Parking debate resurrected on Moffett Blvd. Parking debate resurrected on Moffett Blvd. (June 24, 2005)

Council approved new auto shop, but neighbors force them to reconsider

By Jon Wiener

Five years ago, bars and auto repair shops littered Moffett Boulevard. Traffic, noise and parking problems choked the street and neighborhood. No one hesitated to use the word "blight," and the area was intentionally excluded from the city's downtown plan.

"It was the other side of the tracks. It looked and felt like that," said Patricia Musgrave, a resident of nearby Santa Rosa Avenue.

Eventually, a series of neighborhood meetings, and stepped-up enforcement of city codes, reduced the number of auto shops from seven to two. Now, a plan to reopen one former problem site has grabbed the attention of neighbors.

Tony Mezzetta says the only business he could find to rent his property at 165 Moffett Blvd. is All-Automotive, a repair shop that currently operates on Bayshore Parkway. In April, the city council narrowly sided with Mezzetta, voting 4-3 to overturn an earlier decision by the zoning administrator to deny the necessary use permit.

"The way that I looked at it, we were being presented with a very low-impact auto repair shop," said Laura Macias, who made the motion to approve the permit. "And we're finding out that that's not actually true."

Tirad Bayegan, who owns All-Automotive, told the council that his business is essentially computer repair -- the computers he repairs just happen to be in cars, part of their electronic systems that control everything from brakes to drive train.

The council placed a host of restrictions on the shop, limiting it to only two bays and two employees, in an effort to cut down on overflow parking. But city planning manager Whitney McNair said that auto repair shops tend to have heavy parking demands, and that All-Automotive is likely to be no different.

"If you were to look at a photo, you wouldn't think it any different than a typical minor auto repair shop," said McNair.

To make room for the auto shop, the city council reduced the number of required parking spaces from 28 to seven. Zoning administrator Al Savay said the city would prohibit off-site parking.

"Auto repair uses are typically parking-intensive uses," said Savay.

The shop's prospective neighbors have broad concerns as well, particularly about the message sent by welcoming back an auto repair shop to Moffett Boulevard. Musgrave joined three adjacent business owners in formally appealing the granting of the permit, forcing the issue back into the council's court.

Macias said she expects to stand by her original position if Bayegan can follow through on his promise of a low-impact auto shop.

"We need a connection with Moffett Corridor so that everything doesn't stop once you cross" the tracks, said Macias. "We've got a long way to go."

The council is set to discuss the permit and the appeal at its June 28 meeting.

E-mail Jon Wiener at jwiener@mv-voice.com

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