Commission tables Gateway PUD changes after residents and developers debate package-store and commercial uses
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Summary
A proposed PUD amendment that would create a commercial Pod 13 and add package-store and convenience-store uses in Pods 1 and 10 was tabled after residents urged protecting a nearby Mill Village neighborhood and developers and staff discussed a 2,000-square-foot minimum for package stores.
The Opelika Planning Commission voted to table a proposed amendment to the Gateway planned unit development after extended public comment and discussion between residents, staff and developer representatives.
Staff introduced a multi-part proposal to rezone roughly 5.1 acres into the PUD as "Pod 13" and to modify uses in Pods 1 and 10, including allowing convenience stores with fuel and package liquor stores in certain commercial corners. Developers and staff said the area is expected to become a commercial node as new road connections (Thomaston Drive extension and Veterans Parkway) change traffic patterns. To address package-store concerns, staff and developers proposed a 2,000-square-foot minimum for package stores to discourage small, standalone liquor shops.
Residents urged more residential uses in Pod 13 to protect the adjacent Mill Village and Beckett Woods neighborhoods and warned that granting broad package-store rights would remove future council-level conditional control. Robin White, a nearby resident, said the corner is “residential” and urged that Pod 13 remain residential or only allow low-impact commercial uses.
Developer representative Blake Rice (BSI) said planners anticipated a commercial node at the Thomaston extension and defended the larger package-store minimum as a measure to attract major anchors rather than freestanding liquor shops.
After back-and-forth about whether Pod 13 should match lower-impact Pod 8 uses and requests for clearer direction on the package-store rule, commissioners voted to table the item in its entirety so the developer and staff can refine the proposal.
Next steps: Staff and the applicant will meet to craft revised language narrowing uses in Pod 13 and clarifying package-store standards before the item returns to planning commission.
