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580 Mayport Road 17-UBEX-329 Staff Report CDB CITY OF ATLANTIC BEACH  COMMUNITY DEVELOPMENT BOARD  STAFF REPORT    AGENDA ITEM 4.C CASE NO 17-UBEX-329 Request for a use-by-exception as permitted by Section 24-63, to allow an establishment for the sale of automobiles as listed in Section 24-111(c)(10) in the Commercial General zoning district at 580 Mayport Road. LOCATION 580 MAYPORT ROAD APPLICANT BRIGHTWAY AUTO SALES DATE MARCH 10, 2017 STAFF DEREK W. REEVES, PLANNER STAFF COMMENTS The applicant is Ryan Hawkins, a partner in Brightway Autos, a proposed tenant of 580 Mayport Road, which is owned by Atillio Cerqueira. The applicant is requesting to operate a used car lot on the eastern portion of the property along Mayport Road within the Commercial General (CG) zoning district. The applicant has an existing used car lot across West 6th Street at 660 Mayport Road. The applicant’s current location operates under a use-by-exception approved in 1987 at a time when the approval ran with the land even though several car sales businesses have operated at the site over the years. The proposed site directly across West 6th Street would provide additional space for inventory. Offices would remain at 660 Mayport Road. In total, 10 to 11 cars could be located on the proposed site without blocking cars in. A use-by- exception is required by Section 24-111(c)(10) for the sale of automobiles at this location. The proposed site is an existing paved property at the corner of Mayport Road and West 6th Street. The paved area is about 32 feet wide by 102 foot length of the property. There is an existing nonconforming sign at the south end of the property. The existing landscaping is nonconforming in that it does not provide the required 10 foot landscape buffer, or the required shrubs and trees within that buffer. Policy A.1.10.5 of the City’s Comprehensive Plan states the following about automotive sales uses along Mayport Road; “Along the Mayport Road corridor, the continuation and proliferation of light industrial uses, automotive sales and repair businesses and other more intensive commercial business activities shall be discouraged in favor of those businesses and uses that provide neighborhood serving retail products and services that generate daily activity and interaction between residents of the surrounding neighborhoods” The applicants already operate a used car dealership across West 6th Street from this location. The next closest car dealership is Rick’s Used Cars at Mayport Road and Simmons Street. Page 2 of 3  Policy A.1.11.1 of the City’s Comprehensive Plan states the following for development in the CG zoning district; “These areas shall include those businesses that provide retail goods and services, which serve the routine and daily needs of residents, including banks and professional services, grocery and convenience stores, restaurants, accredited public and private schools and child care, but not including manufacturing, warehousing, storage or high intensity commercial activates of a regional nature, or uses that have the potential for negative impact to surrounding properties due to excessive noise, light or extremely late hours of operation.” While most residents of the City need a car for transportation, many do not buy cars frequently. This is counter to the list of desired uses that people tend to use daily or weekly. The proposed used car lot is requested to be located on the eastern end of a property that is part of a much larger property. This larger property has 15,921 square feet of multi-tenant structures that require their own parking. Since this is a multi-tenant building within in the CG zoning district, it should be considered a shopping center where there would be a need for 67 parking spaces. The larger property is already nonconforming due its parking design that requires cars to back into the street. Making the property even more nonconforming is that the few marked parking spaces that do exist require tandem parking where one car is blocked in. As seen in the image below, the area between the building and street is completely paved (also a violation of the maximum driveway width) that allows for parking along the roughly 254 foot length of the building highlighted by the red line. Within that space you could park around 28 cars in a conventional manner. That is not including the area that would be lost if you could not park in front of the 11 garage bay doors along this side of the building. This is far less than the required 67 spaces for a shopping center and that is true if you allowed tandem parking along the entire length. Some may object to classifying this property as a shopping center, despite the multi-tenant design, due to the existing uses within the structures and that they are different than what is usually found in a typical shopping center. If you were to apply the blanket “commercial” parking requirement, there should be 40 parking spaces. This too could only be met by parking in front of at least some bay doors while also allowing tandem parking. The loss of the 10 to 11 parking spaces along Mayport Road for a used-car-lot would make the overall property more nonconforming. While a site plan of the original construction of this property is not available in City records, it can be assumed that the paved area along Mayport Road was intended for parking and has been used for such over the years. In part, Section 24-161 specifically requires all required parking be maintained for the duration of the use it serves. Page 3 of 3  SUGGESTED ACTION TO RECOMMEND APPROVAL The Community Development Board may consider a motion to recommend approval to the City Commission of a requested Use-by-Exception (File No. 17-UBEX-329) to allow An establishment for the sale of automobiles as listed in Section 24-111(c)(10) in the Commercial General zoning district at within the Commercial General (CG) Zoning District and located at 580 Mayport Road provided: 1. Approval of this Use-by-Exception is consistent with the intent of the Comprehensive Plan. 2. Approval of this Use-by-Exception is in compliance with the requirements of Section 24-63, Zoning, Subdivision and Land Development Regulations. 3. The requested use is consistent with Section 24-111(c) in that the proposed use is found to be consistent with the uses permitted in the CG zoning district with respect to intensity of use, traffic impacts and compatibility with existing industrial uses, commercial uses and any nearby residential uses. SUGGESTED ACTION TO RECOMMEND DENIAL The Community Development Board may consider a motion to recommend denial to the City Commission of a requested Use-by-Exception (File No. 17-UBEX-329) to allow An establishment for the sale of automobiles as listed in Section 24-111(c)(10) in the Commercial General zoning district at within the Commercial General (CG) Zoning District and located at 580 Mayport Road provided: 1. Approval of this Use-by-Exception is not consistent with the intent of the Comprehensive Plan. 2. Approval of this Use-by-Exception is not in compliance with the requirements of Section 24-63, Zoning, Subdivision and Land Development Regulations. 3. The requested use is not consistent with Section 24-111(c) in that the proposed use is found to be inconsistent with the uses permitted in the CG zoning districts with respect to intensity of use, traffic impacts and compatibility with existing industrial uses, commercial uses and any nearby residential uses.