BZA clears Parker’s Kitchen convenience store and gas station at Spears Creek

The Columbia Board of Zoning Appeals on March 6 approved a special exception to establish a Parker’s Kitchen convenience store and gas station at 191 Earth Road in the Spears Creek shopping center.

Sarah Hamlin of Foresight Group and Daniel Ben Israel of Parker’s Kitchen presented the preliminary site plan and told the board the project will not add direct access to Spears Creek or Earth Road but will connect to the shopping center’s internal drive aisles. Ben Israel said Parker’s intends to meet the special exception criteria and “will be working closely with our operations team, loss prevention team, and our marketing team to ensure compliance” with the zoning requirements.

Board members asked about traffic access and curb controls; Hamlin said the proposed driveway will be part of the master developer’s internal roadway and would allow full turning movements onto the internal spine road rather than new direct access to the arterial streets. The applicant also discussed electric-vehicle charging stations: Ben Israel said Parker’s “does incorporate EV charging stations on a number of our locations” but that installations are demand-driven and would be evaluated later in the development review.

The motion to approve the special exception “subject to staff comments” passed by voice vote. The approval was conditional on meeting the city’s zoning code requirements and on addressing the staff comments during the site development review process.

Ben Israel said Parker’s currently operates 99 stores, is expanding, and plans roughly 15 stores in the Greater Columbia market over the next four to five years. The site will continue through permitting and staff review before construction.