LAKEPORT >> The Lakeport Planning Commission will consider a proposal for a new AutoZone store on Industrial Avenue at its next scheduled meeting on Wednesday.
If it’s approved, the shop would be the third major auto parts retailer within a half-mile stretch of South Main Street. In fact, the planned 7,842 square-foot building would be located behind the existing O’Reilly Auto Parts store.
According to Lakeport Community Development Department documents, the plan requires multiple steps to be taken in order for this building to manifest on the mostly vacant lot.
The first request would divide the 8.5 acre cul-de-sac, owned by Napa-resident Sam Lamonica, into four parcels, with “Parcel 1” being the location for the new store. The other business on the property, McAtee’s Marine Repair, Inc., would be in “Parcel 3.”
Both places and the professional office building, which would be in “Parcel 2,” will all have fronts facing the street, the documents said. Once subdivided, “Parcel 1” would have to be rezoned from an “I” or industrial designation to a Major Retail Zoning District and the entire street would have to refurbished by city standards: new pavement, sidewalk on AutoZone’s side of the street, etc.
These two proposals meet the requirements for city ordinances regarding subdivision of land and the Lakeport General Plan, staff analysis in the report said.
“It’s not a simple project, but we are recommending approval,” Community Development Director Kevin Ingram said. “There are about 70 conditions of approval and those range from your normal standards to some specific ones like managing storm water and all walks of CEQA guidelines.”
Amending the zoning ordinance requires that the change must be in the “public’s interest,” meaning that the commission and the city council must consider their staff’s opinions and citizen input.
However, Ingram said he didn’t receive any calls or formal complaints from the public or the affected businesses.
Additional changes include redrawing the property line on 292 Industrial Ave. to give Lakeport Tire & Auto Service more space. The documents said that both LaMonica and his neighbor applied for the property extension.
Finally, the company will ask for a design review and a variance to exceed sign size limitations.
Under the city’s municipal code, a building like the one proposed may only have one free-standing sign with a maximum height at 25 feet and area of 50 square feet. The developers want two.
This variance, Ingram said, will not be supported because AutoZone’s only argument is to “compete with the O’Reilly store.
When asked about the idea of two similar businesses next to each other, he cited that the fast food restaurants do it all the time, like Lakeport’s “Hamburger Hill.”
“We don’t get in the business of regulating that,” he said. “We are excited about the opportunity for new commercial development.
Lakeport Tire could not be reached for this story. McAtee declined a request to comment.
The meeting begins at 5 p.m.
