Get Full Government Meeting Transcripts, Videos, & Alerts Forever!
Get email alerts on the Gas Station Development topic
No spam. Unsubscribe anytime.
Neighbors decry well, traffic and lighting risks as board approves gas‑station and convenience store at 7089 W 400 N
Summary
Developers presented an impact study and mitigation plans for a proposed BP‑branded convenience store with four pumps; neighbors raised groundwater, traffic and lighting concerns and the board approved the use with conditions and hours 5 a.m.–10 p.m.
A plan to reopen a vacant building at 7089 West 400 North as a BP‑branded convenience store with four pumps won conditional approval from the LaPorte County Board of Zoning Appeals on May 19 despite vocal neighborhood opposition.
Developer Ross Brown and civil engineer Adam McAlpine told the board the 1.45‑acre site includes an existing 4,700‑square‑foot shell and that an independent environmental and traffic impact study supports the use. Brown said the property has been vacant for years, the owners anticipate roughly $3 million in investment and that the nearest private well is about 200 feet from the proposed tanks. “The recommended distance is 100 feet between a petroleum storage system and a water well,” Brown said, adding the site would use double‑walled underground tanks with monthly monitoring.
Neighbors reiterated concerns heard at a prior hearing last year. Edward Lake, who lives nearby, said private wells in the area are at risk and pointed to Indiana Department of Environmental Management records on leaking underground storage tanks. “This is not a minimal or technical variance,” Lake told the board. “It poses serious environmental health and safety hazards to the community.” Other remonstrators described a shallow water table, potential traffic conflicts near the volunteer fire station, and light spill into nearby yards and a baby drop box used by the fire department.
McAlpine said design plans show stormwater will be managed to the east in a retention pond and that photometric lighting plans will keep light on site. The applicants proposed hours of 5 a.m. to 10 p.m. daily; the board recorded a motion to approve the use with those hours and instructed petitioners to submit photometric and signage plans and to work with the county’s MS4/stormwater coordinator before permits are issued.
Board President Melissa Mischke and other members acknowledged the property’s long vacancy and the county’s interest in seeing it used, but they emphasized the need for project details before permits are issued.
Next steps: The developer must file photometric and signage plans, stormwater/MS4 documentation and septic/well coordination materials with the Building Commissioner’s Office before the building and fueling permits can be issued.
