Developer asks Troy council to exempt proposed gas station from zoning moratorium, cites multi‑year approvals and expiring permits

Rebecca Simpson, an attorney for Troy Station LLC, told Troy City Council on June 1 that her client should be exempted from the city's newly adopted zoning moratorium because the development team had spent two‑plus years working with city staff and had submitted detailed plans and technical materials.

Simpson distributed a multi‑tab packet she said documents plan submissions beginning April 2023, formal plans submitted Aug. 13, 2023, subsequent revised site and canopy drawings and a November 3, 2025 fire department approval for revised canopy drawings. She said city staff previously referred to the project as being in the "final phases" and that an application had been on a staff member's desk before the moratorium was enacted.

"We are requesting that the city council pass the ordinance accepting my client from the moratorium," Simpson said, arguing that a formal exception would allow the developer to file the online application and proceed without triggering a chain of administrative and judicial deadlines.

Simpson said practical constraints make the moratorium especially damaging: she reported her client's state buser permit expires Aug. 1, tanks have roughly 16‑week lead times and material and asphalt seasonality could force work into winter and increase costs. She said the development team has invested in detailed plans and related work over multiple years and estimated the outlay at roughly $588,000 to date.

"Underground tank lead times are a significant issue," said Matthew Ward, the project's construction manager, who told council long vendor lead times and price escalation could materially raise costs and delay completion if work is pushed into winter months.

Council members asked for clarification and additional documents. Several councilors — including Mr. Schilling and Mr. Whitten — said they were sympathetic and suggested the matter be considered in committee so staff and legal counsel could review the city's position. City staff told council that the zoning code rewrite remains under review (American StructurePoint is addressing city comments) and that the moratorium expires at the end of August.

Law director Kerber and planning staff were asked to provide a legal and procedural analysis; council members directed staff to bring the topic to committee for fuller discussion and potential amendment to the moratorium.

Next steps: Council members indicated they will schedule committee review and ask staff to provide the project's file, a legal opinion on whether the submission constitutes a formal application under the zoning code, and a summary of timing risks (permit expirations and vendor lead times) before any council decision on an exemption.