing You Drive It Now to operate an online auto‑sales office inside the Boucher body‑shop building at 1531 E. Moreland Blvd., subject to staff‑recommended conditions governing parking, signage and enforcement and an explicit allowance for one car to be parked overnight in front of the building’s overhead garage doors.
Staff presenter Charlie said the site plan shows 11 customer parking spaces and that the applicant had obtained a temporary occupancy permit while applying for the conditional use permit. City staff recommended that customer and employee spaces “may not be used for inventory or service storage,” that drive lanes be kept free of parked vehicles, and that vehicles be prohibited from pedestrian walkways and landscape areas. Charlie told the commission a permanent occupancy permit must be approved by March 31, 2025, and that repeat violations could lead to immediate citations and ultimately to revocation proceedings that would return to the commission.
Developer representatives told the commission they had parked vehicles near windows and doorways after hours as a security measure to prevent break‑ins and vehicle theft. “Every night we have procedures that our staff follows on a nightly basis to make sure that the buildings are secure to prevent thefts,” said Dan Nienhuis, general counsel for the applicant, describing biometric key boxes and nightly lot‑management practices. He asked the commission to allow limited overnight parking in front of the overhead doors to deter the sort of smash‑and‑grab thefts dealers have experienced.
Commissioners pressed the applicant on alternatives such as bollards, planters and placing cars inside garages, and debated whether the photograph in the packet showed cars blocking windows and walkways during business hours. Commissioner Keller sought examples of non‑structural security practices; Commissioner Schmidt said parking directly in front of a garage door on the paved apron was acceptable to him but parking throughout the walkway was not.
Chair moved to approve the conditional use permit subject to staff conditions, add a carve‑out to allow cars to be parked overnight in front of the overhead garage doors only, direct staff to perform periodic spot checks, and bring back a report at the commission’s February meeting if violations occur. The motion passed 5–1, with Alderman Wells recorded as opposed.
The commission’s approval carries several enforceable conditions intended to prevent customer and employee spaces from being used for inventory storage and to keep drive aisles, pedestrian walkways and landscape areas free of parked vehicles. Staff said repeated violations could trigger administrative citations and a public hearing for revocation of the conditional use permit.
The commission’s action is a final land‑use approval at the commission level; the permit’s permanent occupancy requires follow‑through by the applicant and compliance checks by city staff. If revocation is later pursued, it would require a public hearing and a commission decision.
