RaceTrac planned to build a gas station on about 15.5 acres of land northeast of the Main Street Interstate 65 interchange in Greenwood, seen here on Beacon.
Provided by the city of Greenwood
After spending months on the agenda, a proposed gas station at the Main Street Interstate 65 interchange in Greenwood will not be moving forward.
The Greenwood Board of Zoning Appeals voted 2-3 Monday night against approving a use variance to allow Atlanta-based RaceTrac to build a gas station on land zoned industrial medium on the northeast corner of the interchange, south of the ULTA Beauty Distribution Center and west of a U-Haul neighborhood dealer. Gas stations are currently only allowed under commercial medium and large zoning.
A second variance for the gas station was withdrawn by the petitioner shortly after, as it was a moot point. That variance would’ve allowed the gas station to have more fuel stations than allotted and allowed it to be built less than 600 feet away from another gas station. Road Ranger is located across Main Street to the south, according to city documents.
Monday’s vote concludes a saga filled with numerous continuances since the proposed variances first appeared before the board in January. The first vote for the project in January was initially deadlocked 2-2 as the BZA was down a member, causing an automatic continuance.
However, as time went on, more and more continuances were given because of scheduling conflicts, member absences and requests for more information. During the eight-month period, the BZA also added new member Steve Milbourn, bringing the board up to its full membership.
Milbourn and board members Josh King and Chris Mull voted against approving the first variance Monday. Members Ken Knartzer and Vickie Peters voted in favor of the gas station.
RaceTrac’s proposal also followed the company’s August 2022 attempt 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.
When the proposal was fully heard again in June, Brown said they had made more changes to alleviate concerns and were 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 planned 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.
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, last month, Prime said Road Ranger was neutral toward the project following the changes.
While no members of the public spoke about the proposal on Monday, a few people spoke against the project in June. Two residents said they were concerned about the traffic created by the gas station.
City Council member Linda Gibson also testified during that hearing, saying that by approving the project, the city would be creating a traffic problem for that area. Officials owed it to the community to make travel easier, not more difficult and dangerous, she said.
On Monday, Brown said RaceTrac had reviewed some of the requests they received and provided additional information to the city. He also brought a letter he wanted to be added to the official record about the project, however, since the public hearing was closed, the letter could not be accepted.
In order to accept the letter, the board would have to reopen the public hearing process, which would require a public notice. This would have extended the decision by another 30 days, officials said.
