A Slidell auto dealer who wants to build a 3-acre mini-storage facility off Pontchartrain Boulevard has gotten the City Council’s approval for a conditional-use permit, but he still has another hoop to jump through before he can actually begin construction.

With a 7-0 vote, the council said R.B. Williams could get the conditional use permit, only if he goes back to the Board of Zoning Adjustment to get approval for three variances that were noted by Planning Director Randy Clement in a letter to the council.

Even though the Planning and Zoning Commission gave its approval for the facility, Clement noted in his letter that Williams has met all the requirements except for the distance of the setback on the north side of the property, retaining natural landscaping instead of putting in new landscaping, and not landscaping the concrete islands that will be built inside the mini-storage area. Those three exceptions did not sit well with some members of the council who have had their patience tested with Williams’ project over the past 11 months.

“You say he meets all the criteria except for . . . Why are there these exceptions?” Councilman Lionel Hicks wondered.

Council President Ray Canada thought these exceptions should be approved by the BZA.

Clement told the council since this was an application for a conditional use permit, and not a zoning variance, no other action needed to be taken, and he recommended the council vote for the permit.

However, City Attorney Tim Matthison wondered if that was legal.

“I don’t know how taking off landscaping on the islands cannot go before the BZA,” Matthison said. “In my view these things need BZA approval because of the zoning variances.”

This is not the first time Williams’ project has run into roadblocks for the mini-storage facility.

In January, the council passed an ordinance for a six-month moratorium on new mini-storage buildings until city planners could analyze their impact for the Slidell Master Plan that is still being developed.

The ordinance gave exception to Williams’ project. He had pleaded with the council to allow him to continue the project because he stood to lose $300,000 in preliminary costs.

In April, the Planning and Zoning Commission gave its approval to a conditional use permit, but Williams still had to come up with more detailed plans before final approval for a building permit.

The facility will be built behind Williams’ car dealership, Premiere Auto Sales, on three acres of land he owns that is currently unused.

He said the mini-storage buildings are the best use for the land.

Williams claims the facility will be “state-of-the-art” with climate-controlled rooms and even conference rooms.

The council said the ordinance will go into effect only if Williams gets approval for the three variances from the BZA. The ordinance also specifies the facades of the buildings must be built from materials other than sheet metal, and with only 25 percent of the facade in vinyl.