DAPHNE, Ala. — A representative of the company that placed an ice vending machine on the north side of Daphne Avenue got a frosty reception at the City of Daphne Planning Commission meeting on Thursday night.

Randall Caldwell, representing Coles Ice Vending, explained the procedure that his company had followed before locating the 8-by-24-foot machine across from the Daphne Post Office.

He said he had approached the city and requested permits for a vending machine that were granted. This process did not require a site plan or a committee revue.

But commissioners, who acknowledged that those steps had been taken, told Caldwell they were unaware of the machine’s size, which stands over 10 feet tall, and would require a different approach for any subsequent machines.

“It’s an unsightly mess as far as I am concerned,” Commissioner Joe Lemoine said.

There were questions raised as to whether a structure of this size could be regarded as a vending machine for planning purposes.

“We look at a vending machine as not being this big,” Commissioner Larry Chason said. “We regard a vending machine as more of a movable item. We are just now understanding what we have got into. . . It is an unusual and unique item.”

“This is an ancillary building; it is not a vending machine,” Commissioner Victoria Phelps said.

Caldwell said that his company wanted to operate as “good neighbors” and were willing to landscape the area around the machine and comply with city signage ordinances, but wanted clarification on the procedure they should follow for the placement of a second $100,000 machine they were scheduled to locate in Daphne.

“We did what we believed was the right thing,” he said. “We just want to be treated fairly.”

Commission members told Caldwell that he could anticipate being required to file a site plan and that there would be landscaping requirements, but the current regulations did not anticipate this size of machine.

The Daphne City Council will debate a proposal to put a moratorium on further ice machines in the city at it next meeting on June 7. The moratorium would allow time for new regulations to be put in place if passed.

Caldwell said, after the meeting, that the delay in the placement of the second machine would negatively affect his company’s finances and that he was considering legal action.