Yuma to build new Utilities Administration Complex

P&Z OK’d permit allowing parking, generator and 6-foot wall

Yuma is gearing up to build a new Utilities Administration Complex on 3.5 acres located at 200 W. 13th St. The complex will be used as a new office facility with workshops and a warehouse for the city’s Utilities Department.

The new single-story structure will have masonry walls and a steel roof structure, with 25,700 square feet of floor space and an eave height of 22 feet, according to details in a staff report.

The new building will include office space, employee restrooms, locker rooms, a training room, storage rooms and a warehouse for utility equipment. Areas on the north side of the building will be used for loading and unloading of city and vendor delivery trucks.

The project will also have general site improvements and new infrastructure, such as new asphalt parking lots for light- and heavy-duty vehicles, striped parking stalls, water and sewer, a material storage area, site lighting, landscaping, and a separate 800-square-foot single-story storage building with a 14-foot eave height.

The project requires a conditional use permit to allow the new complex in the Light Industrial/Infill Overlay and High Density Residential/Infill Overlay District, within 600 feet of a residential zoning district and use.

Steve Gerber of Nicklaus Engineering appeared before the city’s Planning and Zoning Commission on Oct. 22 to request the permit on behalf of the city. The commission, which has final say on conditional use permits, held a public hearing on the case, which did not draw any speakers from the general public, and approved the request.

By approving the permit, the commission authorized exceptions to allow parking, a generator and a 6-foot-high wall in the setbacks for the property. Specifically, the permit will allow parking on 12th and 13th streets and 3rd Avenue within the 20-foot parking setback. On 3rd Avenue, the permit will allow the installation of an emergency power generator within the 20-foot building setback. It will also allow parking and a drive aisle within the 20-foot parking setback on 12th Street.

In addition, the permit will also allow the construction of a 6-foot-high block wall along the north property line within the required 20-foot landscape strip on 12th Street. Normally the city code asks for a 3-foot wall. The higher wall is to buffer the complex from existing residences located adjacent to the north. Bob Blevins, a principal planner with the city, told the commission that the city had not received any negative comments from surrounding property owners.

The commission also heard a request by Vega & Vega Engineering, on behalf of JR’s Mobile Service, for a CUP that would allow an industrial use within 600 feet of a residential use and zone in the Light Industrial District.

The property is located in the Gateway Plaza Industrial Park at 2697 S. Avenue 2½ E and is currently vacant. The 30,000-square-foot lot was annexed into the city in 1981, when the site was rezoned from agriculture to heavy industrial as the area was being developed as an industrial park.

One of the conditions of approval for this rezoning action was that the west 600 feet of the park be limited to commercial and light industrial uses. The reasoning behind this condition was concern for potential incompatibility of heavy industrial uses with existing residential areas to the west of the park, according to a staff report.

To ensure a clear buffer, the city later rezoned the west 600 feet of the park from heavy industrial to light industrial. All these actions were in conformance with the city’s General Plan, staff said.

JR’s Mobile Service, which is primarily a mobile business, wants to build a diesel mechanic shop. The majority of the work is expected to be done off-site. When a semi-truck or trailer breaks down, JR’s typically goes to where the vehicle broke down to do repairs.

However, if a vehicle cannot be repaired in the field, it will be brought back to this location for repairs. The business operates 24 hours a day, 7 days a week. However, the hours in which the public could access the facility would be 8 a.m. to 5 p.m.

All development standards have to be met with the new construction, including landscaping, adequate parking, lighting, sound attenuation within the building, as well as the need for any outdoor storage to be screened by a solid wall.

The parking requirement for vehicular repair is three parking spaces for each service bay. The proposed project has two service bays, requiring six parking spaces. The proposed site plan illustrates nine parking spaces.

A neighborhood meeting was attended by two neighbors, a business owner and a resident in the area. After discussing the project with staff and the agent, they did not express any concern about the project, according to Chad Brown, city assistant planner.

The commission held a public hearing on the case, which also did not draw any speakers, and approved the permit. P&Z Chairman Chris Hamel noted that “it’s good to see” construction projects “moving forward, especially in this part of town.”