Planning commission rejects storage shed proposal

MONTROSE — Proponents of a proposed storage shed facility could not convince the planning commission it met safety standards applicable to busy Highway 50.

ABS Storage owner Chris Hoskins sought rezoning from residential to commercial for 18.5 acres off of the highway, south of Tombstone Drive.

His representatives said the request conformed to the master plan for highway corridors and the property lies within the commercial overlay corridor.

The proposal, which was to truck in portable storage units ABS rents out and create a “hub” for the business, “falls clearly within the vision of the master plan,” Rahn Zaccari told the planning commission at a crowded hearing Thursday night.

Land Use Director Steve White told the commission ABS would be required to construct a county road for access to the highway in order to fully comply with requirements. Land use staff recommended approval, upon that condition, which ABS said it was willing to meet.

Neighbors on Tombstone Drive and Epitaph Road had strong reservations. They pointed to traffic safety, aesthetics and property values.

Zaccari acknowledged concerns, but said the plan wouldn’t harm residents.

“This is not a McDonalds drive-through with traffic in and out every day,” he said, referring to about three truck trips a day to transport the storage units to and from the property.

He said the factual effect the development would have on property values was “nebulous,” and, further, that factor alone was not sufficient for the commission to reject the application.

Skip Hudson, an ABS consultant and former Colorado Department of Transportation engineer detailed three possible scenarios for dealing with such traffic issues as line of sight concerns and left-hand turn access.

CDOT could either approve the opening of the median by the property; vehicles could go to the Tombstone median opening and there make a U-turn so they would be turning right, or continue north to the next median opening.

Hudson said the third option had the most benefits and fewest disadvantages, but there could be an issue with U-turns and oncoming traffic.

He said it was likely ABS would apply for the first option with CDOT and, if denied, seek the third option.

Planning commissioners ultimately decided against recommending approval. The applicants can take their request to the county commission.

“In the end, it didn’t fit,” chair David Laursen said Friday. The commission thought the request was spot zoning — one piece of commercial property surrounded by residential.

Laursen said commissioners were also concerned with safety.

“We were just really concerned about semis doing a U-turn on a divided highway and maybe having to back up, even,” he said.

“It was a tough decision, because the commercial corridor overlay does say commercial fits the area. But there is no other commercial (zoning) there.”

He said commissioners also weren’t convinced the “county road” ABS would build would really be anything more than a driveway to the business.

Neighborhood resident Darrell Weingard told the Daily Press Friday he was concerned for safety, property values and how a storage shed facility would look.

“What could go in there after, who knows,” he said. “It wasn’t viable for big trucks to make U turns. We have a hard enough time getting out of Tombstone.”

Tombstone resident Noalani Terry also praised the decision, saying property values could’ve dropped by as much as 25 percent.

“We were very concerned, not only for that, but for the safety,” Terry said.