The Warren County Planning and Zoning Commission has approved a conditional use permit (CUP) for a truck and equipment seller on Highway O near Marthasville.Curtis and Shannon Reel, the owners of CSR Truck and Equipment Sales, applied for the CUP earlier this year after county officials said they mistakenly began operating their business without one.CSR sells heavy vehicles and equipment, mainly for farming and construction, and has a machine shed to maintain and repair vehicles for sale. The Reels operate the business on a 7.5-acre property on Highway O, where they also live. They started CSR in November 2018.The planning commission placed several conditions on approving the business. It limited the number of business-related vehicles or equipment on the property to 25 machines. That doesn’t include personal vehicles.Any vehicles at the property that are subject to state registration requirements must be kept licensed. Any waste generated by the business, such as motor oil, must be handled and disposed of following federal Environmental Protection Agency guidelines.The CUP is limited to the Reels as business owners, meaning if they ever decide to sell the business, the new owner would have to get a new permit. The county planning commission regularly includes this limitation in CUPs.Members of the planning and zoning commission voted unanimously to approve the permit during their monthly public meeting Sept. 19.The Reels needed a permit for their business because Warren County requires a CUP for any commercial business in an area zoned for agriculture, Planning and Zoning Administrator Vickie Vohsen previously explained.Vohsen told members of the planning commission Aug. 15 that she believes the Reels made an honest mistake when they began operating without a CUP. She said they had taken every other correct step to establish their business, and didn’t know the permit was required.In July, CSR had been directed to cease operation while applying for the CUP.During a public hearing in August, several nearby property owners expressed concern about machine noise coming from the Reels’ property, as well as traffic going to and from the business and chemical runoff.One neighbor suggested that large trucks coming in and out of the business could cause a dangerous traffic situation on Highway O. However, in approving the CUP, the planning commission ruled that CSR has “adequate entrance and egress.” One of the other stipulations on the CUP also requires the Reels to abide by all state regulations, including those of the Missouri Department of Transportation that apply to Highway O.Another neighbor was worried that any chemical runoff from the vehicles and equipment could contaminate the lake on his family’s property. That concern was directly related to the mandate that CSR must follow EPA guidelines, or else risk losing their conditional use permit.Warren County Administration Building