Planning commission hears Sheetz plan for gas pumps, drive-through at 111 E. Saginaw St.

The East Lansing Planning Commission held a public hearing Oct. 8 on a special-use permit requested by Sheetz for a 6,139-square-foot convenience restaurant with a drive-through and eight gas-pump islands at 111 E. Saginaw St., the site of the former Rite Aid.

The request matters because drive-throughs and auto-service stations require a special-use permit and a council decision with a planning commission recommendation; neighbors, commissioners and staff flagged traffic, stormwater, pedestrian safety and site design as unresolved issues that the commission asked the applicant and city staff to address before moving the item forward.

Alicia Wright, planner with the East Lansing planning department, told the commission the 2.135-acre site plan proposes a single-story, 26-foot-tall Sheetz building with 30 interior seats, 16 year-round outdoor seats, eight fuel pump islands (16 handles), 13 stacking spaces for the drive-through and 39 parking stalls where 34 are required. Wright said the proposal reduces impervious surface by 356 square feet compared with the existing site, provides 29 trees chosen after consultation with the city arborist, and includes one Level 2 EV-capable parking space.

Wright said department routes and technical reviewers — fire, police, building and engineering — supplied comments on soil erosion,…