A site plan review and negative declaration on the Site Environmental Quality Review for a proposed auto body shop at 1303-09 Erie Blvd. W. in Rome, NY, were approved by the city's planning board during its regular monthly meeting March 7 at City Hall.
OM3 is proposing to construct a 2,300-square-foot auto shop---Caliber Collision---with associated site work. The Rome Zoning Board of Appeals approved a use variance for Caliber at that location in December.
Civil engineer Kevin Leddy with Kimley-Horn, New York City, and developer Gus Wilson explained Caliber Collision specializes in collision, auto care, auto glass and fleet services. They said Caliber is expanding across upstate New York and has more than 1,300 locations in 28 states.
All vehicle work will be done inside the facility, and will be mostly insurance-based, from a fender bender to a check engine light. There would be about 10 repair bays with front office space and a conference room.
Caliber Collision would be open Monday through Friday, and representatives said the narrow location is “sandwiched” between an auto dealer and retail/commercial district, with Hoffman’s Car Wash located nearby.
The business “is not a junk yard, it’s not an oil change facility, so there are no chemicals---it’s collision repair ... the business will handle primarily insurance-paid repair,” said Wilson. Mechanics “will not work on totaled cars or have vehicles sitting there for a long period of time.”
After answering questions from board members about lighting outside the building and paint exhaust pipes with filters extending from the roof, City Planner Garret Wyckoff recommended the board grant a negative declaration on the SEQR and approve the site plan, on the condition OM3 could make modifications to their driveway, based on state Department of Transportation requirements, in case the DOT requested changes be made. By including the condition, Wyckoff said OM3 would not need to come back before the board in case the DOT required changes to the driveway.
Planning board member David Smith made a motion to approve the site plan on the condition Caliber Collision’s entrance is compliant with the DOT, Americans with Disabilities Act parking spaces are identified with signage, that landscaping is identified with facade transparency calculations, and that a construction schedule of approximately seven months be included.
The motion passed unanimously, as did the negative declaration on the SEQR.
