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Wabash Commission adopts vehicle‑storage rules, delays fee consolidation
Summary
The commission approved new performance and screening standards for auto, farm equipment and truck repair uses — including paved storage, log‑in/log‑out records and a 90‑day limit for stored vehicles — and continued proposed fee consolidations to the June meeting.
The Wabash City Plan Commission approved amendments that add standards for the storage of vehicles at automobile, farm equipment and truck repair businesses and continued the fee‑consolidation portion to the June 4 meeting.
Staff explained that existing code lacked definitions and enforceable standards for vehicle storage at certain business types, creating a gray area where repair businesses could accumulate long‑term stored vehicles. The adopted provisions require performance standards and screening when repair uses abut residential areas, paved storage surfaces, and log‑in/log‑out records for vehicles. The ordinance text establishes a 90‑day threshold after which an inoperable or stored vehicle may be treated as a junk vehicle for enforcement purposes. Staff said these changes give the city a clearer enforcement path and the ability to cite environmental handling of fluids when necessary.
Because the packet’s fee language was not fully advertised, the commission voted to continue the chapter‑4 fee consolidation portion to the June 4 meeting but approved the vehicle‑storage and screening provisions now. A staff member said the city will provide outreach to affected businesses and noted some long‑standing junkyards remain separately grandfathered and will be handled on a case‑by‑case basis.
The commission’s action instructs staff to notify affected businesses of the new standards and to coordinate compliance timelines; several commissioners asked for phased implementation to allow businesses time to comply.
