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Commission approves heavy-equipment storage CUP with modifications after debate over material-storage language
Summary
The commission voted 8–1 to recommend approval of a conditional use permit for heavy-equipment storage at 1691 E. 902 Road, adopting modified conditions: 10-year expiration with a 5-year administrative review and removal of a staff-added note that 'storage of material is not permitted.'
The Planning Commission reviewed a conditional use permit application for heavy equipment storage at 1691 East 902 Road and recommended approval to the Board of County Commissioners after a lengthy discussion about the scope of allowed outdoor storage and an appropriate time limit.
Planner Avery Kerner (speaker 26) told commissioners the proposal includes three existing buildings, outdoor equipment storage to be enclosed behind a 6-foot chain-link fence with screening, and recommended conditions including a revised site plan, labeling of screening material, a time limit (staff proposed five years given the site’s location in Tier 2 of the urban-growth area) and an agreement not to protest future annexation. The staff report noted some Class 2 soils on the western portion of the property and that no new impervious surface was proposed for the east-side improvements.
Applicant representatives (Paul Werner, speaker 15, and owner George Grieve present) asked for standard CUP terms used previously: administrative review at five years and expiration at 10 years. The applicants also requested clarity so materials they use in their excavation/boring business (coils/spools of conduit on trailers) would not be treated as a prohibited contractor-yard material storage. Staff explained the county code’s equipment-storage definition does not explicitly address materials and that the added note was intended to prevent the site from functioning as a contractor-yard use that is not permitted in AG-2.
Commissioners debated whether to leave the staff language in place or to remove it and rely on code enforcement and the Board of County Commissioners to resolve edge cases. Some commissioners favored keeping the staff note to avoid opening the door to unrelated storage; others argued the sentence was redundant with the code and could unfairly penalize the applicant’s legitimate on-site materials. Ultimately the commission voted 8–1 to recommend approval as modified: administrative review at 5 years, CUP expiration at 10 years, and striking the line "storage of material is not permitted with the approved conditional use permit" from the plan notes. The recommendation will go to the Board of County Commissioners for final action.
