Gas station applications flood city to beat deadline

• Traders Point residents fighting gas station permit, fear crime, pollution
• City planners want gas stations away from residences

In a furious dash to beat a looming deadline, developers filed 21 applications to build new gas stations across Indianapolis before a zoning change became law last month.

City officials said all or most of the last-minute applications should be approved if they meet the basic standards of the old zoning code.

But in one Northwest side neighborhood, residents are continuing to fight a permit, asserting it is a threat to drinking water and their children’s safety.

“There is a huge environmental concern because a creek that flows right into a reservoir is right by that property,” said Michael Helsel, a resident near a proposed strip mall, gas station and convenience store at 8562 Layfayette Road in Traders Point.

Helsel said residents are concerned that the tanks could leak into Fishback Creek, which feeds Eagle Creek Reservoir, the drinking water for 500,000 residents. Residents contend the gas station isn’t needed because there are 30 in a 5-mile radius of the location.

“But no commercial has been placed here in 30 years and it just doesn‘t reflect the pattern of development,” said Helsel, a property appraiser.

The City-County Council passed an ordinance April 20 by a 26-0 vote that placed a moratorium on gas stations in areas zoned for small businesses, called C-3s. The zones generally permit light retail such as clothing and beauty shops, and office services such as Kinko’s near residential neighborhoods.

But a task force that recently overhauled the county’s 40-year-old zoning code determined that the C-3 designation was outdated for mini-mart gas stations, many of which stay open all night. They now must be built in areas with heavier industry because of the traffic and noise they attract and lighting they need around the clock.

“These aren’t just a garage with a mechanic that closes at 5 p.m. like they were four decades ago when these zoning classifications were written,” said John Bartholomew, a spokesman for the city’s Department of Metropolitan Development. “There’s a lot of activity all the time around them now.”

After learning of the impending change, builders lined up to file 21 new applications in March and April. If approved, they would push the number of gas stations in C-3 zones from about 80 to more than 100.

Stephanie Leavell, a mother with four school-age children said she’s concerned the Traders Point gas station would be a threat to their safety. Fishback Creek Elementary is across the street from the site at 8301 W. 86th St., where her third-grade daughter and fifth-grade son are enrolled.

“As a parent our job is to protect our children and when you put a strip mall across the street from a school that puts them in danger,” she said. “Gas stations are prone to robberies. I don’t want my children near that. I don’t want our school in a lockdown.”

Gurpreet Singh, the owner of the proposed strip mall, called the objections “baseless” and said he has met every city requirement.

“It has been zoned like this for 30 years. They (residents) had all this time to do something about it; why didn’t they do anything for 30 years?” said Singh, owner of Three Mile Properties.

Singh said the gas station would be 1,000 feet from the creek and would be connected to the same sewer lines as the school. The property would have a retention pond and the gas tanks would be built in accordance with city and state law, with safeguards to protect against spilling if something did go wrong.

“The school and the playground and where children get off buses doesn’t face the property,” he said. “I live two miles away and I plan to send my 2-year-old daughter to Fishback Creek.”

Singh said the gas station would not be open 24-hours and the other mall outlets, possibly a barbershop and restaurant, would benefit the neighborhood.

It was unfair to assume that crime would come with the gas station, Singh added.

“If a neighborhood is nice like this one, you don’t expect criminals to show up,” he said. “You don’t become a criminal just because someone builds a gas station next door.”

Scott Imus, executive director of the Indiana Petroleum Marketers and Convenience Store Association, said the zoning change was “unfair.”

“Let’s let the marketplace decide where the stores should go,” Imus said. “For a lot of people convenience stores are where they go to get grocery staples like milk. These owners are entrepreneurs. If someone wants to invest money they should not be deterred.”

City-County Councilman Jose Evans, who represents the district, said he is all for free enterprise but in this case, the enterprise isn’t welcome.

“Do you really want a business where they don’t want you?” he said. “My constituents believe there is no need for gas station there.”

Department of Code Enforcement spokesman Dimitri Keyser said none of the 21 permits have yet been approved. He said citizens in Trader’s Point and elsewhere can appeal the permits 60 days after they are stamped. The cost is $1,650 and the petition will go before the Marion County Board of Zoning Appeals.

In Traders Point, residents have set up an account at www.gofundme.com/v5dt3b5d to raise money for the appeal and lawyers.

So far, $1,725, of $4,000 sought, has been raised.

Singh said he was willing to work with residents to address their concerns.

Call Star reporter John Tuohy at 317 444-6418 and follow on Twitter @john_tuohy.

WHERE GAS STATIONS ARE PROPOSED

The city received 21 applications for new gas stations at the following locations in the two months before a moratorium on new construction became law:

1. 4400 Mann Rd.

2. 4415 E. Washington St.

3. 5784 W. Morris St.

4. 2304 Madison Ave.

5. 6011 Southeastern Ave.

6. 426 E 16th St.

7. 2202 E. Hanna Ave.

8. 4751 Kentucky Ave.

9. 2324 E. 30th St.

10. 3060 W. 16th St.

11. 3951 S. Meridian St.

12. 5501 E. 21st. St.

13. 6002 Southeastern Ave.

14. 3502 Shelby St.

15. 3375 W. Michigan St.

16. 5659 Michigan Rd.

17. 9835 Fall Creek Rd.

18. 5865 N. German Church Rd.

19. 6429 Mooresville Rd.

20. 8562 Lafayette Rd.

21. 11000 E. Washington St.