City likely to let gym operate 24/7

Operators of Snap Fitness need one more approval before the North Avenue gym can stay open around the clock.

The Plan Commission on Monday and the Common Council on Tuesday got behind the request to keep the fitness business open 24 hours a day like most of the company's other locations.

Satisfied with the company's efforts to provide a safe and secure environment for members, the one hiccup was providing spaces for overnight parking. Parking is not prohibited on city streets between 3 and 6 a.m.

City staff recommended that the business lease up to three parking spaces in the municipal parking lot at 72nd Street and North Avenue.

Community Development Director Nancy Welch said city staff felt comfortable making an exception to the rule prohibiting 24-hour operations in the North Avenue business district because of the type of business and the support for it from the surrounding residential neighborhoods.

"We don't anticipate a large number of people using the facility during those hours, so we don't foresee that this will have a detrimental effect on the neighbors," she said.

Welch and Plan Commission members said they do not want to see this request set off a trend of North Avenue businesses asking for 24-hour-a-day operations.

The Common Council is expected to take action on the request on Tuesday.