Does the Arnold-Imperial area need another gasoline station and convenience store?
Home Service Oil Co. of Barnhart, which owns a chain of such businesses under several brands, is betting it does.
The company is seeking a rezoning from residential to commercial for a 5.62-acre lot on the southwest corner of Vogel and Old Lemay Ferry roads with the intention of building an Express Mart station and convenience store there.
The Jefferson County Planning and Zoning Commission voted 6-0 July 14 to recommend approval of the rezoning to the Jefferson County Council.
The council, which has the sole authority to rezone property in unincorporated areas of the county, will likely consider the request at a meeting in August.
Dan Govero of Govero Land Services in Imperial, who represented Home Service Oil at the hearing, said his clients believe the new Express Mart is needed because of ongoing residential growth in the area.
However, some who live in the area aren’t so certain.
“I guess this will be the kind of gas station that’s going to be open 24-7,” said Mike Moran. “This brings up concerns about crime, lighting and traffic.”
Govero said Vogel Road was extended in the 1990s and work to widen Old Lemay Ferry Road is in the offing, so traffic shouldn’t be a problem.
“This will not add traffic to the area,” he said. “It will be mostly local people.”
Govero also said the road can handle it. “The (Vogel Road) extension served its purpose,” he said. “Vogel Road is a collector road, and this is a major intersection along that collector road.
“Other people (commercial developers) are looking at the other corners. This business will bring in some revenue for the county.
“This station will serve people who live in the area so they don’t have to go all the way into Arnold to get gas.”
However, several of those opposed to the project said there are other stations nearby.
Govero said the lot, which formerly was the site of a mobile home, sits higher than both roads.
“We’ll have to do quite a bit of grading to make this work,” he said.
Enough land will be cleared to bring the building and pumps to street level, with a retaining wall to be built in the back at least 20 feet away from the property line. The lot borders Richard Simpson Elementary School, 3585 Vogel Road.
Brockin Shoemaker, who said her property also neighbors the site, asked about the buffering.
“I want to know if the vegetation will be maintained,” she said. “I don’t want to see a gas station.”
Govero said trees, shrubbery and a vinyl fence will separate the lot from neighbors, including the school grounds.
Greg Northcutt, who lives on Old Lemay Ferry, said in addition to a possible increase in traffic, he’s concerned about the environmental impact the station will have on the area.
“I’ve got concerns about littering,” he said. “People throw their litter all over the place.”
Lynnette Rasch, who lives about a half-mile down Old Lemay Ferry from the site, agreed.
“I have questions about the traffic, lighting and the littering. The littering is terrible,” she said.
Govero said such businesses typically have employees patrol nearby areas for litter.
Andrew Kowalenski, who lives nearby, said traffic bottlenecks at the intersection and backs up on Old Lemay Ferry Road, making an entrance there problematic.
He also questioned why the site isn’t being developed residentially.
“Why are we taking away a potential opportunity to build condos or other residential housing here?” he said, noting that the county needs affordable housing. “This wouldn’t be $300,000 homes.”
Govero said the steep topography of the site would make it problematic for a residential developer to fit enough homes on the site to make it economically viable.
While Home Service Oil has announced its intentions for the site, the rezoning would allow a number of different commercial uses in the area. Planning commissioners were charged only with deciding whether rezoning the property to commercial was proper and not the suitability of any potential use.