Plan Commission recommends Racetrack convenience store and fuel station rezoning to City Council

The Elkhart Plan Commission voted July 7 to send a rezoning and planned-unit development request from Racetrack Incorporated to the City Council with a "due pass" recommendation.

The proposal would establish a Racetrack convenience store with fuel services on about 3.38 acres at the southwest corner of County Road 17 and Middlebury Street, on land formerly part of the Bullard Farm. The petitioner asked for the site to be developed to B-3 (Service Business) standards and requested two freestanding signs larger than the standard allowance: a 90-square-foot, 10-foot-high sign along County Road 17 and a 66-square-foot, 6-foot-high sign along Middlebury Street. Eric (planning staff) told the commission staff supported the PUD with the signage incorporated into the planned-unit development.

Why it matters: County Road 17 is a high-traffic, regional connector; the commission’s recommendation means the City Council will take up the rezoning and the special signage as part of the PUD ordinance.

What staff presented: Eric (planning staff) said the parcel is about 3.38 acres, that the proposal includes a connector road to be constructed by the developer, and that elevations, a preliminary drainage plan, a landscape plan and a signage plan have been submitted. Staff concluded that, except for the requested monument signage, the plan conforms to the B-3 standards and recommended approval to the council.

Applicant remarks and site details: Mike Hoffman, an attorney with Beers Mallers representing Racetrack, described Racetrack as a convenience-store operator that pairs typical fuel services with expanded food offerings. "Racetrack is more than a typical convenience store," Hoffman said, noting the company’s coffee, sandwiches, pizza and frozen-yogurt station plans for the site. Hoffman and Racetrack representatives told the commission they had commissioned a traffic impact study for the development and that sufficient utilities exist to serve the site.

Environmental/operational notes: Hoffman said Racetrack would decommission fuel tanks if it sold the property or would require a purchaser to decommission tanks as a condition of sale. Eric (planning staff) confirmed that fuel-tank permitting and state filings will occur through technical review and building permitting.

Commission action and vote: Commissioner Mishler moved, Commissioner Lawson seconded, to forward the rezoning/PUD to the City Council with a due-pass recommendation. Roll-call votes recorded by Carla (clerk) were: Beecher — yes; Osborne — yes; Lawson — yes; Mishler — yes; Erwin — yes. The motion carried.

Next steps: The PUD ordinance and rezoning will appear before the City Council; the PUD will include the approved signage allowances as part of the parcel’s permitted sign package.