Arnold Council approves plan for Freeport Road gas station, convenience store

Arnold Council has approved plans for a gas station and convenience store on Freeport Road.

Following a public hearing Tuesday, council voted unanimously in favor of a conditional use that Mike Thakkar, owner of Yashvi Oil, needs to turn the former auto repair shop at 1610 Freeport Road into a convenience store.

Council attached two conditions to its approval — that a 4-foot privacy fence be put up around the perimeter of the lot, which is located between Warren Avenue and Woodberry Road, and the submission of a final site plan to the city, with Thakkar receiving all inspections and permits to operate the gas station and store.

Thakkar said he does not object to the conditions and hopes to have the station and store open in three to four months. While a site survey by Jeff Horneman, of Horneman Surveying, showed a Sunoco brand, Thakkar said he does not have a brand for it yet.

Thakkar’s plans were met with concern and opposition from neighbors when council began the conditional use hearing in March. A decision was not reached then, and the hearing was continued and reconvened on Tuesday.

Residents’ comments focused on concerns about how trucks would deliver gasoline to the station and maneuver into and out of the lot.

After comments and questions from several residents focusing on the gas station, Councilman Phil McKinley reminded them that the conditional use hearing applied to the proposal for the convenience store, not the gas station. The property had previously been a gas station and, as a pre-existing use, could be again.

A site survey shows that a brick addition at the front right side of the building would be removed, making room for a loading zone. There would be a single gas pump island under a canopy.

The underground tanks for the previous gas station were removed. Thakkar said a new tank would be installed.

The survey shows seven parking spaces — five on the Warren Avenue side of the lot and two in front beside the loading zone, with one handicapped parking spot directly in front of the building.

Horneman said he tried other layouts with up to 11 parking spaces, but they didn’t fit as well. How many spaces would be required based on the size of the building was not clear during the hearing.

Jeffrey Johasky, a semi-retired attorney, owns the property and is selling it to Thakkar. His father and grandfather had previously operated the gas station there.

He said they never had any problems with gas deliveries.

Johasky said he was embarrassed by what the property became, including that the previous tenant painted the building blue. He said he could put another repair shop in the building, but the last one “didn’t turn out well.”

Johasky said he believes the property will look far better under Thakkar than it does now.