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Memo to the Planning Commission Page 2 October 22, 1996 Currently convenience stores such as Super America, Cenex and Holiday are • treated as motor vehicle service stations They are treated as such because of the sale of gasoline. The only use that includes gasoline sales is motor vehicle service station. The definition for motor vehicle service station is as follows: "A place where gasoline or other automobile engine fuel, kerosene or motor oil and lubricants or grease for operation of motor vehicles are sold directly to the public on the premises; including the sale of minor accessories and the servicing and minor repair of automobiles." This definition is fine for the old style Joe's Gas Station but is probably outdated with the coming of convenience stores and the separation between gas sales and auto repair. There are very few service stations today that would fit this definition. Certainly it is a stretch to include a convenience store as a motor vehicle service station, but there is no definition for a use such as a convenience store which includes retail sales and the sale of gasoline. Uses One of the purposes of the C4 district is to provide land use opportunities to attract convenience retail stores and personal service establishments. The sale of gasoline could also be considered a service provided to surrounding residential • neighborhoods and businesses. Traditionally residents and workers buy gasoline at places that are close to their home or place of employment because of the convenience. As such, it would be consistent with the stated purpose of the neighborhood commercial district to include gasoline sales in the C4 district.. With stores that conduct both retail sales and sell gasoline, the impact of traffic on the neighborhood seems to be one of the main concerns. If the sale of gasoline is allowed as a conditional use, this can be addressed during the process of applying for a conditional use permit. If the generation of traffic is a concern, the number of gas pumps can be limited in order to reduce the amount of traffic generated by the facility. This would allow the facility to be scaled down to meet the character of the surrounding area. If gasoline sales were allowed as a conditional use, a business such as a Tom Thumb or a Brooks Superette, if they did not sell gasoline, would be allowed as a permitted retail use. If they decided to sell gasoline at the site, that would trigger the need for a conditional use permit for the sale of gasoline. The plans would then be reviewed by the Planning Commission and City Council. On a related matter, this discussion of including gasoline sales as a conditional uses leads to another auto related use that is currently allowed as a conditional • use, motor vehicle specialty service station. Uses included under this definition include businesses such as Midas Muffler, Tires Plus, Goodyear and Firestone s:\planning\pc\oa96-14.doc