Collier County commissioners voted unanimously to approve three companion items that clear the way for a U‑Haul mobility center and indoor self‑storage complex at 5396 Myrtle Lane in east Naples.

The board approved a small‑scale comprehensive‑plan amendment to create a new commercial subdistrict, rezoned the property to a commercial planned unit development (PUD), and agreed to vacate and relocate a drainage easement along the site’s west boundary. The motions passed without recorded opposition.

The applicant, Metropolitan Naples LLC, presented the project as a relocation and modernization of an existing U‑Haul facility. Rich Ivanovich, attorney for Metropolitan Naples LLC, told commissioners the proposal would allow “up to 200,000 square feet of indoor self storage and 3,000 square feet of retail,” replacing older, more intensive commercial uses currently permitted by the existing PUD. Wayne Arnold, a certified planner with Grady Miner & Associates, described site design, buffers and access plans and said the new development would connect to the traffic signal on U.S. 41 to provide safer egress for existing Myrtle Lane residents.

Planning and zoning staff supported the petitions. Mike Bozzi, Collier County planning and zoning director, said the application met the county’s threshold for the growth‑management amendment and that staff concurred with the Planning Commission’s additional conditions. Staff and the applicant emphasized the project would substantially reduce peak‑hour trips compared with what the current zoning could allow: the applicant provided a trip cap of 622 two‑way PM peak‑hour trips compared with an estimated 238 under some currently permitted uses and said the proposed use would generate markedly fewer vehicle trips than a conventional commercial shopping center.

Neighbors who spoke during public comment objected to the project’s scale, truck traffic, propane tank location, noise and potential impacts on narrow Myrtle Lane. Speakers included Falconer Jones, Kathy Smith, Claudia Fuller and Steve Fuller, among others, who said Myrtle Lane is a narrow, largely residential street and expressed concern about large trucks and maintenance activity. The applicant responded in public comment and at the Planning Commission that truck movements would be controlled by contract and signage (trucks would be prohibited from turning left onto Myrtle Lane), that minor maintenance for leased trucks would be performed inside the building, that the pod/warehouse building would be single‑story and that outdoor amplified sound would be prohibited.

The PUD ordinance and conditions approved by the board include: a maximum 200,000 square feet of indoor storage and 3,000 square feet of retail; enhanced buffers (Type D along U.S. 41 and Type B along Myrtle Lane and the western property line) including canopy trees and 6‑foot opacity; prohibition of outdoor amplified sound; a condition the owner will be responsible for the traffic signal improvements; a restriction banning trucks from turning left onto Myrtle Lane; a condition limiting hours for retail and maintenance to 7 a.m.–7 p.m.; and notation of a planned location for an LP (propane) tank near the warehouse building to be reflected on the master plan. The board also approved the vacation of the drainage easement and a replacement easement to be located along the western boundary.

Commissioners framed their decision around traffic and neighborhood tradeoffs. Commissioner McDaniel said many of the community’s concerns will be vetted at the required site‑development plan stage and that the proposed use would likely generate less traffic than other commercial options that could be built under existing entitlements. Commissioners expressed interest in enforcing the conditions at site plan review and in contract language requiring truck routing to the signalized intersection.

The board approved the comprehensive plan amendment (item 9B), the rezoning to a commercial PUD (9C) and the drainage‑easement vacation (9D) by voice vote; the items “passed unanimously.”

The applicant and county staff said additional technical review—including drainage capacity analysis, final site development plan review, transportation staff approval of the Myrtle Lane connection and exact placement and permitting of the LP tank—will occur before permits are issued. The board noted that the approved ordinance and conditions will be enforced through subsequent permitting and that changes to truck routing, buffers or other controls may be required at SDP review.