Board gives favorable recommendation for gas station at Beacon Hill, conditioned on Buckeye approval and findings

The Crown Point Board of Zoning Appeals on May 21 voted to forward a favorable recommendation to City Council for petition 26-05, a special-use request to permit a Lucky QuickRun gas station at Lot 8, Beacon Hill Plaza (200 109th Avenue), subject to conditions including a written approval from Buckeye Pipeline and incorporation of staff findings.

Architect Christian Kosvsky and engineer James House, representing the petitioner and owner Shamir Manhani, described site constraints — notably a 50-foot Buckeye pipeline running down the middle of the parcel — and a proposed inline canopy with a single row of pumps and a nationally finished insulated building. “We are requesting to receive that special use which will eventually come from city council,” Kosvsky said, noting the change in the B3 code removed a right for by-right gas stations in the district.

Multiple members of the public objected. Attorney Riley Woodward, representing local businesses, asked whether an Indiana Department of Transportation (INDOT) traffic study had been performed and questioned whether restrictive easement agreements among subdivision businesses had been executed. Nearby station owner Lakander Singh said he had previously been denied a permit for a gas station and warned that additional pumps would worsen rush-hour congestion. Matt Rossman, representing a Broadway business, also raised traffic and competition concerns.

Petitioners replied that the proposed use is a ‘siphoning’ use that captures trips already traveling the corridor rather than generating a destination trip, that Buckeye had provided a conditional concurrence letter in the petition packet, and that tanker access would be routed to the eastern driveway to avoid cutting through nearby commercial frontages.

Board member Mr. Serman moved for a favorable recommendation to City Council with conditions: an approval letter from Buckeye, staff comments and incorporation of the petitioner’s findings of fact, an environmental impact study and attention to traffic/site-plan details. The motion was seconded by John Marshall and carried on roll call; the petitioner was told to appear at the June 1 City Council meeting to respond to council questions.

The board’s favorable recommendation does not constitute final approval; City Council will consider the special-use permit and final plan review will require Buckeye’s final agreement and any required traffic or environmental analysis before building permits can be issued.