The Town of Batavia Planning Board has set a public hearing for Sept. 18 in consideration of a special use permit request by the owner of Dan's Tire & Auto Service Center in Batavia to erect a self-storage building on the west side of Route 98, about a couple hundred feet south of Rose Road.
Dan DiLaura and his towing manager, Steve Grice, outlined their proposal at the planning board's meeting tonight at Batavia Town Hall on West Main Street Road. The committee unanimously scheduled the public hearing, which is necessary because vehicles will be parked on the stone-covered grounds.
"Having a towing business, we must store vehicles from time to time due to an accident, DWI or abandoment, and the city says we need to have something fenced in," said Grice, adding that most of the cars are stored no more than a week, but on occasion a vehicle would be kept there longer due to an ongoing police investigation.
Grice said the building would measure 50-by-100-by-16 feet with two overhead doors, and would have two entrances and exits to make it easy for trucks to pull in and out. It also would have all utilities, a few outside lights, fully fenced and gated.
He said DiLaura would use the building for "personal storage" of race cars, towing equipment, tools, tires, etc., but it would not be used for any commercial repairs.
Currently, DiLaura is renting space behind the former Mazur's Auto repair shop on East Main Street in the city for this purpose. If the new building is approved, he no longer would use the Batavia location.
DiLaura said he would like to complete the project, which he estimated at $130,000, before winter.
The site plan is subject to review by the Genesee County Planning Board and approval by the Town Planning Board. Additionally, it must meet standards set by the Department of Environmental Conservation (concerning wetlands) and ensure proper stormwater drainage (depending upon the size of the build-out).
Grice said that BDK Construction of Basom, owned by Brian Kotarski, has been hired to construct the building.
