By Emily Ford
eford@salisburypost.com
In an unusual split vote, Salisbury City Council narrowly agreed Tuesday to allow automobile repair and restoration downtown.
The motion will require a second reading next month to pass.
Mayor Pro Tem Maggie Blackwell and council member Brian Miller voted no, while Mayor Susan Kluttz and council members William “Pete” Kennedy and Paul Woodson voted yes. The discussion was amicable.
The proposal would amend the Land Development Ordinance to allow a new use, Major Auto Repair, in the Downtown Mixed Use District.
Council first considered the amendment in October and sent it back to the Salisbury Planning Board for further study. Planning Board last month recommended the amendment to Council by a vote of 7-1.
The issue came to light last fall when business owner Red Humphries wanted to move his antique-auto restoration business from Charlotte to 215 E. Innes St., a former transmission shop. Council would have had to amend the Land Development Ordinance to permit the new use in the downtown zoning district.
Although Humphries backed out in November, city officials decided to proceed with the proposed amendment. Advocates said permitting major auto repair downtown might encourage Humphries to renew his interest or lure a similar business.
Woodson has kept in touch with Humphries and said he’s interested in the outcome.
“I would like to see that corridor fixed up,” Woodson said.
If passed, the amendment would require all auto repair and restoration work to occur in an enclosed building. But the amendment would not include a 10 p.m. curfew for auto repair shops located next to residential areas, as once suggested.
Kennedy said he grew up with auto shops in downtown Salisbury and considers them part of the fabric of the city. The amendment will help expand the tax base and create jobs, he said.
Kluttz said any resident bothered by noise could use the city’s noise ordinance to file a complaint.
Blackwell said she is concerned not about hearing auto repair and restoration but seeing it. Although the work must occur in an enclosed space, cars awaiting restoration will sit outside and bay doors will stand open, she said.
“I hate to loosen our ordinances to the point that we gain one business but lose others,” she said.
City Planner Preston Mitchell said no junked cars could sit in a parking lot, but cars in various states of restoration possibly could.
Miller, who has been opposed to the amendment since first proposed, said the change would allow major auto repair anywhere in the Downtown Mixed Use District, not just on certain parcels.
Auto repair could conflict with other city priorities, such as redeveloping the Empire Hotel, he said.
“There are better places for this,” Miller said, suggesting the Lee Street warehouse area.
Because the proposed amendment did not receive four votes on the first reading, Council will vote again next month. At the second reading, a simple majority — three votes — would be enough for the motion to pass.
Contact reporter Emily Ford at 704-797-4264.