Franklin plan commission backs Costco rezoning, fuel station and site plan with conditions

The Franklin City Plan Commission voted on Oct. 23 to recommend rezoning and to approve the related conditional use, plan development overlay (PDO) and site plan for a proposed Costco and fueling station at 2710 West Drexel Avenue (tax key 7869980003). The commission’s votes were unanimous among members present (5 ayes, 1 absent) on each action; the rezoning and the conditional‑use recommendation go next to the Common Council for final action.

The applications before the commission included (1) rezoning the development parcel from Business Park to BMU (Mixed Use) to permit retail use, (2) a conditional‑use permit to allow a fueling station with operating hours proposed at 6 a.m.–10 p.m., (3) a planned development overlay to modify multiple UDO standards (glazing, building orientation, signage, lighting, impervious coverage, parking and materials), and (4) a detailed site plan for the warehouse, fueling facility and parking layout.

Planning staff told commissioners the developer seeks roughly a 162,000–168,000 square‑foot warehouse building and an accompanying fueling facility on the northwest corner of Drexel Avenue and South 20th Street adjacent to Northwestern Mutual Way. The PDO asks for roughly a dozen waivers from BMU zoning standards including reduced glazing on some facades, alternative exterior cladding (concrete and metal panels in lieu of masonry), canopy signage for the fuel pumps, taller light poles,…