GILROY
– City Council unanimously approved changes Monday to industrial
zoning rules, giving businesses the right to open retail shops
where only wholesale operations previously were allowed.
GILROY – City Council unanimously approved changes Monday to industrial zoning rules, giving businesses the right to open retail shops where only wholesale operations previously were allowed.
The decision means Gilroy’s largest, and most controversial, furniture store now has a way to legitimize itself at City Hall.
“The furniture store war has not even started yet,” 5-Day Furniture store Co-owner Hai Tran said. “It’s the customer who is going to win on this one.”
If Tran can satisfy parking and other requirements at his building on the 500 block of East Luchessa Avenue, the veteran furniture dealer could have a wholesale operation and two retail spots in Gilroy.
After the city told Tran to cut back retail sales at the Luchessa complex to 12 days per year, Tran began work on a 40,000-square-foot warehouse at Tenth and Monterey streets that will become a purely retail operation.
Tran said Tuesday the new retail store is more than two weeks away from opening. Tran said he has already filed for permits for retail rights at the Luchessa site.
Specifically, City Council’s decision allows industrial shops to partition 75 percent or more of their wholesale operations. The remainder square footage can be used for retail sales if regular retail zoning requirements can be met.
Mayor Tom Springer voiced concerns that the new guidelines don’t completely shut the door on retailers who rent large industrial spaces only to use 25 percent of it for retail.
“What prevents anyone from not using the rest of the property (for wholesale purposes)?,” Springer said.
According to city staff, businesses must prove they are primarily wholesale industrial.
“There’d have to be indication of a wholesale use,” City Planner Gregg Polubinsky told City Council Monday.
5-Day Furniture may have to use a different customer entrance if their conditional use permit request gets approved. Under the new zoning guidelines, parking would likely need to be provided using a lot in the rear of the building.
5-Day has been letting customers park off Luchessa Avenue, but the area has not been approved for parking, Polubinsky said.
Meanwhile, a lawsuit against the city that was filed by Tran and heard Aug. 18 remains undecided. Tran sued the city over the 12-days-a-year limit placed on his retail operations. A judge stayed the city order until after the trial is over, allowing 5-Day to remain open for retail sales seven days a week.
