Planning Commission recommends Costco relocation and gas station on Jefferson Avenue

The Newport News Planning Commission on May 21 voted unanimously to recommend City Council approve Conditional Use Permit CU2025Tech003, allowing Costco Wholesale Corporation to redevelop roughly 20.23 acres of a 32.37-acre site along Jefferson Avenue for a 163,000-square-foot retail warehouse and an automobile gasoline supply station with 16 pumps (32 fueling positions) and queuing room for up to about 70 vehicles.

Staff said the property is zoned for light industrial and that the warehouse use is permitted as a matter of right; the gasoline supply station requires the conditional use permit. City planning staff reported that the city’s Transportation Engineering Division reviewed a traffic impact analysis by Kittelson and Associates and found the TIA acceptable; the Virginia Department of Transportation also concurred with the analysis. City departments reported no objections. The staff recommendation included 24 conditions—among them submission and approval of a Class I site plan, a boundary-line adjustment plat creating three parcels, a landscape plan, and review of exterior building elevations and materials by the director of planning.

Why it matters: the proposal would relocate Costco from its current leased site and expand its warehouse and fuel offerings, and staff and the applicant said a suite of on- and off-site improvements will be required to avoid degrading the corridor’s level of service and to screen the development from nearby roads.

Staff and the applicant described the project and planned mitigation. City planner Saul told commissioners the proposal would place a metal-clad warehouse and a metal canopy over the pumps and that required off-site improvements must be completed before a certificate of occupancy will be issued. The applicant’s attorney, Lindsay Carney of Carney Patterson Mead, said Costco is proposing a fee-simple purchase of the 20.23-acre parcel to accommodate a larger store (about 30,000 square feet larger than its current warehouse) with 828 dedicated parking spaces and separate queuing for the fuel station so vehicles will queue on-site and not spill into the public right of way.

Saul said, “They will be queued within the parking lot. There’s no risk of it spilling over end of the street.” Lindsey Carney described several off-site improvements the company will make, including enhanced storage and tapers at site entrances, lengthening the southbound left-turn lane at Jefferson Avenue and Bland Boulevard from about 200 feet to 350 feet, adding a left-turn lane and a new traffic signal at Jefferson and Boykin for the main site entrance, extended pedestrian refuge islands, and related signal timing adjustments. Commission staff also said the city is pursuing a Denbigh Boulevard interchange design that would address some regional traffic concerns raised by commissioners.

Commissioners asked about landscaping, tree preservation and buffering along Jefferson and Bland. Carney said the landscape plan was strengthened after the work session: trees along Bland Boulevard and Jefferson Avenue will be a minimum of 3.5-inch caliper at installation and evergreens will be 7–8 feet tall, moved closer to the road to provide denser screening, and a tree survey will be required to identify dead or diseased trees that must be removed. The applicant also noted that about 12 acres of the overall property will remain as two parcels Ferguson intends to retain and eventually sell.

Public and commission reaction: commissioners raised traffic and long-term airport-area planning concerns but uniformly praised the increased landscape buffering in the revised plan. Commissioner Williams said after the presentation, “But, otherwise, I love the project,” while also urging commitment to the Denbigh interchange project to handle cumulative traffic from other nearby retailers. Commissioner Dias noted that airport stakeholders had been briefed and that the airport authority had indicated the proposal would not affect navigation easements.

Action and next steps: Commissioner (mover not specified in the public record) moved to recommend approval of CU2025Tech003 with staff conditions; the motion passed unanimously on a roll call vote recorded as 9–0. The Planning Commission’s recommendation will be transmitted to City Council; the matter is scheduled for City Council consideration in June 2025. If Council approves the ordinance, the project will proceed under the 24 staff conditions, including the required Class I site plan review and completion of identified off-site improvements before occupancy.