Despite protests from community members and a veto from the local planning commission, Coltrane Storage LLC received approval this week from the city council to build Coltrane Self Storage in Edmond, Okla. The planning and zoning department earlier denied the request to recommend approval of the storage project, according to sources.

In a 3-2 vote, the city council approved the facility to be built on the northwest corner of Coltrane and Danforth roads. Seven residents, armed with detailed presentations against the storage project, attended the meeting, the source reported. Council members Darrell Davis and Elizabeth Waner voted against it.

Residents said the facility wouldn’t fit the aesthetics of the 25-year-old neighborhood. Their biggest concern was the proposed silver-color roof, which would slope slightly to the west and could be seen from nearby homes. They also believed the galvanized metal would emit a glare.

"The roof is inconsistent with the homes. This will really stand out, and it is incompatible. I ask it be as compatible as possible,” said resident Gordon Amini.

Davis asked the storage developer if the roof finish could be altered to something that would be non-glaring. Coltrane Storage’s attorney, Todd McKinnis of Rubenstein & Pitts PLLC, disagreed there would be a glare. He noted the roof would climb one foot for every 12 feet, reaching only 25 feet wide in the middle, and would be only 25 inches taller at the peak than at its edge. McKinnis also asked who would choose the new color if the developer decided to make a change.

David Payne, a forensic compensatory-damage expert who also opposed the storage project, suggested the downstream water run-off from the facility would be a problem.

"We meet all the city codes and exceed them," McKinnis assured the council during the 84-minute discussion.

Planning-commission members also had concerns about the proposed development, notably the setback from Coltrane and Danforth roads, which is 10 feet from the property line after the correct right-of-way is provided, according to Bob Schiermeyer, planning commissioner. A 70-foot sensitive border is required on the north side of the property and was included in the site plan, he said. The setback on the west is 29 feet from a senior-housing project that’s currently being developed, Schiermeyer added.

Placing the buildings along the edge of the property was intended to offer a more functional and attractive design, the source reported. None of the storage-unit doors will face the street, and landscaping will be planted along the edges of the property, according to Mark Ritchie of Civil Design and Survey of Oklahoma.

The land is properly zoned for commercial use, including self-storage, according to Edmonton City Councilman Nick Massey. "That corner will be changing over the years. The fact is it will be commercial. I think this is a good project."

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