Modifications to this service station were last proposed in 1998/99 with the current owner who planned to continue to offer car repair services on the site in mind. The plans called for a 3200 square foot store with an attached car wash, freestanding service building and 10 pump stations.
The current owner now plans to retire, and neither the new owner nor Exxon-Mobil wants a service facility on this site. Instead, they propose a 3900 square foot store, freestanding car wash, and 10 pumps, with full-service pumping available (not presently offered).
Within three miles of the site there are at least 100 service bays available, so there will be no significant impact to the neighborhood because of the loss of the repair facility. The Planning Commission date is 12 June, and staff is expected to have no objections to the removal of the service bays.
There will be only one entrance directly off Route 50 to the station. A right turn lane for access to Virginia Power exists currently on Route 50. There will be a light at that corner, where the extension of Fair Ridge Drive meets Route 50.
The proposed canopy will have an illuminated sign, recessed under canopy lighting and no illumination on the canopy’s sides. It will meet or exceed the federal clearance height of 17 feet. The canopy is more than the normal distance from the store, allowing for easier public and service traffic.
There is no need to replace the current gas storage tanks, as they are less than five-years old.
Committee members raised the following concerns:
See the following handouts:
This Rezoning application is the result of a Plan Amendment Application APR 01-III-3UP. The requested amendment of the plan was generated by the properties situation in that it shares frontage with both Rt. 50 and a multiple bay service station. This parcel was thought for over 50 years to be Commercially situated since it is on a major highway and on a corner with a traffic light to Rt. 50 as well as being adjacent to a major commercial center. In addition it was always a separate large parcel and not part of the surrounding residential neighborhood subdivision. Indeed, the current service station on Rt. 50 was subdivided from this parcel to become the first commercial user on this parcel. The owner has continually lived on the remainder of the parcel.
This Applicant filed for a residential land use change in the last APR process while another Applicant filed for a formal Plan change to a commercial use of the property. In the Sully District APR Task Force meeting the APR request for commercial was narrowly defeated, while this proposal for a slight increase in density was unanimously recommended for approval. Subsequent to initial reservations, the Staff also recommended approval of the density change after discussions with this Applicant on the ability to meet setback concerns and also the possibility of providing the service drive, a much needed transportation improvement for the neighborhood.
For the Plan Amendment process the applicant provided the Task Force, Supervisors Office and Staff with a "sketch plan" for development of the property. That Sketch Plan has been refined and is now being submitted as a proffered FDP for 8 lots, also including a proffer to provide frontage access to the service station from Chantilly Rd. This access is an important consideration for the neighborhood since the Chantilly Rd. light channels service station traffic to travel entirely through the neighborhood to get to the service station via Downs Dr. because there is no median break in front of the service station for traffic going east on Rt. 50.
The plans for R3 clustering will allow eight homes on the 2.7 acres, including the construction of a service lane to the gas station. There will be heavy screening, including an eight-foot sound fence. The developers have agreed to level 1 and 32 archeology surveys.
The committee recommended approval to the Planning Commission with subject to the following:
See the following handouts:
The application requests permission to increase the existing maximum gross floor area permitted by FDPA 78-C-118-8 from 165,000 square feet to 168,722. The Giant store intends to remodel the store and modernize the facility by incorporating the proposed space.
The Giant will realize a net space increase of 2.5% based this change. The back of the old Temptations store will be torn down, the roof raised and the new back willl be enlarged to the same size as the current store.
The site in question is the Virginia Power facility just west of the Hilton Hotel and Exxon station on Route 50. The developer is proposing 400,000 square feet, a .25 FAR. Closest to the existing residential homes in the rear of the property will be about 100,000 square feet of 1-2 story small profession buildings sold as condominiums. The current emergency access to the residential community in the rear will be closed.
The existing 100,000 square foot Virginia Power facility will remain with 200,000 square feet of new retail construction between the existing facility and Route 50. The existing substation will remain. Virginia Power plans to retain the use of nine of the 100 thousand square feet in the existing structure, with the remainder released for other uses.
A main aisle connecting the front of the development to the rear, to the right of the existing Virginia Power structure, will allow both vehicular and pedestrian traffic over cobblestones or bricks. The aisle will have parallel parking, then a row of hedges and then sidewalks. The developer is trying to encourage a pedestrian friendly environment.
The developer is looking for a Fresh Fields type of grocery store to be the main anchor of the front retail. The grocery store would be on the right, closest to the Exxon station. On the left, they are looking for a CVS-type drug store with a drive-through window. The timetable for the development is two-three years for the front buildings and three-four years for the rear structures.
The firm behind this proposal offered pictures of other developments they had done in South Florida. Jim Hart asked his sister to check out "Mizner Park" in Boca Raton, which was the example they gave us, to let us know what it is like, parking etc.
Jim had asked them if their other project was named for Addison Mizner and they said yes, which was a bit of a surprise. Addison Mizner was an architect/developer down in Palm Beach County, FL, back in the 20s and 30s. He was kind of a local character down there, not Til Hazel exactly, but he made a name for himself. He designed in kind of a very recognizable "Mediterranean Revival" style (there is nothing like it up here). He was a big schemer/dreamer, who might have gone bankrupt in the 30s developing in Boca Raton, which is a little south of Palm Beach. Folks down there know what the building would look like if he were the architect or developer. However, as Addison Mizner has been dead since 1933 the connection is tenuous.
Their drawings they showed us the other night were nothing like Addison Mizner. The best description it is if you ever saw the old movie Sunset boulevard on the cable, just think of the old house of the silent movie star, dark porches and arcades and low tile roofs, vaguely Spanish or Italian or something, stucco probably painted Flamingo pink. Anyway like that is Addison Mizner's style, very unusual and recognizable. Kind of old fashioned and out of style for many years, but maybe what’s old is new again.
Comments from the committee:
Respectfully submitted,
Jeffrey M. Parnes
Chair, Sully District Council
Land Use and Transportation Committee