The Saint John Board of Zoning Appeals voted 3-0 on Sept. 3 to recommend that Town Council allow construction of a gas station with a drive‑thru in the US 41 Overlay District at a site south of Speedway and adjacent to Bingo Lake, and then granted favorable approval for most of the petitioner’s requested development-standard variances after the petitioner withdrew several landscaping-related variances.

James Huss of DVG, speaking for applicant Shamir Manhani, told the board the parcel is about 3.5 acres with only roughly 1.75 acres usable because a pipeline easement and requirements for stormwater detention reduce developable area. "This parcel is challenging, and this BZA hearing tonight is just one of many due diligence items to determine the feasibility from a property," Huss said.

The petitioner asked for roughly two dozen variances tied to the US 41 Overlay District. Those included a use variance to allow a gas station on the property and deviations from overlay rules on building placement and size (the overlay’s 15,000-square-foot minimum vs. the petitioner’s proposed ~4,500-square-foot building), parking location, sidewalks and pedestrian/bicycle access, bicycle parking, a front-yard fueling canopy encroachment, screening and buffer requirements near adjacent townhomes and Bingo Lake, multiple landscaping waivers, and signage larger than the town’s limits (asking to increase allowed gross combined sign area from 100 square feet to 200 square feet, and a monument sign from 30 to 80 square feet).

Architect Christian Koloshevski of WT Group cited traffic-safety guidance from the United States Sign Council and the American Planning Association in support of larger signage, saying smaller signs are harder for drivers to read safely on a complex, multilane roadway. "When you do their calculations, the size of the signage would be 26 to 28 inches tall. We're only asking for 15," he said, noting the petitioner’s proposed sign sizes are smaller than national visibility recommendations.

Residents and property owners raised concerns. Tom Plascoda, who said he owns about 7 acres of Bingo Lake adjacent to the site, asked why the petitioner requested a refuse‑storage enclosure without a roof and expressed worry that trash could blow into the lake if a roof were omitted. "I would have concerns about that," Plascoda said. Nearby residents Jack Slager and Ken Drenth supported redevelopment of the site but urged sidewalks and landscaping, noting Lake Central High School students walk in the area and that the corner is a visible gateway to town.

After discussion, the petitioner withdrew several landscape-related variance requests from the BZA petition, including items identified in the transcript as 24‑5‑18 (parts D and E), 24‑5‑19(b) and (c), 24‑5‑25(a)(1), and 24‑5‑26(a). The board voted 3-0 to recommend the use variance to Town Council for the gas station with a drive‑thru, and later voted 3-0 to grant favorable approval for the remaining variances on the record. Board members noted they could impose conditions (such as plantings or screening) as reasonable requirements during future reviews.

The petitioner said a flood elevation (BFE) study and additional engineering remain necessary steps; Huss described the flood study and subsequent detailed site engineering as the critical next steps before plan commission review and permitting. The approvals at this BZA hearing are procedural steps: the use variance must be approved by Town Council and plan commission will verify site-level details such as final landscaping, drainage and signage before building permits are issued.