The exterior of a RaceTrac gas station is seen in this undated marketing photo.
Photo provided by RaceTrac
It was a mixed bag for gas station proposals in front of a Greenwood board Monday.
Following a deadlocked 2-2 vote Monday night with one member absent, the Greenwood Board of Zoning Appeals delayed their decision on two zoning variances that would either allow or limit the ability for a RaceTrac gas station to be built at the northeast corner of the Main Street I-65 interchange. The property is south of the ULTA Beauty Distribution Center and west of a U-Haul neighborhood dealer.
The board rejected a second proposal involving a gas station Monday night. VR Empire LLC requested two variances to allow them to build a gas station in the 1600 block of West County Line Road near State Road 135. Both variances were rejected unanimously.
RaceTrac
Atlanta-based RaceTrac had first come before the BZA in January to request a variance to allow a gas station on land zoned industrial medium. Gas stations are currently only allowed under commercial medium and large zoning, city documents show.
They also requested a second variance to allow the gas station to have more fuel stations than allotted and allow the station to be built less than 600 feet away from another gas station, according to city documents.
RaceTrac’s proposal also followed the company’s attempt in August 2022 to ask for variances to build a truck stop on the same parcel of property. The BZA voted 3-2 to deny those variances.
In January, Russell Brown, an attorney representing RaceTrac, said RaceTrac officials had made changes based on the concerns brought up in August 2022. Unlike the first proposal, they were seeking to build a gas station and had removed truck parking along with an entrance to the property.
The board’s January vote was deadlocked 2-2 as they were down one member. The proposal has been continued several times since then, with Monday’s meeting being the first time the proposal was fully heard since January.
On Monday, Brown informed the board of more changes they had made to alleviate concerns. RaceTrac is currently working to acquire access rights from the U-Haul dealer to allow for additional access to the property from the east, he said.
Additionally, the company plans to “channelize access” into the site by not allowing people to turn left into the property from Main Street or to leave the property by turning left onto Main Street. They’ve also added a raised curb in order to enforce this, Brown said.
“We think that this (curb), along with appropriate signage, will prevent the traveling public from attempting to turn left-bound into this location,” Brown said.
Previously, the Road Ranger across the street was against the proposal, with attorney Eric Prime saying in January that his client disagreed with some of RaceTrac’s justification for the variances. However, on Monday, Prime said Road Ranger is now neutral toward the project following the changes.
A few members of the public spoke out against the proposal during Monday night’s hearing. Two residents, Ray Jackson, who was representing The Trace Homeowners Association located at Valle Vista Golf Club, and Mike Reid, the former president of the Homecoming HOA, said they were opposed to the gas station due to its potential effects on traffic.
“You’re basically engineering an increase of accidents and making the traffic back up even further,” Reid said. “We very much would oppose construction at that intersection until the city of Greenwood improves Main Street to handle current traffic.”
City Council member Linda Gibson also testified during the hearing, saying that by approving the project, the city would be creating a problem for that area of Main Street.
“We owe it to our community to make their travels easier, not to make the road more difficult and dangerous to travel,” she said.
Brown told the board RaceTrac has also gone to great lengths to try to minimize any potential interference with the nearby traffic signal at I-65, including the restrictions on turning left, he said.
When it came time to vote on the use variance, the board deadlocked 2-2. A continuance was ultimately granted for both petitions as a result, and those are expected to be before the BZA again later this month.
County Line Road
The BZA also heard two variance requests from Greenfield-based VR Empire for another proposed gas station.
The developer had asked for two variances to allow them to build a gas station with a convenience store within 400 feet of residential properties on two adjacent parcels of land on County Line Road. A residential neighborhood is located to the southeast of the proposed station.
Ray Basile, an attorney representing VR Empire, told the board BZA they believed there would be a very minimal impact on nearby residences from the station. The area is already highly developed, and traffic from the station would only go north onto County Line Road. An existing tree line separating the neighborhood from the property would also not be affected.
Basile also said the project wouldn’t cause any environmental concerns for nearby homes. VR Empire ultimately requested the variances because they believed the strict application of the city’s zoning ordinance would create difficulties for the project.
A. L. Smith, who owns the building immediately east of the proposed gas station, questioned why there needed to be more gas stations in the area. He also expressed concerns about how it would affect his property values and later told the board the 400 feet distance requirement was in place for a reason.
VR Empire did not think the proposed gas station would decrease property values, with Basile saying the proposed station would not look like gas stations that were approved and built 40 years ago. He also said none of the property owners in the neighborhood to the south had reached out to him about the proposal, nor testified against it.
Greenwood resident Randy Goodin, who doesn’t live in the nearby neighborhood, also testified against the proposal. Goodin, who himself has experienced a gas station being built next to his home after he had lived there for a number of years, said the developer has yet to address light or noise pollution.
While VR Empire proposed putting up a fence, fences aren’t adequate for stopping noise, he said.
“People say, ‘Well, what noise is going to be coming from a gas station?’” Goodin said. “Let someone with a loud stereo and a low bass drive by your house anytime and that’s exactly what you’re hearing from a gas station.”
The city’s planning staff did not agree with most of the VR Empire’s reasons for the variances. City staff believed a gas station was a “far too intensive” use to be less than 400 feet away from a residential area, said Gabe Nelson, planning director.
Gas stations can emit odors, and can also emit harmful pollutants. Additionally, the station’s proximity to State Road 135 could cause traffic on County Line Road to back up even more, Nelson said.
The board later voted 4-0 to deny the variance requests.
