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vehicle repairs
The Homewood Planning Commission on Tuesday, July 14, is set to consider an amendment to the city’s zoning ordinance regarding minor vehicle repairs.
The proposed amendment would establish a definition for a business that does minor vehicle repairs. The proposed wording is that a minor vehicle repair business is “a commercial establishment engaged in the retail sale, inspection, maintenance, installation, adjustment and servicing of mechanical, electrical or accessory components and systems for motor vehicles, where all such activities are conducted entirely within a fully enclosed building and are not visible from the exterior.”
The definition goes on to explain that minor vehicle repair uses are characterized by routine, customary and relatively low-impact services that do not materially alter the fundamental structure, frame, drivetrain configuration or primary performance characteristics of a vehicle.
Such uses include, but are not limited to preventive maintenance and light repair services performed on passenger vehicles, light-duty trucks and similar conveyances, including:
- Lubrication services
- Oil and fluid changes
- Filter replacement
- Tune-ups
- Minor diagnostic testing
- Front-end and wheel alignment
- Tire mounting, installation, rotation and balancing
- Brake services and component replacement
- Muffler and exhaust component repair or replacement (exclusing full system fabrication)
- Battery testing, charging and replacement
- Replacement of belts, hoses, spark plugs and similar consumable parts
- Installation of audio, video, navigation, alarm or communication equipment
- Repair or replacement of automotive glass
- Windshield chip repair
- Installation of minor accessories
- Comparable activities of a similar scale and intensity
The topic of minor vehicle repairs came up late last year and early this year when the Planning Commission voted in January to remove “minor vehicle repairs” from permitted uses in the Green Springs Urban Development District.
After a Valvoline oil change business was approved, members of the Planning Commission and City Council said then that minor vehicle repairs such as that did not match their long-term vision for the Green Springs corridor as a more pedestrian-friendly, connected boulevard.
City staff said then that removing minor vehicle repairs as permitted uses would prevent future oil change or similar businesses from locating in the district while allowing existing businesses to continue operating as nonconforming uses as long as they don’t expand.
Planning commissioners said in January that the city needed a clearer definition of minor vehicle repairs to help guide enforcement of the regulation.
