Planning commission backs zoning change making vehicle-storage uses special exceptions

Staff told the Planning Commission that Council recommends that two vehicle-related uses — a record service (vehicle service/storage) and a record service storage yard — be processed as special exceptions by the Board of Zoning Appeals with explicit design and screening conditions. “Council's recommendation for this is for both of these uses to be processed as special exceptions by the war zone appeals,” a staff representative said, summarizing the proposed processing path and the list of conditions that BZA could impose.

Staff added that design standards would address screening (evergreen plantings or berms), hard-surfacing requirements for stored vehicles, limits on long-term storage other than law-enforcement impounds, mosquito-control provisions for any standing water, and fire-truck access. Commissioners asked whether a planned-unit development (Tennessee National) would be considered residential for the 300-foot separation from residences; staff said the master-plan boundaries and district definitions would be used to interpret that distance.

After discussion the commission voted unanimously to recommend the ordinance changes to city council as drafted. The recommendation notes that BZA review will allow case-specific screening and access conditions to be applied at the time of application.