West Tupelo residents urge city to review process after convenience store and gas station construction begins

Residents in several West Tupelo neighborhoods told the City Council on May 6 that they were surprised and alarmed to learn a convenience store and gasoline station were under construction on lots in the Clubside Commercial subdivision.

The speakers said they discovered construction after the developer began work and argued the new station would increase traffic, noise and litter and hurt property values in adjacent subdivisions including Oak Meadows, Charleston Gardens, St. Andrews and Wendover.

Why it matters: Council members heard multiple residents ask whether the city could have prevented or altered the project and whether the development complied with the city’s development standards for stable transitions between commercial and residential areas.

City attorney Ben Logan told the council the property in question has been zoned commercial since 1994 and that the city’s development code treats a convenience store as a use allowed in that zone. “A convenience store is a use by right in that zone. It's not a compatible use, it's not a flexible use, and it is not prohibited there,” Logan said, adding that discretionary and ministerial actions differ and the city cannot withhold approvals where the development code’s requirements are met.

Rob Chambers, speaking during the public comment period, gave a timeline drawn from court filings and city paperwork and said the chancery court consolidated three lots into a single lot by order on Jan. 16, 2025. “No gas station is listed anywhere in that,” Chambers said of the court documents. He noted that, after the court order, city staff received a request to acknowledge the amended final plat and that the site plan was reviewed by development-services staff; he said a building permit was issued and construction started recently.

Several residents described neighborhood impacts they fear. Nancy Lee McDade asked the council, “How does this comply with the city's code of a stable transition?” and said she and other neighbors worry about lights, hours of operation, traffic and nearby property values. John Hines said Oak Meadows “sits almost directly at the end of Jackson extended,” expressing concern that new traffic entering and exiting a fuel station will worsen an intersection he called already one of the most dangerous in the city. Judy Jones said she understood the legal process but added, “This may be a legal and reasonable and customary way to do business, but it just sort of stinks to me.”

Council and staff response: Residents repeatedly said their council representative, Chad Mims, told them he learned of the project only after ground was broken; several speakers urged the council to seek regulatory changes so neighbors have earlier notice or more options to influence siting of commercially zoned uses adjacent to subdivisions. City staff and the city attorney repeatedly described the sequence as largely ministerial under the development code once the plat and site-plan requirements were met.

No formal council action to halt construction or to amend the development code occurred at the meeting. City staff said the item had been on past council agendas for plat acceptance and had previously been tabled; the chancery-court order and subsequent site-plan and permit activity were described by speakers as the operative legal steps that enabled construction to begin.

What's next: Several residents said they intend to press the council for ordinance changes and for clearer notice to neighbors; speakers also suggested the city consider traffic studies, turn lanes and other mitigation measures. The council did not vote on any motion specifically to stop or alter the Clubside construction during the May 6 meeting.