Muscle Shoals council extends "self-service" business moratorium
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MUSCLE SHOALS City Council members have voted to extend a temporary moratorium on the construction of "self-service" businesses like car washes of standalone ice machines.
The council originally approved the moratorium in July when it wanted to slow the development of car washes and other self-service businesses until the city's first comprehensive master plan was completed.
The original moratorium was for 180 days.
In December, the council voted to extend the moratorium another 180 days as work on the comprehensive plan continued.
The third extension of the moratorium is for another 180 days.
The moratorium includes coin-operated laundries, self-service movie and video rental kiosks, self-service ice machines, and self-service automobile cleaning and detailing operations.
It established a temporary moratorium on the issuance of building permits or business licenses for those businesses.
City officials said the businesses often occupy prime commercial/retail property, but do not produce significant tax revenue.
Mayor Mike Lockhart said the moratorium was extended because the comprehensive plan is not due to be completed until later this year.
"We think we kind of know what we're going to do now, but the comp plan won't be completed until late summer or fall," Lockhart said.
The mayor said there is, however, a car wash being constructed across Woodward Avenue from the Publix supermarket at the former location of a Listerhill Credit Union branch.
Lockhart said the property was purchased, the developer secured paperwork and presented plans to the city prior to the approval of the first moratorium in July.
He said work on the project didn't commence immediately but is now underway.
"They were grandfathered in," Lockhart said.
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Thursday, May 18, 2023 at 5:33 am