Topeka commission approves PUD amendment to allow Maverick convenience store with truck fueling at Fairlawn Acres

The Topeka Planning Commission approved a request to amend the Fairlawn Acres master PUD to expand a C‑2 commercial area and allow a 5,982‑square‑foot convenience store with fueling islands and a truck scale at 605 and 601 Southwest Fairlawn.

The amendment, requested by Flywheel Fairlawn Argan Properties and presented by Maverick Convenience Stores, reconfigures the PUD to create Area 1 (about 4.77 acres) for C‑2 commercial uses and to retain about 1.28 acres as a future multifamily site. Staff said the change reduces the area previously shown for M‑3 uses from about 4.26 acres to 1.28 acres. Commissioners voted to approve the staff recommendation and conditions 1–5 as listed in the staff report; the motion carried on recorded aye votes from Commissioners Hannon, Pearson, Kout, Brooks, Heron, Nelson and Lolly.

Staff summarized the proposal and identified infrastructure measures the developer proposes, including a new traffic signal at Southwest Seventh Street and Fairlawn, an extension of a median on Fairlawn to create right‑in/right‑out access, and lane reconfiguration at Sixth Street and Fairlawn to add a northbound right‑turn‑only lane. Joe Harrington, project manager for traffic, told the commission that the traffic improvements are proposed to be constructed by the developer and that “At this time, the city there is not funding any of the improvements.” A traffic impact analysis (TIA) has been submitted to City of Topeka engineering staff and is under review.

Maverick representative Nick Cathill described the operation as a convenience store with truck fueling and a truck scale but said it is not a full truck stop with large restrooms, showers or overnight truck parking amenities. Cathill said the site's tanks are roughly 300 feet behind the building and that truck fueling would be located at the rear of the site. He also said the developer plans on on‑site detention, landscaping and signage and that CAT Scales was a potential partner for the on‑site scale area.

Public commenters raised safety and neighborhood impacts. Wendy Farley, who said she owns a business at 5229 Southwest Seventh Street, said, “We already have an issue with large trucks coming in that road. There's just not accommodations for that. We've literally had trucks in our lawn. They try to use our parking lot as a turnaround. We I mean, our landscaping has been destroyed by that.” Jeff Beasley, a nearby resident, raised concerns about traffic operations at the nearby highway interchange and the proposal’s proximity to an elementary school. Property owner Dustin Thule said better lighting could reduce vandalism but asked that truck access and construction‑period impacts be managed.

Staff and the applicant addressed specific access impacts raised by neighbors. Planning staff noted the median extension would remove left‑turn access at one existing station (the Amoco station on the southeast corner of Sixth and Fairlawn) and that that owner had been notified. Harrington said the developer’s proposals include synchronizing signal timings; he and staff indicated many connectivity and driveway geometry issues would be resolved during site‑plan review and final engineering. Commissioners and staff also discussed a staff recommendation stating that a future conversion of the remaining area to multifamily (M‑3) could be handled as a minor amendment to the master plan at the planning director’s discretion, rather than requiring a full public hearing and governing‑body rezoning process.

The approval was limited to the PUD amendment with the conditions in the staff report. Commissioners asked that outstanding items in the staff report — including the engineering review of the TIA and final driveway and signal geometries — be completed during site plan and engineering review before occupancy.

Less urgent details: staff noted some variances to sign standards would be considered with the PUD master plan and that the developer and city will negotiate timing and right‑of‑way work; historically such right‑of‑way improvements are required before issuance of occupancy certificates but specifics are set during subsequent approvals.