Should the definition of 'convenience store' in Washington County include truck parking?

The Washington County Commissioners sent a proposal to update the definition of a convenience store in the county's zoning ordinance back to the Planning Commission after a lengthy public hearing Tuesday.

The proposed zoning text amendments would change the definition of a convenience store to eliminate the size restriction, which is currently 5,000 square feet — including areas for gas pumps. That restriction "is a big problem," civil engineer Fred Frederick, president of Frederick, Seibert and Associates, told the commissioners.

"That definition may have worked in the '70s and '80s … but it no longer fits the definition of today's (convenience) stores," he said. It "does not fit the industry standard, and it's not what the areas around us have in their definitions," he added.

But the amendments not only eliminate the size requirements, but allow for limited parking for tractor-trailers at convenience stores in some areas.

And for many of the speakers at Tuesday's hearing, therein lies the rub.

The proposal would allow 3.5 truck parking spaces per 500 square feet of the gross leasable area of a convenience store. Truck parking would still be prohibited at convenience stores in a district designated Rural-Business, an overlay zoning designation on the county's zoning map.

A number of residents opposed the change — some of whom also recently opposed a proposed truck stop off Interstate 81.

"I believe that implies … that convenience stores are entitled to have tractor-trailer parking regardless of the location of the convenience store and the layout of the surrounding roads," said Ginger Griffith of Williamsport.

"I've been fighting this trucking issue for over five years," said Michael Tedrick of Big Pool. Tedrick told the commissioners the parking proposal "goes against the policies, laws and rules already in place.

"They were place their to protect the people of Washington County for health and safety concerns … This text amendment is playing a game of smoke and mirrors. Sanding the sharp edges is not fixing the problem we already have," he added.

Tedrick reiterated complaints about trucks, noise and runoff from a truck stop near his home, "even though there's a little over a handful of parking spots."

"There's ambiguity in the definition of truck stop and convenience store," noted attorney Jason Divelbiss. "There's a lot of folks here today talking about truck stops. Historically, the zoning ordinance … it's been difficult to distinguish between those two uses. And that's one of the reasons that this this new definition of the convenience store, and I believe there's a new definition of truck stop to follow, are important — so that we can tell the difference."

Divelbiss said a prohibition of tractor-trailer parking in the rural business district "seems to be excessive, but a limit seems very reasonable … we have to remember eliminated parking spaces does not eliminate trucks." He warned of "unintended consequences" from a "strict prohibition."

Bowman Development President Robin Ferree told the commissioners that not only are convenience stores "evolving" to provide more services, making the "obsolete" definition difficult to work with, but there's a growing need for truck parking "to allow drivers to rest as required by federal law and common sense."

Truckers sometimes park on streets and interstate ramps, he said, illustrating the need for parking spaces. The Maryland Department of Transportation, he said, "is currently studying the feasibility of placing truck parking on land around the interstate exits throughout the state. That's how desperate the need is.

"It just seems to us that the limited truck parking as proposed by some of these convenience store operators, offering parking and fueling, in at least the (Higway Interchange) zoning areas is a good compromise. They're not full-fledged truck stops … They're not 200, 300 trucks; they don't offer amenities. They're there for the convenience of the drivers to fuel, eat, use a restroom, get the required rest, and carry on. They don't make money when they're parked."

Commissioners Randall Wagner and Derek Harvey raised questions about how many convenience stores outside the Highway Interchange zoning districts would be affected by the parking issue, and how the restrictions would be enforced.

"I tend to agree that we do need an updated, clear definition of convenience stores; no disagreement there," Harvey said. "I'm not convinced that we have the right definition at all. And I'm not convinced that there's a complete understanding of what the second- and third-order effects would be of opening up convenience stores to truck parking."

Planning Director Jill Baker recommended the commissioners send the proposal back to the Planning Commission for revisions.

"I'm hearing the concerns and I understand the concern," she said. "What I would probably recommend from this board would be to remand it back to the Planning Commission to answer those questions for you, to see if they would want to tweak this more, and have a better feeling for where the commissioners want to go with this."

And the commissioners agreed.

Baker said the record would be left open for further comments to the Planning Commission.

Residents fighting Williamsport-area truck stop approval cite unfairness in decision

Trends, resources, growth: How should Washington County look in the future?

This article originally appeared on The Herald-Mail: Commissioners send truck parking proposal back to planners