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Planning commission leaves record open for parking-variance request at former industrial building
Summary
Commissioners heard a long staff presentation and public testimony on a parking-variance request for a mixed commercial conversion at a 5,380 sq ft Highway 101 building and voted to leave the written record open under a 7-7-7 schedule while they seek additional evidence and responses.
The commission held a public hearing on a variance request to the Depot Bay off-street parking standard for a 5,380-square-foot building proposed for multiple commercial uses including a personal woodshop, glass fabrication, storage and a small fish market. Staff told the commission that applying current code and prior ordinances yields a combined parking requirement of seven spaces for the proposed mix (1 for glass manufacturing, 1 for commercial storage, 5 for retail), and that the parcel’s built footprint and lot configuration offer no on-site parking. Staff recommended conditions if approval is granted, including that any future change in use requires re-evaluation against the municipal code and that each business obtain a city business license before opening.
Applicant representatives and several public commenters described the proposal and raised opposing concerns about parking spillover onto adjacent properties. Applicant Ken Zachar said the project “has no economic viability unless we can park,” and outlined an illustrative on-street shoulder area the application counts as available parking; an adjacent property owner, Jerome Grant, urged caution and warned that variances can create precedent and lead to claims by other property owners. After hearing testimony, the commission voted to leave the record open for written new evidence for seven days, allow seven days for responses to any new evidence, and then permit a final applicant rebuttal before reconvening to deliberate and decide.
