Boston Heights rejects Sheetz gas station proposal after residents' outcry

The rejection of a plan to build a Sheetz gas station at the site of a former hotel in Boston Heights was greeted with applause at a packed Village Hall around 12:30 a.m. Thursday after a five-and-a-half hour meeting.

Residents have cited concerns about the potential impact on pollution, traffic and safety in opposing plans for the property at 6625 Dean Memorial Parkway near East Hines Hill Road, state Route 8 and the Ohio Turnpike, at the site of the former Norwood Inn.

The village's Planning Commission voted to deny the conditional permit that would have been needed for the project to start. The site plan included six fuel pumps and 42 parking spaces along the northern end of the property for cars, plus a car wash and a convenience store. Opponents were particularly upset about plans for the south end, which would have had 30 parking spaces and a separate fueling station for large trucks.

Councilwoman Janet Miller said she was relieved and happy with the 4-1 vote to block the plan.

"We are such a small community," Miller said. "To put up something like a Sheetz, that's so big and would have an enormous ripple effect in our village."

Bob McCullough, who was active in the opposition to the Sheetz proposal, said he was grateful that fellow village residents banded together to defeat the proposal.

"We did it! Thanks to all of you who attended meetings, wrote letters, and talked with planning commission members and the mayor. We could not have done this without a village-wide effort," McCullough stated in a letter to Boston Heights residents.

Bruce G. Rinker of MansourGavin LPS in Cleveland, the legal representative for Sheetz, said the company is disappointed in the decision and is weighing its options.

"No decision has yet been made" about whether Sheetz will modify its plan and submit it anew for consideration, Rinker said. "This was a very long process. Obviously, we are disappointed in the outcome, but it's the process. We are trying to deal with it. I can say Sheetz would not have considered this site if we didn't think it was an appropriate place for it. We approached this with good faith. Sheetz is a good operation. So, this is disappointing."

The property is owned by Maplewood Lodging LLC, according to 2022 Summit County fiscal office property tax records. It includes the former Norwood Inn. The building, constructed in 1967, has been shuttered since October 2019.

Ryan Balko, the regional engineering and permit project manager, confirmed that Sheetz did not own the property.

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Local attorney Tom Bevan of Bevan & Associates, whose office building is to the south of the proposed gas station, said he had conversations with Sheetz officials regarding the fueling station, but decided he could not support the proposal after visiting a similar, smaller Sheetz station in Austintown. That Sheetz also has a separate section for trucks.

"I tried to work with Sheetz," Bevan said before the vote. "They've been upfront with me. This is nothing personal. But when I went to Austintown, I saw a constant stream of trucks, constant noise, constant vibrations. When I got out of my vehicle, the smell of diesel hit me like a wave. That is what we will be dealing with. After seeing this, I can't support this. They are trying to stick a round peg into a square hole."

Bevan said that if the project had been approved, he would have moved his law office, which employs about 60 people, to another municipality.

Balko said there had been issues at the Austintown location, particularly when there was a sale on fuel at one point in September, but that the company had flaggers come out to help direct traffic. "The issues were resolved within 48 hours."

Jane Howington, the former city manager with Hudson who testified at the meeting as an expert witness, said that in her experience, businesses tend to locate to areas with similar businesses nearby.

"My conclusion is it is not acceptable with the surrounding land uses," Howington said. "It's not consistent with the Hines Hill overlay."

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The Hines Hill Corridor Overlay District, according to an earlier Sheetz application and information from the village, aims to promote "a mix of uses, planning for pedestrian mobility, integrating quality public spaces, creating unique and identifiable landscaping that defines the gateway into the village, and promoting high-quality architecture with traditional and natural materials."

Bevan said that not only was the proposal not compatible with the business area, but had provisions that violated the village's zoning code, such as calling for parking to be at the rear of a building.

"This is not a normal permitted use," Bevan said.

Howington added that the car wash plan also was out of step with the village's zoning code. As an accessory building, it would need to be attached to the convenience store, the main structure, rather than be separate.

Sheetz is a family-owned convenience store chain based in Altoona, Pennsylvania. It operates more than 500 stores in six states, including Ohio, Pennsylvania, Virginia, West Virginia, Maryland and North Carolina.

Another project in the works?

Other proposals that have been floated for the site could gather momentum following the rejection of the Sheetz plan.

Mike Downing, a Boston Heights resident and the owner of Downing Construction and Michael Downing Realty, said in an Oct. 20 letter to the zoning committee and the Village Council that he would be interested in constructing an ice skating and multi-sport complex, along with a Winking Lizard restaurant. Downing added in the letter than he had inquired about the property through a real estate broker but that the price, which he said was more than $2 million, plus the $1 million to remove the asbestos, was too costly.

"It just didn't make sense at those numbers for me to pursue developing that property," Downing said. "Should the Sheetz proposed use be denied, my goal is to secure the property through the Summit County Land Bank for free, less fees."

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Reporter April Helms can be reached at ahelms@thebeaconjournal.com

This article originally appeared on Akron Beacon Journal: Sheetz gas station proposal in Boston Heights rejected