Special-use permit approved for temporary storage location in Jamestown

May 22—JAMESTOWN — The Jamestown Building, Planning and Zoning Committee in a 4-0 vote approved without recommendation a special use permit for property located at 1512 Business Loop East.

Councilman Dan Buchanan was not present at the meeting on Tuesday, May 21.

The special-use permit is for lots five and six of Lubeck's First Addition at 1512 Business Loop E.

The request for a special-use permit is for the property to be a temporary storage location for for vehicles that have been wrecked or ones where the Jamestown Police Department or the Stutsman County Sheriff's Office is waiting for paperwork, said Nate Vollmuth, president of Goldmark Design and Development who is representing property owner Brian Hanson, who owns Budget Auto Sales & Service. He said it is not a request for a salvage yard.

Vollmuth said Hanson has made "significant" improvements to the area. He said approval of a special-use permit would give Hanson confidence to make other "significant" improvements to the site.

In December 2021, Hanson requested a special-use permit to use the property as an outdoor motor vehicle storage area. At the time, some members of the committee said the area looked like a junkyard.

Councilman Brian Kamlitz said Tuesday that the area has been improved and he would like to approve a special-use permit. He said having a temporary storage location for vehicles would clean up a couple of lots in Jamestown that have impounded and towed vehicles.

Councilman David Steele there is a need for the temporary storage location. He said he wants some guidelines or restrictions on what can be outside a fence surrounding the area.

"We are all not going to be here 20 or 30 years from now," he said.

Steele said it would be OK if vehicles for sale are outside of the fence.

Tom Blackmore, zoning administrator, said the Jamestown Planning Commission recommended approval of the special-use permit with no stacking of vehicles allowed and the project has to move forward with development in 12 months.

Vollmuth said the one-year timeline should start after the Federal Emergency Management Agency remaps the floodplain in the area.

David Sweeney, SRF Consulting Group, said conditions of the special-use permit include:

* Abiding by all floodplain requirements.

* No vehicles above the fence.

* No stacking vehicles.

* Vehicle salvage activities, including crushing/dismantling of vehicles and stripping and sale of auto parts shall not be allowed on site.

The Jamestown Finance and Legal Committee recommended approval of City Administrator Sarah Hellekson's contract.

The city administrator's salary is over $160,000 per year, according to the employment contract.

Mayor Dwaine Heinrich said the expiration date of the contract was changed to Sept. 30, 2026, versus the previous end date of February or March. He said the expiration date is better to be in September when the following year's budget is finalized.