The city’s moratorium expired on Jan. 31, but Toledo City Council President Carrie Hartman said she still receives concerns from constituents about the number of car washes in the city. She said council talked about extending the moratorium but ultimately decided not to.
“As much as I get questions about why there are so many car washes in town, I also get questions about why there is a moratorium on car washes,” Ms. Hartman said. “And ultimately, while a moratorium is a tactic that we can use for zoning, I don’t want to stifle economic development too much.”
The Toledo Plan Commission unanimously passed the report and the Toledo Municipal Code amendment at Thursday’s meeting. It now heads to council’s Zoning and Planning Committee for approval.
“Certainly, council will entertain the report from the plan commission and our members will deliberate to see if the code should change,” Ms. Hartman said. “But I think additional spacing would be a great change.”
While the staff proposed changes to the car washes popping up within city limits, it did not propose any changes to the city’s Planning and Zoning Code on the establishment of storage units.
“The concern about storage units mostly comes from business owners,” Ms. Hartman said. “The question is always, ‘Is this a good use of the space?’”
According to the staff report, there are 34 existing self-storage facilities in Toledo and two proposed self-storage facilities. The two self-storage facilities were paused due to the city’s moratorium.
The staff reviewed the zoning codes of the five largest cities in Ohio and two cities of comparable size to Toledo in Michigan and Indiana.
After reviewing the existing storage facilities and information gathered from individuals in the self-storage industry, the staff decided that adding a spacing requirement did not seem necessary. Additionally, the Toledo Municipal Code already has guidelines that ensure self-storage facilities are designed to be consistent and compatible with other commercial uses.
While the question is whether storage units are a good use of space, Mr. Gibbons said many self-storage facilities inhabit otherwise vacant properties.
“In looking at the self-storage facilities constructed over the last (20) years, the majority of the facilities have involved the reuse and renovation of existing facilities,” the report states, using examples of a strip mall at 5860 Lewis Ave. or the renovation of the Pinkerton Building at 3011 Council St.
The Toledo Plan Commission unanimously passed the study and the recommendation to make no changes to the code. It will also go before council’s Zoning and Planning Committee.
“They’re pretty innocuous,” Mr. Gibbons said of the storage units and the car washes. “And they take up space that really isn’t getting used. If something does come along, and it’s making [the space] a better use, then it’s pretty easy to clear the site. It’s not tough to take down a square box.”