Ward 3 advisory board reviews Costco fuel-station relocation, traffic study

Developers told the Ward 3 Neighborhood Advisory Board on Feb. 3 that Costco plans to relocate its on-site fuel facility at 2155 Harvard Way to reduce vehicle queueing that sometimes backs onto Harvard Way. Mace McGonigal, senior planner with Core States Group, said the application (LDC26-00036) would move the existing station and change site circulation to shorten street queues and improve customer flow.

The project would demolish the existing facility (currently 10 dispensers providing 20 fueling positions) and replace it with a larger canopy of about 14,800 square feet, doubling fueling capacity to 20 dispensers and 40 fueling positions, McGonigal said. The overall Costco parking count would drop from 1,533 stalls to 1,444 stalls; he noted the city requires a minimum of 1,280 stalls for the site.

The transportation study presented at the meeting estimates existing peak-hour generation at about 120 weekday trips and 134 Saturday peak-hour trips; the relocated facility is estimated to generate about 184 weekday peak-hour trips (the presentation described this as roughly a 58% increase). McGonigal said the design combines increased pump capacity with revised circulation and dual access to help process longer queues on site rather than letting vehicles back onto Harvard Way.

Board members pressed the project team on access, pedestrian safety and operations. "Will the current facility be open while you are building the new one?" asked Lauren Kroll; Kaylene Burnett, Costco’s real estate development manager, replied that the company typically keeps the existing station open during construction and will provide a construction staging plan. Anthony Dispenzieri, a board member who uses the site regularly, asked whether diesel would be served; Burnett confirmed diesel is planned for the Reno site.

Christine Connolly, the traffic engineer on the project, described two full-access points for the fuel facility (Harvard Way and Steen Drive) and said the combination of extra pump capacity and additional on-site queue space should reduce the need for vehicles to queue onto the street. "There is space now on the site to get those queues off of the streets," she said.

Members raised pedestrian-safety concerns because the site is near a high school crosswalk at Harvard and Plum. Marie Rodriguez asked whether the crosswalk would move; the project team said the existing crossing is expected to remain and that landscaping and circulation plans will be reviewed during land-use review. The team also said tree removal and replacement would follow Reno code; the presentation listed removal of 38 trees and planting of 13 new trees within the project area.

McGonigal provided a contact email for follow-up and said the planning commission hearing is set for March 18 at 5:30 p.m. Board members were reminded they may submit project-review worksheets and public comment to the planning department; staff noted the NAB’s summary is not a formal recommendation to the planning commission.

The advisory board did not take formal action on the application at the meeting; the item will proceed through the city’s land-use review process and to the planning commission on the stated date.