HUMBOLDT — Council has approved a car sales establishment on the corner of Highway 5 and 16th Street subject to seven conditions aimed at keeping the property in a tidy state.
The car lot, located kitty corner to the Dairy Queen, would be operated by O’Ryan Motors of B.C.
The conditions require the applicant to provide a landscaping plan to the city, get approval from the city before placing a temporary modular office and place the access to the site on 16th Street at least 55 metres from the intersection with the highway.
No service bays or fuel storage will be allowed on the property. There must be at least three parking spots for staff and customers. As well, the applicant must have all of its permits approved.
Frank Carpentieri, the city’s planning co-ordinator, said the he feels confident the conditions put in place, “safety nets to ensure that we get a commitment from the applicant that this will continue to visually look appealing.”
During their July 27 meeting, council said they wanted to make sure the site continues to look pleasing to passerbys.
Rob Muench, Humboldt’s mayor, said he received many complaints about the tidiness of a previous car located along Highway 5, something that he doesn’t want to see again.
“We want to make sure and be comfortable with that, if we do put conditions on it, that it's actually carried through and staff at that point, stays on top of it,” he said.
Joe Day, the city manager, said the tidiness of the lot would be enforced by the bylaw officer, with the planning department co-operating with the bylaw office to ensure the conditions are met.
According to the briefing provided to council, O’Ryan Motors has informed the city that product quality, visual appearance and the limited amount of product sold will be the key to competing with surrounding automotive sales establishments.
O’Ryan Motors will be hiring people to manage and run the establishment. The plan is to replace the temporary modular office with a permanent building when the business gathers enough momentum to justify it.
