The Crestwood Board of Aldermen unanimously approved an ordinance granting a conditional use permit to Sam’s Club, 10248 Big Bend Blvd., to expand its existing gas station from six to eight pumps at its March 26 meeting.
The new pump will be added on the west end of the fuel station, bordering residential property in Kirkwood.
The six current pumps at Sam’s Club, located in the C-1 local commercial district, were built in 2001 following the approval of a conditional use permit and site plan in June of that year. The original CUP from 2001, however, only approved a six-pump station and canopy, requiring the city to repeal it and issue a new CUP this year to allow for the expansion to eight pumps and a larger canopy structure. The CUP request was accompanied by a site plan that included “alterations to the existing landscaping, parking layout, and queuing lanes on the south side of the station to improve internal access and circulation within the Sam’s Club parking lot.”
“In addition to the fuel station expansion, we are proposing to make improvements to the fueling station traffic flow to better serve Sam’s customers,” a letter from Lauren Bishop of Carlson Consulting Engineers, Inc., said on behalf of the applicant. “In general, the improvements include the addition of queuing lanes in advance of the fuel station as well as converting a two-way drive into a one-way drive leading to the queuing lanes.”
Due to the expansion, a portion of the lot and 56 parking spaces near the fuel station area will be lost. Modifications to the existing curbed islands will also be done, also impacting the lot space. Because of this, 2,583 square feet of open space will be added to the existing lot, making the total parking ratio 4.09 spaces per 1,000 square feet. The total area affected by the construction will be approximately 51,679 square feet.
Before the aldermen voted, Ward 1 Alderman Jim Zavist brought up an interesting point.
“I have a technical question. Pumps have two hoses, does that make that two pumps or one pump? This says we’re going from six to eight when we actually have 16 dispensing locations,” Zavist said. “I’m not objecting to it, it was a technical question.”
City Planner Danny Jendusa responded that the original CUP did not “exactly specify an exact number,” rather it presented a plan for six, double-sided pumps.
“This new CUP is just allowing an expansion of that previous CUP, whether it’s defined as eight or 16,” he said.
As there were no further questions from the board or city staff, a vote was held. The board voted unanimously in favor of the ordinance in both the first and second reading.
“Very good, that ordinance passed and a conditional use permit has been approved,” Mayor Scott Shipley said. “We enjoy having Sam’s Club and I look forward to even more pumps.”
