VERMILION — A new fuel station and convenience store is being planned near Baumhart Road and State Route 2, though final details still have to return to the Vermilion Planning Commission.
The Planning Commission voted June 3 to approve a zoning certificate for DA Petroleum LLC, which is proposing the project at 1800 Baumhart Road.
The approval is contingent on the applicant meeting the requirements listed in a June 2 letter from City Engineer Chris Howard and bringing landscaping plans back to the commission for review at its July 8 meeting.
Project would include fuel pumps, food and short-term truck spaces
Doug Green, with Contractors Design & Engineering, represented DA Petroleum at the meeting. He said the company owns the parcel at the southwest corner of Baumhart Road and State Route 2.
Green said the site is currently a grass field. The full parcel is about 13 acres, with the company planning to develop about half of it, including a drainage pond and septic system.
The proposed building would be about 6,000 square feet and include a convenience store, passenger fuel pumps and diesel pumps. The plan includes 36 parking spaces and 10 short-term truck spaces.
Green told the commission the property’s deed restrictions allow fueling stations but do not allow truck stops. He said the proposal is not intended to be a truck stop and would not include overnight truck parking.
He said the truck spaces are meant to give drivers a place to park after fueling so they can go inside the store or get something to eat without blocking pumps, delivery areas or traffic lanes.
Commission members asked several questions about truck parking, traffic flow, signage, lighting, screening and the appearance of the building.
Ed Leonard asked whether signs would be posted to tell drivers there is no overnight parking. Green said that could be added at the entrance and near the truck parking spaces.
Mike Cremean asked whether the building would include showers. Green said the floor plan currently includes one shower, intended for occasional truckers and for employees working in the kitchen.
The convenience store is expected to operate 24 hours a day, according to part owner Davinder Singh. Singh said the business expects to employ about 10 to 12 people.
Green said the store would include restrooms, hot food and grab-and-go food.
The building is planned as a single-story structure with glass, stone veneer, stucco and cement board plank siding. Green said the project will eventually return with a full signage package for separate approval.
Commission member Jeff Hammerschmidt raised concerns about the west side of the building, which faces the diesel pumps. He said customers would be using that side of the building and suggested continuing the wainscoting and stone veneer to better match the other elevations.
Green said the original plan was partly intended to save cost on the back of the building, but acknowledged the point and said the applicant could continue the wainscoting on that side.
Hammerschmidt also suggested the applicant consider heavier-duty pavement around more of the site, saying trucks may not always follow the intended traffic pattern.
Landscaping, screening plans still need review
The commission also discussed screening requirements for the west and south sides of the property. Green said the applicant had proposed an 8-foot opaque fence, but Howard said his reading of the requirement suggested both fencing and landscaping may be required.
Heather Shirley, chair of the commission, said the landscaping plan should come back for review because the commission typically reviews those plans as part of an application.
The commission ultimately voted to approve the zoning certificate, contingent on the city engineer’s requirements being met and the landscaping plans returning for review July 8.
The next Planning Commission meeting is scheduled for 7 p.m. July 8 at the Vermilion Municipal Complex, 687 Decatur St.