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Public hearing on ordinance to reduce gas-station setback draws safety and spot-zoning concerns
Summary
A citizen-sponsored amendment (Ordinance 26-05) proposing to reduce the required distance from 100 ft to 75 ft for gas-station entrances drew support from the property owner but opposition from conservation and safety advocates; commissioners left the record open for two weeks.
County staff opened a public hearing on County Ordinance 26-05, a citizen‑sponsored zoning text amendment proposing to amend the measurement of separations and reduce the required distance between a gas-station entrance and an intersection from 100 feet to 75 feet. The Planning Commission had issued an unfavorable recommendation on the measure.
Brendan Molany, counsel for 3C's LLC, told commissioners the applicant’s site at 1104 Price Station Road sits about 81 feet from a nearby intersection and that the current text prevents a variance process. He urged the board to consider limiting any reduction to the VC (village commercial) district so that conditional‑use and board of appeals review would remain available. “We applied for the citizen‑sponsored text amendment to allow reduction … to change what was the black-and-white letter” of the code, Molany said, and presented examples of convenience stores with closer entrances elsewhere.
Property co-owner Joe Kusamano said the existing commercial building is vacant and that neighbors support redevelopment. “We’re hung up on being too close to a dirt road … it’s costing us a lot of money,” Kusamano said, urging the board to permit a path forward.
Opponents included Jay Falsstead of the Queen Anne Conservation Association, who called the proposed change risky on county highways and questioned whether it would amount to spot zoning to accommodate a single owner. “If the 100‑foot limit is countywide, what we’re doing is trying to accommodate a single landowner but it opens the door to every other area around the county,” Falsstead said. He urged commissioners to consult the fire marshal and public works about safety implications.
Other residents said a convenience store on the site would provide needed services on a long rural stretch of road. The commission kept the hearing record open for two weeks to accept additional written testimony and supporting materials.
What happens next: The commission will accept written comments during the two‑week record period and may schedule the matter for further discussion or future action; staff noted the Planning Commission had recommended against the amendment and flagged safety and countywide precedent as concerns.
