Planning and Zoning Commission approves Peterson Toyota expansion on South College Avenue

Peterson Toyota won Planning and Zoning Commission approval on June 25 for a major amendment to expand its dealership at 4455 South College Avenue, combining two parcels and increasing the building area by roughly 24,144 square feet.

City staff said the roughly 5-acre site is in the General Commercial (CG) zone and in the Lower Midtown/TOD overlay; staff recommended approval after finding the amended plan complies with applicable land-use code standards. "My name is Arlo Schuman. I'm a city planner with the City of Fort Collins. The site is located at 4455 South College Avenue," said Arlo Schuman, the city planner who presented the staff analysis.

The amendment would raise the dealership's total building area to about 51,366 square feet by replacing an existing portion of the showroom and expanding west onto a former self-storage parcel. Applicant materials show the project includes a new showroom, additional service bays intended to reduce customer wait times, regraded parking, two low-impact drainage basins, upgraded landscaping, ADA ramps and a push-button pedestrian crossing at College Avenue and Kensington Drive. "Our commitment to the community is anything and everything to do with the community," said Ron Embry, vice president of operations for Peterson Toyota, describing the company's local ties and saying the expansion would increase service capacity.

On traffic, lead civil engineer Emily Felton told commissioners the project's traffic was modeled by time of day and that "for Peterson Toyota, what they're looking to do is introduce traffic not at peak times," which the team said limits peak-hour impacts. Commissioners asked clarifying questions about storm drainage, circulation and how the proposal meets design standards. Staff noted the expansion does not add new access points to the site and that the elevations meet the city's commercial design standards.

Commissioner discussion was brief and favorable; a prepared motion adopting the staff report's findings passed in a roll-call vote with all members voting yes. The approval is conditioned on the applicant meeting standard administrative and permit requirements as the project moves to final engineering and building permits.

The commission record shows staff reviewed the site's development history, parking and drainage, and determined the amendment complies with Articles 1' 7 and the Midtown plan policies. The applicant and city will finalize technical plans and permits before construction begins.

Looking ahead, the expansion must clear the city's administrative review and building-permit steps; no construction timeline was specified in public remarks. The applicant said its team would be available to answer technical questions during the remaining review steps.