Dent Devil Asks Ballwin's OK to Add New Building

, an auto-repair business on Manchester Road, is seeking permission to erect a "wall-less tent" on its premises — a move that requires approval from the .

The commission will consider the petition at its regular meeting tonight at 7 p.m.

Dent Devil, at 14949 Manchester Road, has been open at the city since 2005 and specializes in paintless dent repair and repairs to alloy wheels, bumpers, windshields, or interiors. The shop has an outside patio and plants as a waiting area.

The owners want to erect what city planners described in the zoning documents as "a membrane covered structure mounted on metal poles (essentially a wall-less tent)."

The documents available on Ballwin's website do not say what the purpose of the new structure would be. Planners raised concerns about whether it would affect traffic on the site and in the area, and the degree to which it fails to conform to the city's general construction guidelines.

"There are no such structures anywhere in Ballwin and some may not see it as visually compatible in a commercial district that is otherwise comprised completely of conventional masonry buildings," wrote Thomas H. Aiken, assistant city administrator and city planner.

Patch will follow up with more information as it is available.