A look at conditional uses and their role in city code may be in Osceola’s future.
Following two month’s worth of discussion about a proposed amendment for the conditional use of auto body repair shops in Osceola’s B-3 Interstate/Commercial zoning district, the Osceola City Council approved the first reading of an ordinance amendment to move auto body repair shops from an excluded to permitted use; the first reading passed 4-1 with councilwoman Luci Sullivan voting no.
The original proposed amendment came to council late last year from planning and zoning, who had received a written request from Southern Tire Mart at Pilot about possibly amending the zoning to accommodate their use in the B-3 district as they looked into possibly purchasing and building on a piece of land across from Pilot on West Clay Street. Planning and Zoning recommended an amendment to move auto body repair shops to a conditional use which would require board of adjustment approval on a case-by-case basis. A public hearing on the matter was held Nov. 5, at which time council decided to table a decision and at their Nov. 18 meeting voted 4-1 against the amendment. At their Dec. 2 meeting, council voted 4-0 to reconsider the proposed amendment at a future date.
Throughout council meetings since November, the subject of conditional use has come up several times as it pertains to all of zoning, not just in B-3.
“[The] conditional use category at its core is intended for those uses which would necessitate enhanced application or enhanced approval,” Osceola City Administrator Ty Wheeler explained, saying it was for those uses that the traditional city code is not set up for enforcement purposes. He said he felt the conditional uses had been used to help move forward development in areas that had been absent from the code, but a more extensive review of the code may be in order, though that would start in planning and zoning.
For the purposes of the Jan. 6 meeting and present request, Wheeler said he felt it appropriate to consider the original recommendation from planning and zoning while offering a further amendment of moving auto body repair shops to a permitted use. By doing so, any site plans from a business classified as auto body repair that met all other applicable zoning ordinances would be approved by planning and zoning without needing to go in front of council. Making auto body repair shops a conditional use would require any requests for us to go before the board of adjustment prior to planning and zoning.
“Conditional use is… subjective. I think this brought forth a larger issue that we need to take another look at our zoning and make sure we’re up with the times,” Osceola Mayor Thomas Kedley said.
Wheeler stated that in his opinion, it might be of benefit to consider the purposes of the B-3 district and its location. The B-3 district was established in 1998 to “provide retail commercial and service uses for the traveling consumer and specifically targeted for the tourist.” However, with the exception of Lakeside, Pilot and Revelton, there has been no further development of that nature, save the recent approval of a KwikStar site plan. The B-3 district’s present-day location is that of land mainly owned by Lakeside Hotel Casino, Revelton Distillery and undeveloped land along the east side of Interstate 35 to the north and south of Clay Street.
“It feels B-3 has been cut into many times and it warrants being looked at,” Wheeler said. Kedley suggested to council to make a motion on the amendment and direct city staff to work with planning and zoning to look at the zoning ordinances.
Before a motion was made, the Osceola city attorney Mason McCoy gave general legal advice to the council.
“There’s been a lot of talk in the community from both sides about protecting businesses in the community and those types of things… that, when you’re deciding these types of things, cannot be a consideration,” McCoy said. He said the issue at hand was land use and constituent’s happiness with potential new competitors was not a legal reason to make a decision one way or the other.
Councilman Dr. George Fotiadis made the motion to amend the ordinance proposal which was seconded by Dan Hooper. The motion passed 4-1; Sullivan voted no. The motion and vote was then taken for the first reading.
The B-3 district had two conditional uses when it was approved in 1998 - “Public utility and service uses, including but not limited to water purification plants, sewage treatment plants, electric substations, gas regulator stations, radio, television and cellular transmitting towers” and “All other uses of a similar character as may be determined by the Board of Adjustment.” Since then, two additional conditional uses have been added to the code found in Chapter 166.10: “Truck stops (facilities designed to attract large numbers of tractor trailers and providing overnight parking for such vehicles)” and “modular can and bottle recycling.”
Meeting with Southern Tire Mart
Prior to the Jan. 5 regular meeting, council and city staff had a work session with representatives of Southern Tire Mart who explained their company and vision for Osceola.
President of Southern Tire Mart at Pilot Flying J John Boynton explained that Southern Tire Mart had been in operation for about 50 years and in a partnership with Pilot Flying J for the past five. The business, he said, is focused on building maintenance facilities for professional drivers, which are those who operate a vehicle 14 hours a day. Most of the work is tire-related or light mechanical.
“Our focus is really to serve that professional driver so that when they are going through the area and if they have an issue of some kind that may delay them or prevent them from getting to their destination, they come in to see us,” Boynton said.
He said their service is geared towards what would take one or two hours to get drivers back on the roads. Anything that would take heavier mechanical work or multiple days would be recommend out to a different operation. They also offer 24-hour emergency roadside assistance, able to dispatch a service truck in a 50-60 mile radius.
While there is not a specific site plan for a building here, Boynton spoke on what a facility would likely look like. Generally, there are four to five professional driver bays for Class A vehicles plus a couple of bays for passenger vehicles. There will be no fueling stations or tanks on the property. They do their own tire disposal, and keep upwards of 300-400 tires in stock. Boynton said that would not mean there would be piles of tires lying around outside.
“We pride ourselves on the aesthetics of our facilities, the way they look. Not just when we build them but as we go forward,” Boynton said.
As far as workforce, Boynton said exact numbers vary but usually between 10 and 18 employees that they try to hire locally as much as possible. Their stores are open seven days a week from 7 a.m. to 11 p.m. Boynton said with the investment they are looking to make in Osceola, they expect to see between $3.5 to 4 million in sales going through the facility once they get to full steam. Construction time is estimated at 210 to 220 days once everything is approved and ready to go.
No action was taken during the work session.