Planning Commission Agenda and Packet 2023 05 11

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Planning Commission Meeting Minutes February 09, 2023 Page 9 of 15 recommends reducing the cap to one each time a gasoline station closes. Lastly, he recommends prohibiting gas stations in the Philips 66 rural district. Cathern Smith Smith says the human health concerns from gasoline stations extend to air quality, not just climate change. She goes into further detail on the effect of air quality. She then discusses the trends of gasoline stations in the United States, specifically mentioning the number of them through the years. This proposal favors more big box retailer's then small, business owners. Beth McQuie McQuie says she uses multiple gas stations in Louisville and she has never had a wait with more than one car ahead of her. She does not think there is a need for any additional gas stations. She proposes a ban on new ones or having a limit. She would love for Louisville to be a model for sustainability and an advocate for climate change. Cathern Smith Smith says she would like to see that if new gas stations are applied for, that they provide a needs based assessment to confirm a new one is needed within the City. Closinq Statement by Staff. Zuccaro displays the ordinance for the commissioner's review. Brauneis says he would like to remove the words "and integral" from the ordinance and leave it as "automobile service station as part of the retail center on the same or adjoining parcel." The goal of this language is to allow them to do that so why put a confusing word like integral in there. Choi says there are some missing specifics in the language in discussing the retail center. He thinks there should be language that has correlation between the overall ratio of the proposed use would be. If there would be an exception that mentions size and use, there should be some bumpers on it. Brauneis asks if eliminating the word integral provides a necessary bumper. Choi says not necessarily but eliminating it further provides more clarity. Zuccaro mentions there are many commercial centers where there is a gas station on an outlot just like Safeway. He is worried that if it only says a part of the retail center, it could be a different meaning. We could require that it be branded as part of the retail center. Moline says he is wondering if keeping the word integral is trying to protect the retail center. Is it to make sure that we do not lose a slot of a gas station for something we are not looking for from an economic perspective? Zuccaro says if there is a model that proposes a retail center and gas station and the City does not allow it because of the gas station, there is concern that they will go to a neighboring city. Choi proposes replacing integral with saying "an accessory part" of the retail center.