Fairview Heights council to decide future of proposed development opposed by neighbors
A local business owner is working to bring a new, all-in-one gas station, convenience store, car wash and quick serve restaurant to Fairview Heights, but residents near the site oppose the development.
The developer, Makan, LLC, aka Nick Patel, submitted an application for a special use permit to make way for the business at the southwest corner of Old Collinsville Road and Milburn School Road.
Patel has six operating gas station/convenience store locations, three car washes, two Scooter’s Coffee locations, two Vape-X tobacco shop locations, two liquor stores and two hotels. An additional gas station and convenience store and two more liquor stores are opening soon.
The plans presented by Makan, LLC for the 4.68-acre lot would include a 11,500-square-foot convenience store with liquor sales, food service and a gaming room, 10 fueling islands for 20 gas pumps, a car wash, six vacuum stations and a vehicle charging station.
Some residents from the site’s surrounding neighborhoods attended the city’s Jan. 14 planning commission meeting to speak out against the development.
Patel made adjustments to the proposal after hearing residents’ concerns and after the planning commission voted against recommending the application for approval. The city’s community committee on Jan. 22 forwarded the petition to city council which will consider the issue on Feb. 4.
Public concerns
Residents raised concerns about traffic flow at the intersection of Old Collinsville Road and Milburn School Road. Both are two-lane roads, and Milburn School Road was described as a “country road.”
O’Fallon resident Stephen Erspamer said increased traffic would make it more difficult to exit nearby neighborhoods, adding that the intersection needed to be improved to accommodate growth.
“We’re not there yet,” said Erspamer.
Matt Proffer also questioned the aesthetics and maintenance of the property. The Fairview Heights resident said that the area around a nearby Hucks location was not well-maintained until the MotoMart was built. He feels there’s too little incentive for businesses to keep their grounds clean.
“I don’t want a gas station in my backyard,” said Proffer.
The biggest concern expressed by neighbors was the potential environmental impact of having a gas station so close to residential areas.
The development would directly border the property of Fairview Heights resident Brittany Porter, who said she’s terrified at the idea of the business being built there. She said she would not feel safe and would be fearful of contamination from fumes and potential fuel leaks.
Multiple other members of the community in attendance gave similar comments about the proposed development.
After listening to comments from the public, the planning commission voted on Jan. 14 10-0 to deny approval for the development.
Proposed changes
Makan, LLC, took residents’ concerns into consideration and made some changes to the original plans prior to the city’s Jan. 22 community committee meeting.
Changes included reducing the number of fueling islands from 10 to eight, which would house 16 instead of 20 gas pumps, and moving the underground fuel tanks further north, away from residential properties.
The convenience store’s planned hours of operation were also would be reduced from 5 a.m. to midnight to 5 a.m. to 10 p.m. Car wash hours would be 7 a.m. to 7 p.m., and food services would operate from 6 a.m. to 8 p.m.
A Jan. 17 letter to Fairview Heights Mayor Mark Kupsky from Terry Johnson, a senior land broker for Barber Murphy Group, provided five “compelling reasons” the city should OK the project.
Specifically, it said all four corners of the intersection will eventually be used for commercial businesses and that three of the four are already zoned for commercial use.
The letter also stated that a convenience store at the proposed location would serve residents in a 1-to-2-mile area with everyday necessities and would reduce traffic flow to two existing convenience stores at Highway 50 and Old Collinsville Road, which is “overly congested.”
Johnson also wrote that the applicant already purchased the property and would develop the site “into some type of retail use.”
After listening to details of the plan’s changes and Johnson’s letter, residents stood their ground, reiterating their concerns about traffic, safety and environmental impact.
Fairview Heights resident Joe Samudovsky said he attended the planning commission meeting with an open mind. After hearing comments from both the applicant and area residents, he sided with his fellow residents.
He created a petition online at change.org to oppose the development. At the time of the community committee meeting, the petition had more than 500 signatures. It currently has more than 635 signatures.
Samudovsky said he’s “not anti-business in my backyard. I am anti-gas station in my backyard.”
Dr. Shawn O’Connor, a pediatric and neonatal-perinatal physician who lives near the development site, expressed concern that the quality of life for residents will be negatively impacted by environmental factors.
In the meeting’s online chat, O’Connor mentioned medical studies that linked living near gas stations and benzene exposure to higher incidences of respiratory issues and increased risk of leukemia.
Chynna Tame of Fairview Heights also shared comments in the online chat.
“As a paramedic, most of the homeless 911 calls that I have responded to are at gas stations,” wrote Tame. “Most of the shootings or violent calls have been to gas stations.”
