The Parma, Ohio, City Council has approved two new ordinances that could limit self-storage development in the city. The move comes nearly a year after the council imposed a six-month moratorium that allowed officials to consider how they wished address this business type going forward, according to the source.

To be approved, new self-storage projects must be at least one mile from any other existing facility. In addition, design must be approved by the planning commission and meet specific architectural requirements. For example, buildings must include brick or masonry façades as well as perimeter fencing. Outdoor vehicle storage will no longer be permitted, though existing facilities with this feature will be unaffected, said Melissa Morrow, assistant city engineer.

Parma currently has seven storage properties, with one new project slated for a vacant parcel at 12300 Snow Road. “This was a proactive response,” said Erik Tollerup, community-services director. “The amount of existing self-storage that was in place, we felt, was adequate to serve Parma, especially since there was another development that had been approved but hadn’t broken ground yet.”

Other communities are passing similar ordinances, said Mayor Tim DeGeeter. “For a city that relies on income taxes to provide services to residents, this isn’t a good bet,” he said. “[Self-storage facilities] take up a lot of acreage, and the fact [that] we’re an inner-ring suburb, we have very few big parcels available. Hence, we want to have those parcels filled with people who are employed and paying income tax that we can then put that back into our city. That’s why we did this.”

The ordinances were sponsored by councilmembers Vito Dipierro and Kristin Saban.

Source:
Cleveland.com, Parma Council Packs Added Requirements into Limiting New Self-Storage Facilities