Council rejects Sheetz site plan after hours of testimony on wetlands, traffic and lighting

A majority of Stow City Council voted down a conditional-use site plan and related variances for a proposed Sheetz convenience store, gas station and drive-through at 4984 Fish Creek Road on Thursday, rejecting the applicant’s request after hours of presentations and public comment.

The project, applied for by Sheetz and represented in Stow by Diane Kalta and a technical team, sought conditional-use approvals for a gas canopy and a drive-through and four variances including a taller, internally lit fuel canopy and an exemption to the code’s minimum interior parking landscaping percentage.

Planning Director Zach Cowan described the site as two parcels totaling 4.68 acres in a C-3 commercial district and said the company revised the layout between planning-commission hearings to preserve an additional 2,700 square feet of wetland. Cowan said the plan otherwise met building and setback code requirements but required variances for (1) canopy height (proposed about 21–22.5 feet where code limits are lower), (2) internal illumination of the canopy, (3) higher-than-permitted lighting at two access points (up to roughly 3.1 foot-candles vs. a 0.5-foot-candle standard at property lines) and (4) an interior-parking landscaping percentage of 2.46% where 5% is required.

Sheetz represent…