By Erica Williams
Staff Writer

April 23 -- Auto repair shops that rent “loaner” vehicles to customers whose cars are being repaired can now legally do so through third parties after the City Council amended the zoning ordinance Tuesday night.

The Council voted 5 to 0 to allow rental car agencies, such as Enterprise Rent-a-Car, to offer vehicles provided the agencies comply with new provisions that govern auto rentals at repair facilities as an “accessory” or accompanying service. (Councilman Herb Katz recused himself, while Bob Holbrook was absent.)

In adopting the ordinance on its first reading, the council also upheld Enterprise Rent-a-Car’s appeals of the Planning Commission’s decision denying it permits to provide loaner vehicles at M2 Collision Care Center and Hornburg Jaguar, where the agency was already operating.

“Based on what I’ve read I think it’s an appropriate use,” said Councilman Ken Genser. “Letting a business go on operating this way without any controls… it doesn’t make sense to me.” The rest of the council agreed.

Although repair shops can legally operate loaner car services under the current code, car rental agencies operating on-site at a repair facility are doing so illegally. That’s because auto rental agencies are not permitted in zones that allow auto dealerships and repair facilities.

The issue first arose two years ago when the city cited Enterprise for operating out of M2 Collision on 1100 Colorado Avenue without a business license after its application was denied.

The Planning Commission, in denying the license, said that “auto rental uses within auto repair facilities did not constitute an accessory use” and that a Conditional Use Permit should be required.

The Commission also feared that allowing such uses in the restricted zones would increase use at auto repair facilities and exacerbate existing parking problems.

Enterprise also applied for a business license to provide loaner car services at Hornburg Jaguar on 3300 Olympic Blvd but was similarly denied and cited.

In December, the Planning Commission heard the auto rental chain’s request for a text amendment “to allow the establishment of an automobile rental agency as an accessory us to an auto repair facility,” but Enterprise was again rebuffed and immediately filed an appeal.

The City Attorney’s office took Enterprise to court on both matters, but the court dismissed the case in February, ruling it could be adequately addressed by a simple amendment to the zoning code, according to Planning Manager Jay Trevino. That put the issue before the council Tuesday night.

Planning Commissioner Kelly Olsen was the lone dissenting voice during the public hearing.

“It was pretty clear to the Planning Commission that these sites were a burden,” Olsen said, referring to the Commission’s concerns about parking and increased use at such sites.

Olsen demonstrated his concerns with a one-minute video of the parking lot at M2 Collision. He pointed to a lot crammed with cars that blocked an entrance and to cars “always cued in lanes or double parked.”

In the end the council agreed with staff to overturn the Commission’s decision and approved Enterprise’s request for a text amendment with the following provisions:

• No more than 10 percent of the total interior floor area of the automobile repair facility, or a maximum of 750 square feet, may be devoted to the accessory auto rental operation.
  
• The auto rental section can only operate during the hours the auto repair facility is open.
  
• Only customers of the auto repair facility can rent vehicles.
  
• No exterior signage is permitted for the rental operation.
  
• The rental operation may not be advertised or marketed as an auto rental agency.

The council also directed staff to study the impacts of the current loaner car system on the City’s environmental policy to see how it might encourage other transportation options, such as public transit and the loan of low emission vehicles.

Prior to deliberations the council voted 3 to 2 not to follow staff’s recommendation to continue the item for consideration as part of the City’s ongoing effort to update auto dealer standards.