Planning commission recommends special-use route for downtown self-storage

The Lawrence Douglas County Metropolitan Planning Commission voted unanimously to recommend a change to the land development code that would allow interior self-storage in the downtown commercial (CD) district only by special-use permit and would not adopt the staff-recommended design standards. A commissioner moved the motion to add an "S" to the CD use table and to decline the proposed standards; another commissioner seconded and the motion passed 7-0.

Planning staff presented the text amendment as a response to a proposed reuse of the vacant building at 700 New Hampshire (the former Borders building) and explained the change would require either a special-use permit or the insertion of a permitted-use designation with standards. Staff noted the proposed standards are included in the packet, and that the code currently caps retail-box footprints at 20,000 square feet and includes downtown design guidelines intended to preserve street-facing vibrancy. As staff put it, the matter is ultimately a "policy question" for the planning commission and the City Commission to resolve.

Applicant Paul Warner of Paul Warner Architects, who spoke in support of the reuse, told commissioners the Borders building has sat vacant for about 15 years and argued climate-controlled interior storage is a compatible mixed-use option that serves downtown residents. Commissioners who supported the special-use approach said an SUP gives the commission and the public a chance to evaluate each proposal's context and protect prominent Mass Street frontages from inappropriate conversions. The application and the commission's recommendation will move on to the City Commission for final action.