The owners of Reliable Motors will have to remove the storage buildings from their sales lot or appeal to the Zoning Board of Appeals for a special exception to keep displaying them, a city official said Wednesday.

Zoning Administrator Dalton McCarty said the city has sent the business a letter informing the owners they are in violation of the zoning ordinance. McCarty said portable building production and sales are permitted only in an L-1 industrial zone. He said the business located at 1661 N. Frontage Road is in a C-4 General Commercial zone and would need a special exception to sell portable buildings.

The owners of the business were unavailable for comment Wednesday.

The business was initially denied permission by the Zoning Board to move to its current location in 2004, because the owners planned to operate out of a manufactured home. However, after appealing to the City Board of Mayor and Alderman they were granted permission to operate out of the portable building on North Frontage Road, as long as they agreed to pave the parking lot and meet other aesthetic requirements.

The Zoning Board has already heard two cases this year regarding storage units in the wrong zone. In one case a business owner was denied permission to build mini-storage units at 4301 Halls Ferry Road. The City Board will hear an appeal from Philip H. Jones Jr. next month. In the other case, the City Board approved a letter of recommendation from the Zoning Board to rezone a portion of U.S. 80 that includes Highway 80 Self-Storage from C-4 General Commercial to L-2 Heavy Industrial, which put the business in compliance.