HomeMy WebLinkAboutA003 - Staff Report, August 26, 2008 e
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Staff Report
CAR WASHES & CONVENIENCE STORES IN CVCN DISTRICTS
August 26, 2008
A request was submitted by Chuck Winkleblack for the Council to consider the issue of
car washes in the Convenience Commercial Node (CVCN) district at Stange and
Bloomington. Specifically, he stated his assumption that when the four uses were
approved by the Council for this CVCN district, that each use was allowed independently
as a matter of right. In order to move ahead with the site plan approval for a proposed car
wash on one of the four platted lots, he is requesting a text amendment to the Municipal
Code that will allow a car wash independent of an associated convenience store and
without Special Use Permit approval. The Council considered Mr. Winkleblack's
comments and asked staff to report back on this issue.
Currently, Table 29.807(2) of the Municipal Code states that vehicle service facilities are
not allowed in the CVCN zone "except convenience stores in combination with gasoline
service and car wash, by Special Use Permit." The Special Use Permit requires approval
from the Zoning Board of Adjustment.
The Council will recall that the issue of allowable uses in the zone was based upon
consideration of proposed exception criteria regarding the location of CVCN districts.
Under the previous language in the LUPP, a CVCN district could not be located closer
than two (2) miles from an existing commercial zone or village. The exception criteria
was intended to identify uses that had not located in the village, could not now locate in
the village, and would therefore not undermine the viability of the village if a CVCN
district was to be located closer than the two (2) mile separation limit.
The language Mr. Winkleblack originally proposed for the LUPP did not identify specific
uses that could be considered under the exception criteria, and the proposed amendments
were not approved by Council. During follow-up discussion, however, the Council
considered whether the exception criteria would be more acceptable if the list of
allowable uses in the CVCN district were pared down to a select few. During that
discussion, grocery stores and convenience stores were initially proposed, but as a
last minute effort to make the proposal acceptable to all Council members, medical
centers and car washes were also added to the list of uses. However, there was no
discussion regarding the standards that pertained to those uses, and no proposal to
amend the zoning code to exempt those uses from the standards that apply generally
to all CVCN zones.
The question now is whether the standards pertaining to one of those approved uses
(grocery stores, medical offices and clinics, convenience stores, and car washes) should
be different for CVCN districts abutting a village than for a CVCN district two (2) miles
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away from a village. The answer to that question may be found in examining the
"purpose" statements of both the village and the CVCN districts.
The "purpose" statement for villages in Section 29.1201 states that, "The Village
Residential District is intended to allow for integration of uses and design with greater
potential for social and physical interaction through a "village" concept. One of the
Village Residential Development Principles in that same section is to "Provide building
design standards that promote pedestrian mobility over vehicular mobility" (emphasis
added).
The "purpose" statement for the CVCN district in Section 29.807 states, in part, that the
Convenience Commercial Node "encourages the provision of small-scale retail and
service uses for nearby residents. Uses are restricted in size, scale, materials, and use
to promote a local and compatible orientation with, and to limit adverse impacts on,
nearby residential areas. Development is intended to be pedestrian-oriented and also
accommodate vehicular travel associated with conventional suburban residential
subdivision design" (emphasis added). The purpose statement goes on to state that the
CVCN Zone is to:
(a) Promote clustered and convenient commercial land uses adjacent to
residential areas
(b) Provide for convenience to meet localized neighborhood needs
(c) Integrate commercial land uses aesthetically and physically with
adjacent residential subdivisions
(d) Accommodate the vehicular mobility associated with conventional
residential development while maintaining pedestrian connectivity
(e) Promote higher design, building materials, landscaping standards,
signage, lighting, and screening
(f) Maximize Floor Area Ratios
(g) Promote shared parking.
The purpose statement for both districts emphasize pedestrian movement and a pedestrian
scale of buildings, as well as a higher level of building design to both respect pedestrian
scale and relate to abutting residential development.
