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<br /><< intensive zones that allow industrial uses such as towing services They plan to have 18 locations by the end of 1997, and a
<br />and automodve body shops. Auto superstores usually target projected 80 more stores within the next five years.
<br />suburban areas with less intense zones because of the opportunity Newcomer Drivers Mart Worldwide of Grand Rapids,
<br />to build on large areas of undeveloped land, but also because it is Michigan, has one location now, but plans to have 100 outlets
<br />likely that they will benefit from local incentives. in three to five years, according to the Wall Street Journal a une
<br />Although none of this may seem like a problem, some 12, 1996). Altogether, these plans total more than 300
<br />suburban areas are not prepared to accommodate the volume of dealerships within the next five years, confronting planners with
<br />traffic these superstores can generate. Service areas at the average tremendous challenges and numerous options to consider.
<br />auto dealership include from six to 14 bays: Superstores such as These big-box auto dealers may soon become the norm for
<br />CarMax may house as many as 40 service bays, plus additional automotive businesses.
<br />space for a children's play area and a showroom. This raises Some cities are more accommodating than others with regard
<br />additional concerns because the high volume of automotive to megadevelopments.
<br />repair activity creates large volumes of waste materials such as Cerritos, California, northeast of Long Beach, hosts 13
<br />oil and other flammable fluids, tires, and heavy machinety, all of dealerships and 24 franchises located on over 82 acres ofland.
<br />which pose disposal challenges. This city does the highest volume of automotive sales in the
<br />In addition, used car dealers require regulations different from world, according to a study by J.D. Powers and Associates.
<br />those for new car dealerships. Most municipalities allow new car Cerritos Auto Square was established in 1978 and 1979 when
<br />dealerships to sell and store used cars only if they are trade-ins for the city purchased the land from dairy farmers. The city then
<br />new cars, the principal use, with the sale of such cars in most sold this land at half price to prospective auto dealers, allowing
<br />cases constituting a conditional use. New car dealers are allowed them to make no interest payments for five years. The zoning
<br />to service and repair cars on the site because it is considered a for this area, located off a major thoroughfare, requires all
<br />component activity associated with the dealership. buildings to follow a unified development scheme and requires a
<br />Another distinction occurs in the area of building require- minimum of three acres for development. Nine of the 13
<br />ments. In most cases, used car dealers are neither required nor dealerships have been built by a local developer, which generates
<br />likely to have a showroom. As a result, zoning codes will not additional money for the city. According to Bill Manis, the
<br />impose the same requirements as on new dealerships, which Cerritos redevelopment/economic development administrator,
<br />must have a building with a showroom and service area. Auto the state, city, and county all receive a portion of the substantial
<br />superstores may not have a showroom but still will have a tax revenues generated from sales in the Cerritos Auto Square.
<br />building that occupies more space than a new car dealership Cerritos, he says, illustrates a win-win example in the
<br />because of large service areas and amenities such as a children's development of auto malls.
<br />play area. For instance, the average size for a CarMax building is Though some municipalities may enjoy the prospect of
<br />over 38,000 square feet of gross floor area (GFA). increasing their revenue by attracting auto malls, giant
<br />Despite the many differences between new and used auto superstores pose different concerns. Auto superstores seem to
<br />dealerships, they share equal restrictions with regard to parking, share the same public relations stigma attached to other big box
<br />setbacks, and buffering. Parking restrictions for automotive developments. This could be due both to their novelty as a
<br />dealers tend not to be a major problem because of the large , concept for the automotive business and to their size.
<br />display lots occupying the business. However, planners cannot Despite this new phenomenon, auto malls continue to be a
<br />apply the same formula for regulating parking as with other good alternative for dealers seeking to reduce their overhead and
<br />commercial businesses. Parking standards are generally based on for cities that want to group all automotive businesses in one
<br />GFA, and for commercial uses the standard is one space per 150 area. But the growth forecasts of auto superstores indicate that
<br />square feet. Because auto dealers have smaller buildings, the many suburban communities may be about to witness a change
<br />parking requirement would hardly be sufficient to accommodate in the way the public buys cars, and thus may be bidding
<br />customers. This normally does not present problems. Most farewell to the neighborhood dealership.
<br />municipalities will allow dealers to have as many spaces as they
<br />need if they apply for a conditional zoning permit. Setback
<br />requirements generally are the same as those for other
<br />commercial uses in the same zone. Buffering and screening Louisville Vision
<br />usually are not required because of the need to have the cars Takes Form
<br />visible from the road, although this may depend on the
<br />location. In July 1993, Louisville and Jefferson County, Kentucky, began
<br />conceptualizing a comprehensive plan to carry them well into the
<br />Auto Superstores Mania next century. Four years later, the plan is still under
<br />Because the definition of auto malls is vague, there is no development, with adoption not expected until late 1998. What's
<br />accurate method for determining how many currently exist, taking so long? The cumbersome process has resulted from an
<br />although, as with other megadevelopments, people know one innovative approach to comprehensive planning that the
<br />when they see one. On the other hand, auto superstores are planning department has labeled a Community Form Strategy.
<br />easily defined as large used car dealerships carrying late-model Cornerstone 2020 is a comprehensive plan that embodies the
<br />foreign and domestic cars with low mileage. How many exist? goals, visions, and plans for Jefferson County. At the beginning,
<br />CarMax has seven stores in operation, with more than 40 sites 200 people of various backgrounds spent three days discussing
<br />under development and plans to expand that number to what type of place Louisville and Jefferson County should be in
<br />between 80 and 90 by 2000. Following close behind are 2020. Over the following three months, according to the
<br />CarChoice and AutoNation, which have twO currently resulting document, "approximately 600 people contributed to
<br />operating locations but nine more sites under development. the creation of this vision." These discussions addressed issues
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