Plans for a new self-storage business are moving forward in rural Powell.

Last month, Park County commissioners approved a special use permit that will allow Seaton and Jill Smith to build up to three sets of storage units and potentially three open-ended structures for housing boats and RVs. The facilities will be located just south of the Smiths’ home, in the 500 block of Lane 9; the site is a little more than 2 miles southeast of Powell.

Seaton Smith said he’s excited about the new opportunity. The facilities will be built “as needed,” Jill Smith explained in the couple’s July permit application to the county.

According to the plans approved by commissioners, the Smiths could eventually construct 19,800 square feet of storage units, spread across three buildings measuring 40 feet wide and 150 to 165 feet long. Another 15,600 square feet could be made available for recreational vehicles in a set of three-sided outdoor structures (each measure 30 or 45 feet wide by 130 feet long). Those garage-like buildings will offer protection from the elements and, although the area can’t be seen from Lane 9, improve the aesthetics, the Smiths said.

The county’s parking regulations apply to commercial storage businesses and that would potentially mean constructing more than 80 parking spots (one per 400 square feet). However, that’s not being required, as county staff felt there was enough parking.

“We’ve calculated quite a few parking spaces [under the regs],” Planner II Kim Dillivan told commissioners, to chuckles. “But I think, given what this use will be, … you’ll probably have people come there just a few at a time.”

The Smiths said they didn’t think the facility would generate any additional traffic in the area, as they’d previously operated a different business — a mill for gluten-free oats — on their property; the Smiths later moved the operation into town and sold the business, GF Harvest, earlier this year.

The couple considered taking the 3,200-square-foot building they used for the milling operation and converting it into a set of climate-controlled storage units, but ultimately decided not to move forward with that part of the plan.

The Park County Planning and Zoning Commission had recommended approval of the Smiths’ project at a September meeting and on Oct. 20 commissioners unanimously granted the permit.

In a later interview, Seaton Smith praised the county planning and zoning staffers for their help through the process.

“They were just awesome,” he said.

The only point of discussion among commissioners was whether there had been enough public notice of the potential plans to build the three-sided structures for the boats and RVs. That’s because initial plans suggested the vehicles might simply be stored outside.

“It makes sense to try and get it all done here,” Commissioner Lee Livingston said of giving permission for the garage-like structures. “I’m just more concerned about a matter of procedure.”

However, he and the rest of the commissioners ultimately decided they were fine with the plans, particularly after learning the structures had been discussed early in the planning process.

“My opinion is, we’re here to help these people — and if they don’t have to come back and do this all over again, I’m helping them,” offered Commissioner Lloyd Thiel. “So I would take the gamble that we maybe didn’t advertise the extra buildings or whatever.”

The Smiths’ 76-acre property is primarily surrounded by agricultural land and the storage units will be built on previously vacant, unproductive ground. No members of the public expressed any concerns as the project worked its way through the county’s process.