Mallory Herrmann
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The planning commission has once again recommended approval of a temperature-controlled storage space. A preliminary development plan for Extra Space was initially recommended for approval by the commission on Jul. 24. But the city council remanded the application on Aug. 23, citing concerns about the general appearance of the building and about the mixed use of outdoor insulated units and indoor heated and cooled storage units.

The developer made changes to their development plan to address those concerns, including a reduction of the number of buildings from 4 to 1, a reduction of wall signs from 5 to 1, and a reduction of the overall building square footage, building height, and number of units available. The revised plan also shows the addition of windows, brick and architectural features to give it an appearance more similar to traditional office space. The facility will be three stories high with 125,000 square feet of space.

Two stakeholders spoke during the public comments portion of the meeting. Dennis Klein, owner of 50 Hwy Self-Storage, voiced concerns about additional traffic, what he called a saturated market for rental storage and the discrepancies in requirements he faced that this developer does not. A representative for the nearby Super 8 hotel also voiced concerns about traffic and about the unusually long term for the 25-year special use permit.

The planning commission voted unanimously to recommend the preliminary development plan, though with a special use permit term of 10 years. Commission Chair Jason Norbury said he hoped that the city council’s concerns had been adequately addressed. Commissioner Herman Watson was absent from the Oct. 25 meeting.

The city council will vote at an upcoming regular session whether to approve the preliminary development plan.