Planning board tables Huntley Plaza gas station special‑use permit, seeks stronger landscaping, containment and lighting plans

The Beaufort Planning Board on Monday voted to table an application for a special‑use permit for a proposed gas station at 1507 Live Oak Street, directing the applicant to return within a month with detailed landscaping and lighting plans, building elevations, and engineered secondary containment for above‑ground fuel tanks.

Planning staff presented the proposal to locate a convenience store, quick‑service restaurant and fuel island within the existing Huntley Plaza shopping center at the Highway 101/Life Oak roundabout. Staff said the site is in the B1 general business district and that while the convenience and restaurant uses are permitted, a gas station requires a special‑use permit. The project as proposed would provide 124 parking spaces, five access points (the northern access set as exit‑only per NCDOT), and voluntary landscaping; staff also said the redevelopment reduces impervious surface and therefore does not trigger additional state stormwater requirements.

Why it matters: board members repeatedly described the site as part of Beaufort’s gateway corridor and said a minimal shrub line would not meet the town’s adopted gateway vision. They pressed the applicant for specific plans to screen and contain multi‑thousand‑gallon above‑ground tanks and to ensure lighting and architecture will be compatible with adjacent residences and the entry corridor.

Applicant Tommy Simpson, who identified himself as general manager of the LLC that owns the property, told the board his family has owned the site since 1998 and that they intend to “do this the best it can be done,” including voluntary landscaping and a planted island separating the fuel area from the lot. The applicant said the proposed fuel tanks are double‑walled, state‑approved units and argued above‑ground tanks facilitate maintenance and avoid conflicts with underground utilities.

Several board members and the applicant’s representative debated tradeoffs between screening and operational needs such as fuel‑truck turning radii. Chase Collifer, the applicant’s on‑site representative, described the planned buffer as a Type A 10‑foot planting strip with small and medium evergreens and an opaque fence alongside the tanks where allowed by easement constraints. Town engineer Sam Bell confirmed in Q&A that the redevelopment’s net decrease in impervious surface means no additional state stormwater permit is required for the project as submitted.

Major conditions requested: during deliberations the board coalesced on a set of recommendations they will ask the applicant to address before returning (or for staff to forward to the Board of Commissioners). Those included: - A detailed landscape plan for the Live Oak/101 frontage and interior parking islands that provides substantial buffering of parked cars and paved areas and that allows for large shade trees where overhead utilities and easements permit; staff and the board asked for plant lists consistent with town standards. - A lighting plan with fixture specifications and a foot‑candle analysis showing how much light will escape the property toward neighboring homes, with controls to limit nighttime glare. - Elevations of the building and canopy; renderings may obscure vendor branding but must show proposed materials and colors so commissioners can judge compatibility. - Engineered secondary containment around fuel tanks sufficient to contain a release, plus screening: if tanks remain above ground, they should be fenced and buffered (board discussed an 8‑foot opaque fence on the visible sides plus Type A planting where feasible). - Coordination with NCDOT and utility holders on driveway access, sidewalk connections, and what landscaping is allowable in power easements; if the canopy location is shifted to increase the streetside buffer, applicants should show the traffic consequences and how fuel deliveries would operate.

The board debated whether to require below‑ground tanks but left that decision to the Board of Commissioners, noting commissioners make the quasi‑judicial approval and may weigh the tradeoffs. After discussion the Planning Board made a motion to table the application for one month so the applicant can return with the requested materials; the motion passed with some opposition.

What happens next: the applicant will work with staff to prepare the detailed plans and is expected to return to the Planning Board within a month, after which the board will forward a motion and its recommended conditions to the Board of Commissioners for the final quasi‑judicial decision. If the applicant proceeds without the requested changes, the commissioners will have the authority to adopt, amend, or deny the special‑use permit.