The current language in the code pertaining to car washes in the CVCN district allows car
washes only in combination with a convenience store. The reason this restriction was
included in the code may be a matter for discussion, but a quick review of car washes
within the City reveals that the only stand-alone multi-bay car washes in the city are
located in Highway Oriented Commercial (HOC) districts. These include the car wash
on Clark Avenue just south of the railroad tracks, the car wash on Beedle Drive just south
of Lincoln Way, and the car wash on Crystal Drive lying east of South Duff. There was
also a stand-alone car wash on South Duff near Southeast 3rd Street, but that has since
closed. All other car washes in the City are associated with a convenience store and all of
these are single bay automatic tunnels (some are connected to the buildings and some are
stand-alone buildings on the same site as the convenience store).
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Although there is nothing in the code that specifically mandates a car wash to be on the
same site as the convenience store in order to be in combination with a convenience store,
there are common operational features associated with the two uses. First, car washes are
often associated with the sale of fuel, at which point the customer is given opportunity to
purchase a reduced price car wash at the fuel pump. Secondly, the car wash entrance is
typically incorporated into the traffic pattern of the convenience store site. Thirdly, the
convenience store provides on-site management to both the store and the car wash,
whereas stand-alone car washes typically have no on-site management.
The above features may provide some benefit to allowing car washes only in combination
with a convenience store, but the current code does not specifically mandate these
features. The only thing that can specifically be determined under the current code, is
that both businesses must be operated simultaneously, and it is also reasonable to
conclude that they be at least contiguous to each other to coordinate "combination" of
operations.
What is not ensured under current standards is that a car wash — particularly a larger
stand-alone car wash - is in line with the purposes of both the CVCN district and the
village with which the CVCN district may be associated. A five (5) or eight (8) bay car
wash, for example, may not be perceived as a "small scale facility serving primarily
nearby residents," especially since single-bay car washes throughout the city currently
serve areas far greater than a CVCN district is intended to serve. Currently, the largest
car washes in the city include the six (6) bay car wash located on Beedle Drive, and the
ten (10) bay car wash on Clark Avenue, indicating that multi-bay car washes typically
serve a larger regional market within a more intensely commercial zoning district.
The Staff is offering the following five options for the City Council to consider in regards
to the issue raised by Mr. Winkleblack:
a. Amend the Code to eliminate reference to car washes being "in combination
with" a convenience store, thereby allowing both uses to occur independent
of each other in the CVCN district.
This option would allow the five (5) bay car wash currently proposed by Mr.
Winkleblack's client to proceed without plans for, or development of, a
convenience store on the abutting site. In addition, there would be no codified
limit on the number of additional bays that might be added in the future. (At the
Development Review Committee meeting where this car wash was reviewed, the
applicant indicated that he might wish to expand the car wash in the future. The
applicant's site would easily accommodate expansion because the boundaries of
this 1.4-acre site extend well beyond the currently proposed building and
pavement area on the site).
b. Amend the Code to require that car washes be located on the same site as the
convenience store.
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This option would more firmly define the meaning of a car wash being "in
combination with" a convenience store, and would likely place the car wash and
convenience store under the same ownership and management. This option may
require that the two lots intended for a car wash and convenience store in the
Stange/Blooimgton CVCN district be combined into one lot.
c. Amend the Code to impose a limit on the number of car wash bays permitted
in a CVCN district.
This option would provide better assurance that a stand-alone car wash is scaled
more to the demands of nearby residents than the regional market, and may
therefore minimize regional traffic being drawn into the area. The Council will
have to determine the appropriate number of bays under this option. It appears
that the greatest number of bays in a current car wash in the City abutting a
residential zone is three bays on Crystal Drive.
d. Amend the Code to require that car washes be located on the same site as the
convenience store and impose a limit on the number of car wash bays
permitted in a CVCN district (a combination of options "b" and "c").
Under this option, unless the two lots currently intended for the car wash and
convenience store are combined, there would be one extra lot that could be used
for another approved use.
e. Maintain the existing language of the code.
This option would not allow the car wash to be permitted or operated until a
convenience store is also approved and operating on an abutting site. It would
allow the five (5) bay car wash currently proposed, and would also allow
expansion of the car wash in the future.
It should be emphasized that, under each of the above options, staff believes that the
special use permit and development standards should still apply to car washes.
Because noise, hours of operation, etc., could impact the surrounding neighborhood,
staff would suggest that regardless of which option is ultimately approved by the
Council, a Special Use Permit should still be required from the Zoning Board of
Adjustment to address these types of impacts.
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