Too Many Gas Stations? City Officials Look at Tightening Zoning

Multiple properties within the City of Traverse City – particularly along the Eighth Street corridor – are being quietly held by fuel companies that could develop them at any time into gas stations. That reality, which recently came up during the city’s master plan rewrite, has prompted city planning commissioners to take a closer look at changing zoning rules to give the city more control over approving gas stations – including their locations and designs.

City Planning Director Shawn Winter told planning commissioners at their May 21 meeting that multiple fuel companies “have been looking to expand their footprint in the area,” typically by buying one or more connected vacant parcels that could eventually host a large-scale gas station. One example is True North Energy, which in 2019 purchased 25 gas stations/convenience stores in the Traverse City market from Schmuckal Oil Company, including a gas station at 708 Munson Avenue. True North Energy purchased the former Schelde’s building next to that gas station and received city approval to build a new expanded convenience store, car wash, and gas station spanning the two properties.

Blarney Castle Oil Company attempted to undertake a similar project in 2018 at the BP gas station at the corner of Eighth Street and Munson Avenue. The company owned a residential parcel directly north of the gas station and sought to rezone that property to commercial (C-2) to build an expanded gas station across both sites. Neighbors strenuously opposed the project, citing concerns about traffic, light, noise, and other impacts. Blarney Castle eventually withdrew its application.

That project faced a higher barrier for approval because the adjoining property was residential and not zoned for commercial use, unlike the True North project down the road, Winter says. But Blarney Castle could return in the future with another rezoning request for that site, or a modified proposal for moving forward. Blarney Castle – which did not return a request for comment – is also holding properties that could be developed into gas stations at the southwest corners of Eighth/Garfield and Eighth/Wellington.

“We know this pressure is coming,” Winter told planning commissioners. While gas stations are viewed as a necessity in most communities, Winter tells The Ticker the high level of traffic they receive and their modern designs – “super stations” that often feature numerous pumps, a car wash, and a large convenience store – can be “very impactful” on surrounding neighborhoods. He points to the Speedway gas station at the corner of Fourteenth and Union streets, which – even lacking some of those amenities – has prompted complaints from neighboring residents about bright lights staying on late into the night.

The city’s new draft master plan and mobility action plan both emphasize a desire for walkability, bikability, and placemaking. “So when we’re talking about that, it begs the question: Does a bunch of gas stations proliferating throughout the city support that model?” Winter says. He notes that one gas station going in at an intersection can sometimes result in a domino effect of others going in at the surrounding corners – sometimes from competitors, sometimes from different brands owned by the same parent company looking to capture vehicle traffic going in either direction.

The issue isn’t necessarily eliminating gas stations but rather determining the best locations for them in the city. “Are there some districts and corridors that are more appropriate than others?” Winter says. He told planning commissioners the city could look at “trimming down the districts in which they are allowed” to keep gas stations located on “high-traffic corridors.” Planning commissioners expressed interest in exploring what those locations would be – and also the process by which gas stations are approved.

Right now, gas stations are a use-by-right in the districts in which they’re allowed. That means that so long as a developer meets all the standards required for the site, “they legally have to be approved,” Winter says. However, the city could change those rules to require gas stations to obtain a special land use permit (SLUP). The SLUP approval process is more rigorous and allows for additional standards to be placed on a property. That could look like implementing a “maximum square footage of the building, or a maximum number of pumps,” Winter cited as examples.

A SLUP process also gives the planning commission more leeway to approve or deny projects. “It’s one of the only discretionary decisions that the planning commission will make in their review,” Winter told the board. In addition, SLUP applications go to the city commission for review, adding another layer to the approval process – one with elected accountability to voters. Planning Commissioner Brian McGillivary, citing his concern about gas stations being “big places” with a “lot of concrete,” agreed the city needs “more discretion” in approving such projects. “I want to see us address it,” he said.

Other planning commissioners agreed, with staff now charged with collecting data to present to the board in the coming months on changing the rules. Winter says that data will include maps of the zoning districts in which gas stations are allowed, existing gas station sites in the city, and properties owned by fuel companies that could potentially be developed. Updating the zoning rules will require a public hearing and votes by both the planning commission and city commission.