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R" <br />• <br />CASE STUDY <br />Conditional Use Permit/Variances <br />Background: <br />A gas station exists on a very small site a major intersection in an older section of town. <br />All four quadrants of the intersection have commercial uses that are part of a <br />neighborhood commercial center. The gas station consists of gas pumps with a canopy <br />and a small kiosk that houses the attendant. The kiosk is non-conforming and does not <br />meet certain setback requirements. The site is completely covered by asphalt and has a <br />couple of curb cuts that are too close to the intersection. A major gas company buys the <br />property and proposes to upgrade the site by replacing the kiosk with a convenience <br />store, eliminating one of the curb cuts, and adding landscaping. The convenience store <br />would be four times the size of the kiosk and requires three setback variances. The <br />company says that it needs the convenience store to be economically competitive. (See <br />attached maps). A gas station needs a conditional use permit under current ordinances, <br />and this site never obtained one. The proposal meets all of the conditional use standards <br />but requires the setback variances. <br />The neighboring business owners and residents are very vocally opposed. They allege <br />that this will increase traffic, increase crime, and block visibility of the intersection from <br />adjacent retail stores. They say that there are enough. convenience stores in the city. The <br />adjacent retail building owner particularly objects to the variances because. they would <br />place the building very close to his property line. A traffic study done for the city shows a <br />significant increase in traffic since the gas station was originally built, but says that the <br />upgrade will not contribute significantly to traffic congestion. <br />Staff recommends approval of the plan because it will improve some of the current <br />problems on the site. The developer says that you must approve the variances because the <br />city granted setback variances within the last year for the gas pump canopies at two other <br />gas stations. The developer says that there is no other economically feasible use for the <br />site. You are receiving a lot of pressure to deny the application. What do you do? <br />Recommendation: <br />Findings: <br />• <br />