Brook Park council delays Circle K decision after hours of public comment; amends permit conditions

Hundreds of Brook Park residents and multiple council members urged the City Council on April 1 to reject a conditional-use permit for a 16-pump Circle K convenience store and gasoline station proposed at the intersection of State Route 237 and Sheldon Road. After more than an hour of public comment and internal debate, the council approved two amendments to the measure and moved the rezoning/conditional-use item back to second reading rather than adopting it tonight.

The proposal has drawn sustained opposition from neighbors who said the station would increase crime, traffic conflicts and pollution and would conflict with the city’s zoning intent for the U-6 district. Several speakers also said they had not been notified earlier in the application process and presented petitions and legal citations asking the council to follow the ordinance’s standards for conditional uses.

Residents said the intersection is already hazardous. “The proposed plan to construct a Circle K gas station on the corner of 237 and Sheldon Road threatens that along with the safety of our neighborhood,” said Barb Wells of Greyfriar Drive during public comment. Several speakers invoked local zoning language and state law, arguing a…