The July 2 Planning Commission motion on Z-26 was to rezone from GC to NRC for retail and office, . Excluded uses : Convenience Store with fuel sales, automotive uses and additional uses, hours of operation 6 am to 11 pm 7 days a week.  It was recommended for approval 5-0

The Board of Commissioners will hear the case on Tuesday July 16 at 9 am.

link to Planning Commission July 2 hearing       The case starts at 2 hrs 16 minutes

 

 

Planning Commission held case until July 2 planning hearing. Link to June hearing below. Z-26 starts 2 hours 28 min into video 

https://www.youtube.com/live/8jOssMOQJ8A?feature=shared

Unlike its predecessor Z-30 QT (for the same site), Z-26 is a better plan, with six fewer fuel positions (10 versus 16) and planned adaptive reuse of the existing vacant Rite Aid building. The challenges associated with the QT application remain although they are somewhat less, due to the reduced number of fuel pumps.

1. This is still a small site at 1.65 acres, and the Canton Road shared access driveway is still a problem. Compared to other gas stations located at signalized intersections, this driveway was not designed to handle a fairly high volume of traffic. Due to its distance from the signalized intersection the driveway can’t be widened to better accommodate ingress and egress. Entering the driveway requires a steep U Turn to get to subject property.

2. The shared access driveway is on property owned by the contiguous business owners, meaning that a fairly high volume of traffic at peak hours will be crossing their property to get to the fuel canopy.

3. The projected visits to the site under the QT was 2,057 per day, or 4,114 turning movements. That was for the C Store and 16 fuel positions. The projected visits to the site (vpd) for Z-26 are 2,571, with the proposed retail plaza adding 534 vpd for a total of 3,105 vpd, or 1,009 vpd less than the Quik Trip.

4. The distance from the fuel pumps and canopy to the restaurant outdoor dining area has not changed.

5. Adequate parking for the adjacent business owners remains a problem. The location of the fuel pumps and canopy removes parking spaces which might be shared between the two parcels, as has been the practice since the restaurant opened in 2011, 13 years ago.

Conclusion

Several points are very clear, the original design of subject property did not envision a high traffic volume use like convenience store with fuel sales. That is apparently one of the most intense uses in terms of vpd that can be built. The shared driveway which is on the contiguous property was not designed to accommodate a high number of vehicles per day.

There is documentation of the joint driveway easement, but unfortunately documentation of shared parking between the two parcels can’t be found. However, that has been the practice for 13 years.

While the contiguous property has appropriate parking for retail, it is underparked for restaurant use. Photographs taken last fall on a Friday evening at 8 pm (Kell football night) show that overflow parking takes up most of the area in front of the vacant Rite Aid, where the proposed fuel canopy would be built.

A quick look at the VPD or Vehicles per day on uses similar to the former Rite Aid explains why shared parking was possible:

Recent data on VPD at Walgreen’s with a comparable size structure is 1,411

VPD data on an Aldi’s/supermarket with a 14,000 sq ft building is 1,314

National average VPD at a 4,000 sq ft fast food restaurant is 1,870 per day.

While Z-26 is less intense than the previous QT application, it is still an intense use and will almost certainly have a negative impact on the contiguous businesses, two of which have been in operation for over a decade. The impact of a large C Store will certainly harm the early morning business of Ray’s Donuts due to peak traffic volume and competition from sale of coffee and pastries.

We believe that the landowner has the right to an economically viable use of their property and should be given a viable zoning. However the available uses should not be so intense as to overwhelm three existing businesses which share the driveway crossing their property with the adjacent property owner. Therefore we would support the following:

Deletion to NRC for Neighborhood Retail, offices and other permitted uses under NRC subject to the following:

Excluded uses to include:

Convenience store with fuel sales
Automotive uses
Pawn or title pawn
Contractor as a special exception
No outdoor storage
No heavy equipment

Modification of site plan or amendment of stipulations to come before the BoC as Other Business

Adherence to Canton Design Guidelines

 Canton Road driveway to be limited to Right in Right out

 Staff Comments and Recommendations not otherwise in conflict.

Respectfully submitted, Carol Brown, MA MRP

Canton Road Neighbors, Inc.