Last month, Milrose and Masterplan hosted a webinar in which Dallas Cothrum, Ph.D., President of Masterplan, walked through the ins and outs of navigating permits and zoning for self-storage facilities. Read on for an overview of his outlook on the current and future state of the storage industry, plus his best tips for saving costs and winning approvals.
Experts in Zoning for Self-Storage Spaces
Dr. Cothrum brings over 40 years of experience in consulting with self-storage companies and advising them on zoning, permitting, and land use requirements in municipalities throughout the Southwest. As the largest planning and permitting firm in Texas, clients have trusted Masterplan to spearhead their zoning and permitting needs, which have yielded results that are second to none. “Masterplan has done the most zoning work relating to storage,” said Dr. Cothrum. “Zoning is the largest barrier to entry into self-storage.” Their national experience has boasted a multitude of cases providing significant advantages. In fact, when you are ready to pick a location and begin the re-zoning process; you can be lead by Masterplan’s Top 5 Factors to Consider When Zoning for Self-storage free downloadable guide.
Factors Impacting the Self-Storage Market
As an expert in his field, Dr. Cothrum outlined several interesting factors that he believes are driving the self-storage market regarding the obtainment of zoning. Here is snapshot of these drivers:
- Generational changes—The storage needs of baby boomers and millennials is increasing due to generational changes. This is good news for storage developers. But these generations have very different expectations.
- Changing market conditions—Although the self-storage market fell about eight percent for the first time, there were still impressive figures of 2,000 projects and 350 expansions in the works. (Those are big numbers!)
- Where Storage is Occurring—Dr. Cothrum says there’s a lot of opportunity in the underserved communities to reposition existing assets. Does it therefore make sense to reposition an older building by tearing it down and building a storage cube? Or maybe rebuild only part of the building? Hear the advice he offers to his clients, along with a good rule of thumb. (Hey, it’s free advice!)
- Storage is a Retail Land-Use—Cities and communities are having a hard time adjusting to this, but Dr. Cothrum points out that there is more room for storage in a mixed-use environment.
Common misconceptions about self-storage
As with anything else, people may have misconceptions about things they don’t truly understand. And when it comes to self-storage, there are several to debunk. Here are seven misconceptions which Dr. Cothrum spelled out in the webinar:
- Inferior operator
- Wrong location
- Wrong land use
- Crime and noise
- Traffic and parking
- Decline in property value
- Loss of sales tax revenue
“Storage is not all of these things,” said Dr. Cothrum. “We have the facts—including white papers and industry experts—to debunk all of these misconceptions.”
A winning record—Why do our clients hire us?
Currently, Masterplan has zoning cases that relate to “storage-in-progress” in over 20 states. “People hire us for results,” Dr. Cothrum said. “We have an impressive record—winning up to 80 percent of the time, compared to the national average of 50 percent.” Here are some of reasons why clients hire Masterplan for their self-storage zoning needs:
- Worked on more cases in the U.S. than any other company.
- Organized like a city, with a staff comprised of former city employees, planning directors, engineers and other professionals who match up well with the specific cities they work with.
- The only firm with an in-house public relations team that has conducted its own research and developed winning strategies.
- Market-based planners. “Rules matter more than results.”
- Wide range of experience in all areas of zoning (not just self-storage).
Milrose family: Coordinating success
Last August, Masterplan joined forces with Milrose Consultants, a leading national provider of building code compliance, fulfillment, and consulting solutions. As the most recent addition to the Milrose Family of Companies, Masterplan joins Permit Advisors, McCormick Compliance Consulting, Integrated Group, Special Inspection Services, San Francisco Codes, and our strategic partner—Howard L. Zimmerman Architects and Engineers—as a force to deliver end-to-end solutions for construction projects nationwide.
As part of the Milrose family of companies, Masterplan provides solutions for its clients that are faster and easier than those of other organizations. “The Milrose family of companies provides professional services that do it all with industry expertise at the helm,” he said. “We know our territories. We have a playbook on how all the cities differ and operate across all disciplines.” Here are some other ways which sets Milrose Consultants apart from other companies:
- Electronic tracking of all projects
- Formed valuable relationships and connections with key people at municipalities.
- Connections with professional lobbyists
At the end of the day, Dr. Cothrum lives by this belief: “We take care of the client, and the rest takes care of itself.”
We invite you to listen to the webinar in its entirety. Ready to open your next self-storage project? Download Masterplan's new updated white paper 'Top 5 Factors to Consider When Zoning for Self-Storage' today!
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