Adesa Auto Auction agreed April 7 to clean-up the required portions of its 60-acre site along I-85 and to comply with all zoning requirements after the company leased the property to auto storage company APLS for the short-term storage of new vehicles. The site lost its grandfathered status when Adesa moved out.

Adesa had recently leased the site to APLS for a six-month period and APLS had not obtained a business license before bringing in new Honda vehicles for storage, County Administrator Theron Gay told commissioners. Gay said there were a number of requirements, such as building improvements, trash and weed removal and stormwater management concerns, that were supposed to be rectified prior to the property being occupied so that the property would be in compliance with upgraded county codes. The grandfather status does not preclude the work that needs to be done at the site, Gay said.

APLS currently has four months left on the six-month lease.

APLS representative Bill Emmanuel and Adesa representative Brett Roland apologized for the oversight, telling commissioners they wanted to be good neighbors and would do what was necessary to come into compliance with county zoning requirements.

Roland said Adesa still has plans to sell the 60-acre site.

Emmanuel asked that commissioners allow the 3,300 cars currently at the site to remain there while the required work was performed.

Commissioner Randolph Collins remarked that Adesa had not maintained the site, but added that having vehicles on the site was preferential to having it sit vacant as long as the property was brought into compliance with current codes.

“We’ll become a good neighbor,” Roland said to Collins, “We’ll clean it up. I’ll commit to cleaning it up and complying with the county’s regulations.”

Commissioners instructed Adesa to begin working with county staff to make all the changes necessary to be in compliance with current zoning regulations. County staff will update commissioners on the progress at the next meeting.

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