Solution for gas station issue?
Commissioners vote unanimously to require conditional use permit for new gas stations in the county
County Commissioner Chuck Hess
By WILLIAM SNOWDEN Editor
As county commissioners grappled with whether to hold some sort of workshop with state officials to talk about the issue of commercial development over underground caves, County Commissioner Chuck Hess suggested a way to require greater scrutiny: make gas stations a conditional use.
Once the change goes through, it would mean that a gas station would not be a use-by-right of commercial zoning, as it is now.
Hess’ motion was sparked by the ongoing controversy over the proposed construction of a gas station at a corner of Crawfordville Highway and Bloxham Cutoff. The project is proposed by Southwest Georgia Oil Company.
Cave divers have indicated there are underground caves under that property that flow from Chip’s Hole to Wakulla Springs.
That proposal is currently on hold as the county has approached Florida Forever, the state land-acquisition program that buys environmentally sensitive lands.
Hess proposed that, going forward, gas stations would have to get granted a conditional use permit by the planning commission, which would determine if the location of the gas station is appropriate.
Denial of the conditional use – or a citizen challenge to the granting of a permit – would be appealed to the county commission.
Hess made a motion at the county commission meeting on Monday, Aug. 21, for the ordinance to be drafted and advertised – an effort to speed up the approval process for the ordinance. It was unanimously approved by commissioners.
Wakulla Planning Director Somer Pell anticipated the ordinance would be drafted and go to the county attorney for review and be advertised in the next couple of weeks. It would go to the planning commission for review, and then two public hearings before the county commission.
Pell confirmed there are two proposed gas stations in the pipeline: Mack’s Meats in Shadeville is proposing building a new grocery market with fuel pumps at its location on Shadeville Road; and a site plan has been submitted for a convenience store with fuel sales at the intersection of Wakulla Arran and Cajer Posey roads.
After county commissioners voted unanimously in support of Hess’ motion, Commission Chair Ralph Thomas announced that things are moving forward with Florida Forever purchasing the Southwest Georgia Oil Company land. He said that the local legislative delegation – Rep. Jason Shoaf, R-Port St. Joe, and Sen. Corey Simon, R- Tallahassee – are involved.
“This might end up being a win-win for everybody,” Thomas said.
Prior to Hess’ motion, Commissioner Fred Nichols was making the case for a workshop with the state officials from the Department of Environmental Protection and Northwest Florida Water Management District. Nichols said he wanted DEP and NWFWMD to tell the county what steps they can take to regulate gas station locations – since county officials were told that the proposed ordinance that included regulations on fuel storage tanks was preempted by DEP regulations. (DEP told county officials that they would have to take on fuel tank inspections for 2 years and then could seek more stringent regulation of fuel tanks. County commissioners rejected that offer.)
Nichols made a motion to hold a workshop indicating he was frustrated with the work county staff had spent on a past ordinance – only to be told by the state that it was a pre-emption. He said he wanted to sit down with state officials and figure out what could be done.
Commissioner Mike Kemp was in agreement that such a workshop was needed.
County staff was skeptical that state officials would attend such a meeting. Instead, they suggested an informational hearing to have state officials discuss what their agencies do.
Commissioners indicated they liked that idea and gave staff direction to work to set up such a hearing.
