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Commission backs pilot allowing limited outdoor storage at shopping centers with restrictions
Summary
The commission recommended a one‑year pilot allowing limited outdoor storage (portable containers) in C‑1/C‑2 shopping‑center districts via an administrative permit, adding conditions to prohibit hazardous materials, require prefabricated containers and ban noise or light emissions; the recommendation moves to council 7–0.
The Planning Commission voted to recommend a council‑initiated zoning text amendment to allow limited outdoor storage in the rear yards of shopping centers via an annual administrative permit, with new standards added by the commission to address safety and nuisance concerns.
Director Song presented the amendment as a one‑year pilot (beginning Nov. 1 if council approves) intended to give retailers flexible, temporary storage options without permanent accessory structures. Proposed standards included limiting containers to rear yards behind principal structures, a 10‑ft minimum setback, a maximum footprint of roughly 306 square feet (about two parking spaces), an 8‑ft height limit, a prohibition on placement visible from the public right‑of‑way, a cap of two concurrent permits per parcel, and a requirement for written property‑owner authorization.
Commissioners raised enforcement and safety questions: which materials would be prohibited, whether refrigeration units or sound‑emitting equipment would be allowed, how to define a permissible container and whether the permit follows the property or the tenant. Commissioner Katzen suggested adding explicit prohibitions on hazardous materials and a definition that would require prefabricated manufactured containers rather than ad‑hoc structures. Director Song agreed to add a standard prohibiting storage of hazardous materials and to define the container as prefabricated and to add a prohibition on sound and light emissions. "Most definitely" the director said when commissioners asked that flammable materials and fireworks be prohibited.
Chair moved to recommend the amendment to council with the three additions (prohibit hazardous materials, define container as prefabricated unit, and ban sound/light emissions); the motion was seconded and passed unanimously. Staff said code‑compliance and building‑permit reviews will accompany the pilot’s implementation and that monitoring and renewal will be handled administratively during the pilot year.
