The applicant has submitted a proposed landscaping plan depicting the required evergreen screening. Because the landscaping will be located in the Interstate 170 right-of-way, approval by

9 the Missouri Department of Transportation is required prior to installation. The chain link fence should also be removed prior to installation of the landscape buffer. Commercial buildings must provide one parking space for each 300 square feet of gross floor area. Based on the size of the building, 44 parking spaces are required, and 56 are available on site. Based on the City’s Bicycle Parking Regulations, the proposed use is required to provide one bicycle rack; however, one has not been shown on the plans. Staff recommends that the applicant submit a site plan showing the location of the required bicycle rack in conformance with the Bicycle Parking Regulations, to be approved by staff prior to the issuance of an occupancy permit. New lighting is not proposed as part of this project. Louis stated that staff is of the opinion that the surrounding properties could be moderately impacted by the proposed use, specifically the building to the north. The operational characteristics of the use as proposed by the applicant can be noisy, visually unattractive, waste producing and odor producing. These impacts are somewhat mitigated by the configuration of the building on the subject property and the existing landscape buffering between the two properties. The garage bays, where most of the noise producing activity will take place, are located in the center of the building, thus providing a buffer between the location of the noise producing activity and the office building to the north. Furthermore, both buildings are located directly adjacent to Interstate 170, so there is a large amount of noise generated by passing traffic that could help offset some of the noise produced by the automobile repair shop. Finally, the storage/parking area is located at the south end of the property and is screened by an opaque fence and the existing building, therefore limiting its visibility to the public. Based on the information regarding the operation of the business as provided by the applicant, staff is of the opinion that the proposed use will be compatible with surrounding uses and that potential impacts on adjacent properties will be adequately mitigated. Staff is of the opinion that the proposal meets the requirements contained in the regulations governing conditional uses and recommends approval of the Conditional Use Permit to the Board of Aldermen with the following conditions:

existing chain link fence and install a landscape buffer along the outside of the entire length of the vinyl fence parallel to Interstate 170 as follows: evergreen trees shall be planted on 12 foot centers at a minimum height of 6 feet tall at the time of planting, and shall be maintained at a height of no less than 15 feet.

stored indoors or within the fenced and gated parking lot in a location that is completely screened from public rights-of-ways and adjacent properties.

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