"Big box" auto body shop rejected for Shingle Springs site

"A Citrus Heights-based firm, characterized by some competitors as a "big box store" among auto-collision repair services, lost its bid to set up shop in Shingle Springs.

The El Dorado County Board of Supervisors on Tuesday upheld an appeal by the owner of a small auto-body shop in Cameron Park who sought to prevent Kniesel's Auto Collision Center from opening an auto-body shop at the site of a former sports complex off Highway 50.

But board members said they were swayed by concerns about potential noise and odors from the operation, rather that the threat of competition for other auto-body shops in the area.

Rich Solis, owner of Solis Collision Center in Cameron Park, asked the board to reverse the Planning Commission's approval of a special use permit for a shop with 16 service bays and up to 30 employees.

The site is on the north side of Wild Chaparral Drive about a quarter-mile west of Ponderosa Road. Former Major League Baseball player Chris Bosio developed the site as a sports complex in the 1990s, but the building has been vacant in recent years.

Solis said he represented owners of other small auto-body shops as well as residents of nearby homes. He argued that the special-use permit, allowing Kniesel's to locate in a zone that does not allow auto-body shops by right, gave the firm an advantage over shops like his that are in areas zoned for such operations.

The site is highly visible from the freeway, compared with shops in industrial or business parks, away from homes and schools, Solis said. All are vying for a limited number of customers, he said.

David Koupal, a resident of Crosswood Drive northwest of the site, joined Solis in opposing the use permit.

"If I wanted to build a house next to a body shop, would you change the zoning for me? ... So why is it OK to put a body shop next to me?" he asked.

Koupal said area residents heard noise from pitching machines when the building was a sports center, and they likely would hear the shop operations as well.

Koupal also said he has asthma and is concerned about fumes from paint booths at the shop.

Supervisor Ron Briggs said he did not understand the concerns of other business owners. "Competition is good wherever you're at," he said.

The site along the freeway also seemed appropriate, Briggs said, noting that it is down the road from an auto dealership.

Robert Laurie, an attorney representing Kniesel's, said the Planning Commission was primarily concerned about aesthetics of the operation. All repair activities would take place inside the building, vehicles awaiting service would be kept in an enclosed area and additional landscaping is planned in front of the building, he said.

But Solis said, "This building was not built for that type of use. There is ample commercial space zoned for that type of business in Shingle Springs and Cameron Park."

Supervisor Jack Sweeney agreed. Because the building is a metal structure, he said, sounds will echo, possibly causing noise problems for the neighborhood. If a new auto-body shop were built, it likely would be a concrete tilt-up building, he said.

"I hate to see the building empty, but I don't think this is the right use," Sweeney said.

The site is more appropriate for a higher-end commercial use or offices, he said.

Board chairman Rusty Dupray said he, too, was familiar with the site. Although he did not support the economic arguments for the appeal, Dupray said he was concerned about the potential for noise and fumes next to a residential neighborhood.

The appeal was upheld on a 4-1 vote, with Briggs opposed.