This Lake Norman community is inundated with gas stations. Could another be on the way?

If there’s one thing eastern Lincoln County has an abundance of, it’s gas stations – and another one could be on the way.

Atits Oct. 2 meeting, Lincoln County commissioners were presented with a rezoning request to permit a gas station and restaurant at the intersection of routes NC 150 and NC 16, near the Catawba County line.

If the plan is approved, the number of gas stations in eastern Lincoln County would rise to 14.

Denver, which makes up most of eastern Lincoln County, is estimated to have 20,000 residents. Already spread along a 9-mile segment of NC 16, to NC 73 to NC 10 are nine gas stations, The Denver Citizen reported. Businesses along NC 73 from Pilot Knob Road to the NC 16 bypass, also have gas stations, driving the total to 13.

For comparison, Cornelius, which had an estimated population of around 32,000, according to the last census, has less than 10 gas stations.

‘Our small, quiet rural community would be disrupted’

At the meeting, Todd Wulfhorst, a Denver attorney spoke on behalf of the property owners seeking the rezoning permit. He pointed out that there aren’t isn’t a gas station or restaurant in the area to serve residents.

“Most of the gas stations that were at 16 and 150 closed long ago,” Wulfhorst said. “There used to be gas stations at all four of those corners.”

Residents who live near the proposed site said a gas station and restaurant would only generate more traffic and heighten the potential for crime.

“Our small, quiet rural community would be disrupted,” Kim Beal, whose property borders the proposed site, told the board in a written statement. “I’ve lived here for 67 years and would like to keep the peace here for the remainder of my days.”

In 2019, Lincoln County commissioners denied a similar rezoning request to allow a gas station at the intersection of NC 16 and Unity Church Road, citing traffic concerns.

The Lincoln County Planning Board voted to approve the rezoning request at their meeting on Oct. 2, Robert Shugarman, who chairs the board, told The Charlotte Observer.

Commissioners will vote on the request at their meeting on Oct. 16.