Mini Storage

[Glomer]

Mini Storage: I absolutely hate these things......what I want to know is what the typical width you would allow between structures (driving aisles).

The 11 mini-storage structures that i'm looking at are only 15' in depth, 30' total (not even big enough to put a car in......just a few dead bodies for a meth lab.) and have a drive aisle width of 22 feet between them.

the developer also asked me if it would be ok to put a # (as in a number of a phone # 651 543 ....) on each door that faces the highway. HA HA HA HA

 

[Dan]

I wouldn't even permit mini-storage with doors that are visible from the public right-of-way. Wish I had that zoning code I wrote here; mini-storage aisle width is addressed.

Well, lookie here ... it's PAS Report 396, Standards for Self-Storage Storage Facilities. Let's see what that says ...

Colorado Springs, Colorado: minimum aisle width: 24', 20' if doors are only on one side of the aisle.

Topeka, Kansas: 28'

Costa Mesa, California: 30', 26' if doors are only on one side of the aisle.

The owner probably wants narrow aisles to squeeze in more units, and increase his/her revenue. Mini-storage, though, is pretty much a license to print money; there's very little overhead, improvement costs are minimal (even wen strict architectural regulations apply; there's very few interior improvements), and rents are high. The ROI on mini-storage is incredible, especially in metro areas where houses are normally built without basements.

 

[Cardinal]

These things are certainly beautiful additions to any community, especially when accompanied by a gravel lot and drives, outside storage, truck rentals, no landscaping, and a eye-catching beige/orange color scheme.

I would not accept a 22' width for the drives. Remember that the people who are going to rent these things are often getting the stuff there in a rental truck that they are usually not capable of driving well. That lane width is as wide as the truck is long.