Commission approves special exception for boat and RV storage at 666 Doris Street with conditions and landscaping offer

The commission approved a special-exception use for a boat and RV storage facility at 666 Doris Street after an extended quasi-judicial hearing that focused on an existing fence placed on the property before permitting staff had opportunity to require a pre-application meeting. Senior Planner Jake Baker outlined the B-3 special-exception criteria and recommended conditions to mitigate neighborhood impacts: a 6-foot fence (solid to 4 feet then open above in visibility triangles is the minimum standard, but staff recommended full slatting to 6 feet outside visibility triangles), a five-foot landscape buffer (to be planted inside the fence because of the fence location), stormwater and site-plan compliance, and plantings and trees per the code.

Neighbors and the contractor disputed how the fence was approved. Contractor Chad Howard said the permit application and on-site inspection supported the installation and accused the city of mishandling the intake. Staff acknowledged there was no definitive record that permit technicians directed the applicants to planning and said they had added an intake question to require proposed use up front. The applicant agreed to install slats to 6 feet and to offer plants to neighbors after one year of operation. On a motion that included staff recommendations (and a stipulation about the landscaping offer), the commission voted to approve the special exception. "We will do our very best to make that happen," the city manager said about staff following up on landscaping and administration.