Get Full Government Meeting Transcripts, Videos, & Alerts Forever!
Get email alerts on the Zoning On Site Storage topic
No spam. Unsubscribe anytime.
Planning commission recommends council adopt amendment clarifying on‑site storage definition
Summary
The Planning Commission unanimously recommended the City Council adopt Zoning Ordinance Amendment 260002, which narrows the definition of “on‑site storage facilities” so routine incidental business storage (restaurant supplies, inventory, small equipment sheds) is not treated as a primary land use requiring conditional use review in commercial districts.
The St. Helena Planning Commission on June 23 recommended that the City Council adopt Zoning Ordinance Amendment 260002, a technical clarification aimed at preventing routine business storage from being mischaracterized as a primary land use.
Senior Planner Jackie O’Neal told the commission the amendment revises the city’s on‑site storage definition to exclude "the storage of goods, inventory, materials or equipment that are sold, utilized, produced, or maintained as part of a primary use when such storage is incidental and subordinate to that use." O’Neal said the change resolves a conflict between a prior April definition and the municipal code’s accessory‑use framework and would avoid unintended conditional use permit (CUP) requirements in CB and MU commercial districts.
The amendment would preserve existing development standards — screening, accessory structure rules and setbacks — and would not alter the separately regulated definition for "storage personal" (mini‑storage or self‑storage) that applies in the industrial district, O’Neal said. Director Lisa Mle and staff emphasized that the draft resolves ambiguity so business owners do not read the code to mean they cannot keep routine supplies on site.
Vice Chair Ferdick opened the public hearing; no members of the public spoke. Commissioners thanked staff for clarifying language, discussed a readability edit suggested by a commissioner, and then moved to recommend city council strike the word "facilities" from the term in the draft resolution (per the motion recorded in the meeting). The motion carried on a roll call vote: Commissioner Coll — yes; Commissioner Lopez — yes; Vice Chair Ferdick — yes. Chair Warner and Commissioner Anderson were recorded absent for the meeting.
The commission’s recommendation will be forwarded to the City Council with the staff report and the superseding resolution; staff confirmed no changes to accessory structure or screening regulations are proposed as part of this amendment. The next procedural step is Council consideration of the amendment, per staff’s presentation.
What happens next: staff will include the commission’s motion and recommended language in the resolution forwarded to the City Council. The commission’s action was limited to making the recommendation; final adoption requires council approval.
