The Gilroy Planning Commission approved an expansion of a storage facility on Murray Avenue, but some commissioners questioned its need and its potential impacts on the neighborhood.
On Feb. 4, the commission voted 4-3 to allow Extra Space Storage at 8900 Murray Ave. to construct a two-story, 30,978-square-foot building on its property adjacent to Highway 101. Commissioners John Doyle, Reid Lerner and Andrew Ridley dissented.
Extra Space Storage sits on a more than four-acre property that consists of 73,154 square feet of storage facilities. It plans to construct a 33-foot-tall building on the northern end of the property, which would take the place of an area currently used as RV storage.
Senior Planner Kraig Tambornini said the expansion meets the requirements of Gilroy’s General Plan and other land use guidelines.
But Doyle said he didn’t see the need for the expansion, adding that Gilroy already has at least seven other storage facilities, with a few of them “contributing to a blight factor.”
“It doesn’t provide much in the way of additional employment,” he said. “I have a negative reaction to adding more mini-storage-type facilities.”
Lerner said the size of the expansion project should have required traffic studies.
“The presentation said there is no impact on noise and traffic,” he said. “It’s such a large facility that I have a hard time believing that.”
Commissioner Tom Fischer said he had no issues with the proposal, adding that the current facility is hardly noticeable.
“I think it’s going to be an improvement over what’s there already,” he said.
