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It isn’t unusual for a self-storage developer or owner to face obstacles to project approval, including opposition from city and town officials, community members and even other business owners. In fact, there are few municipalities that welcome storage facilities with open arms. Luckily, many hindrances can be surmounted through flexible, creative facility design.

Find out how in this video seminar presented by industry architect Peter Stuhlreyer. He’ll walk you through the three things that nearly always intensify an already problematic approval process and share three projects he and his team were able to push through great difficulty to reality. You’ll learn:

  • How to determine what a city really wants, despite what’s written (and not written) in the zoning 

  • Why self-storage construction is different than “building a building”

  • How to read between the lines and expose a city’s discretionary power (good and bad)

  • Ways to make an argument against outdated zoning-code notions

  • How to peel away layers of municipal bureaucracy without getting personal

Related:Cultivating a Family Self-Storage Business: Get First-Hand Advice From a Successful Father/Son Duo

Recorded at this year’s Inside Self-Storage World Expo in Las Vegas, “Stories of Self-Storage Design Success: Projects That Nearly Died and How We Saved Them” is available for $25, or you can purchase it as part of several larger discount bundles including the Building Package, the Builder/Investor Essentials Package and the Total Solutions Package. Once purchased, it’s viewable directly through your “My On-Demand Library.”

Don't let resistance kill your next self-storage dream. Try these proven strategies to turn a "no" into a "yes" and save your development from defeat!

Stuhlreyer is chief architect for Designhaus LLC, an Auburn Hills, Michigan-based firm he founded in 1998. The company provides professional architectural services as well as interior and landscape design to self-storage and other business sectors. Peter has nearly 30 years of experience and has been the architect on more than $500 million worth of commercial and residential projects.

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