JARRETT GOODMAN
Staff Writer
Members of Whitwell’s city council has agreed to the first reading of a new ordinance surrounding the official zoning of self and vehicular storage facilities, and miniature warehouses within the city limits.
Titled Ordinance #382, it allows for storage facilities and small scale warehouses to be constructed within Whitwell’s city limits. The introduction of the ordinance follows previous discussions surrounding the inclusion of a brand new RV and boat storage facility set to be located off State Route 28 near Lofty Asphalt.
According to City Manager Lonnie Cleek, the planning commission suggested the council to review and approve the ordinance for three separate readings, despite an ordinance not being required due to the property already zoned for commercial use and abiding to city code.
“It’s already zoned for commercial use and I thought it would fall right in line with what we had,” Cleek said. “But they suggested doing that and we’ll oblige on the other end of it.”
The property in question is privately owned by Bryan Lofty of Lofty Asphalt, which according to county resident Acheson Graham, is aiming to retain five acres of the property, while the rest is to go towards the establishment of the new RV storage facility. During the board’s March meeting, Graham presented all members of the council a map of the property, highlighting the removal of an old structure directly where the new facility will take place.
“The map is just showing the removal of the old building and where the new building is going to be in place,” Graham said. “The underline is roughly the five acres that Bryan Lofty is going to keep.”
Following this, all within the Board of Mayor & Commissioners (BoMC) unanimously approved the first reading of Ordinance #382, allowing one step forward towards storage facilities being welcomed to Whitwell.