Officials pump the brakes on used car dealership

A proposal to allow a used car sales and automotive repair shop at the former site of Peiffer Auto Service on Port Washington’s north side hit a snag last week.

The Plan Commission tabled action on a conditional use permit needed for the business until a site plan for the properties at 922 and 926 N. Wisconsin St. is amended.

The plan needs to include landscaping, particularly along the perimeter of the lots, and make some changes in the proposed layout of the business, members said.

“There are too many open ends to vote on this tonight,” commission member Tony Matera said.

Bob Harris, the city’s director of planning and development, said the properties are unique because they are in a “very residential” neighborhood with a small commercial node.

The properties next to the proposed car lot and repair business, Harris noted, are residential.

Although the proposed use is similar to those in the past, Harris noted, the fact that the lots are next to residential properties in an area where the city has been working to improve the streetscaping — and the fact the properties have been vacant for more than a year — Harris said the addition of a landscaped buffer should be essential.

The vehicle repair and used car lot has been proposed by Muhamed Abdiu, who plans to call the business Port Washington Auto Sales, Harris said. He plans to hire two salespeople and two mechanics.

Abdiu, who did not attend Thursday’s meeting, has proposed using the south side of the property for his business, Harris said. 

Customer parking would be in the area next to Wisconsin Street, Harris said, with employee parking on the north side of the existing building. Used cars would be parked along the south and east property lines, while cars to be repaired would be behind the building.

Harris proposed relocating the customer parking to the north side of the building, noting that there is no terrace separating the sidewalk from the pavement in front of the building.

Both the city code and practice have been to require a landscaped buffer between a sidewalk and parking lot, he added.

Harris also proposed adding a landscaped buffer between the properties to the east and south so the used cars and vehicles awaiting repairs would be shielded from view.

He also suggested that the commission prohibit Abdiu from parking used cars next to the front yard of the adjoining property.

Public Works Director Rob Vanden Noven, a member of the commission, noted that the existing plan, with setback requirements, would leave a small amount of land for the used car lot.

He suggested the commission table action until Abdiu can rework the site plan to address the city’s concerns.