The Hancock County Plan Commission gave a favorable recommendation to proposed RV/boat storage facility Outback Storage’s request for a rezone to Industrial Light, albeit with multiple conditions placed on the recommendation at the commission’s October meeting.
The conditions from the commission were approval for the inclusion of an 8-foot privacy fence and a special use exception for outdoor RV/Boat Storage from the Board of Zoning Appeals (if the BZA did not approve those exceptions, the zoning would revert to its current residential zoning) and additions to the project’s development plan including hours at which customers can access their vehicles, specifications on rental agreement language and environmental protection requirements.
The petition was returning from the commission’s September meeting when it was granted a continuance based on a question as to the petition’s legality, specifically whether or not it was “substantially different” from a petition filed by the same petitioner in April looking to rezone the same site, located at 204 N. Main St. in Maxwell, to Industrial Business Park. The commission ultimately decided that the change to the requested zoning made the petition different enough to move forward with the request.
Planning Executive Director Kayla Brooks said that staff gave the project an unfavorable recommendation, just as it did last month. Brooks focused especially on the issue of the proposal’s alignment with the county’s comprehensive plan, which calls for the site to be part of a future neighborhood. At last month’s meeting, Brooks also noted that the proposal wasn’t in keeping with current construction, wasn’t responsible for growth, and wasn’t the most responsible use for the area.
Petitioner Kim Medlin noted several letters of support from neighboring landowners. She also noted that if the surrounding area ever did become a planned neighborhood, that neighborhood would most likely not allow boat or RV parking, creating additional need for the business in the area.
No remonstrators or public officials spoke against the petition.
After Medlin’s presentation, commission member and county commissioner Gary McDaniel suggested the zoning use restriction ensuring that the site could only be used for outdoor boat and RV parking. Initially, Medlin was resistant, but when presented with an ultimatum of McDaniel’s suggestion or an unfavorable recommendation from the commission by fellow commission member and county councillor Scott Wooldridge. After discussion from across the board to finalize the language of the favorable recommendation and its conditions, the motion passed unanimously. The petition will now go before the Hancock County Board of Commissioners for a final decision.
