Overview
- City officials presented a draft Retail Fuel Station Ordinance to the Economic Development Committee on Oct. 21, proposing a two-step location test for new gas stations.
- Under the proposal, any site on a major thoroughfare wider than 80 feet would automatically qualify while sites on narrower roads would be tested for how much nearby property is residential.
- The city’s review of 188 applications from the past four years found 95% were on major thoroughfares and 52% had homes within about 50 to 100 feet of the proposed site.
- Officials used the Riverside Terrace site at 5204 Live Oak Street as an example and reported it would not meet the proposed standards without a variance.
- The ordinance would apply only to new applications and still needs Planning Commission and City Council hearings set between Nov. 12 and Jan. 2027 before any final vote.