BRENHAM CITY COUNCIL APPROVES REQUEST FOR GAS STATION

  

The Brenham City Council today (Thursday) unanimously approved a specific use permit request to allow the construction of a new gas station and convenience store on the north end of town.

Following an hour of discussion at a rare morning meeting, the council voted to give the go-ahead to 30K Holdings, LLC to build a Zippy J’s at the site of the vacant Terminix Pest Control building at East Blue Bell Road and Gay Hill Street. 

The council upheld the condition that the property must receive preliminary and final plats before the city issues a building permit.  However, it revised the Planning and Zoning Commission’s recommendation of putting in a 10-foot screening fence on the east property line, between the gas station and the adjacent Wee Care for All Childcare Center, reducing the required height to six feet. 

Much of the council’s debate recalled concerns raised previously during Planning and Zoning meetings in April and May, including traffic at the location and potential negative impacts to the daycare.  Larry Lazare, owner of Wee Care for All, said he is worried about the sale of alcohol and tobacco in close proximity to his facility, and that, combined with the increased amount of cars in an already busy zone, creates a safety issue and would hurt his business.

The site plan for the gas station shows two driveways on Gay Hill Street and one on East Blue Bell Road.  The Gay Hill Street driveways are under the city and are permitted, but Blue Bell Road is a TxDOT roadway, and Adam Griffin and Brad Trochta of 30K Holdings told the council that TxDOT came out to the site for several hours in early May and gave them their blessing to leave the driveway entrance on Blue Bell Road.  City of Brenham Public Works Director Dane Rau said the city has been in conversation with TxDOT about putting in a traffic signal at the intersection, but TxDOT has not said if the suggestion will move forward. 

The council ultimately agreed that traffic will increase regardless of the type of development that comes to the site.  Griffin and Trochta said they will be able to restrict delivery times so that vendors or fuel trucks are not attempting to come in during peak traffic.  They also referred to their security camera systems at their existing location at the corner of South Blue Bell Road and East Alamo Street, noting that in their experience, they have sent more security videos to Brenham police for off-site issues trying to help them find vehicles going by, rather than anything on-site.  

The council brought up a chemical spill that happened at the Terminix site, which has been vacant for several years, where Terminix crews had to come out to clean it up.  The environmental issue was remediated earlier this year, but Griffin said he felt it would be a greater risk to leave the site as is without being monitored.

Discussion then moved to the screening fence, which Griffin requested be lowered from a 10-foot requirement.  He said they intended on putting in a fence anyway, but the engineering costs involved with building a fence higher than the standard would quickly become prohibitive.

The council concluded that the 10-foot requirement was excessive, so they agreed to reduce it to six feet. 

The gas station will not be open all day, as the hours are intended to be from 5 a.m. to either 11 p.m. or midnight.  It will have six gas pumps – 12 total fueling stations – and would only serve four-wheeled vehicles and light-duty commercial vehicles, not 18-wheelers.  The area is zoned for retail use as is, but the gas station is what needed the specific use permit. 

In other business today, the council:

• Approved a temporary resale amendment to the city’s system water availability agreement with the Brazos River Authority (BRA) and a water supply resale agreement with The Dow Chemical Company.  The amendment allows the city to elect to resell excess water temporarily to a resale purchaser with prior approval from the BRA.  Deputy General Manager of Public Utilities Alton Sommerfield said the city’s primary water availability agreement covers 4,200 acre-feet of water (one acre-foot is approximately 326,000 gallons), and the city uses 3,100 acre-feet on average each year.  Through the system water availability agreement, the city sold 387 acre-feet of the 774 acre-feet available last year, and it is now looking to sell the remaining 387 acre-feet.  The purchase price is $93.50 per acre-foot, or $36,184.
• Adopted a revised drought contingency plan and revised water conservation plan.  The amendments, which are required at least once every five years, reflect new information such as forecasted weather patterns.  Water Systems Superintendent Jerry Saldivar said the amendments adjust the threshold percentages for when drought conditions initiate water conservation plans, making it to where the plan stages trigger earlier to start saving water sooner. 
• Accepted a request for proposals to replace the HVAC in the diner portion of the terminal building at the Brenham Municipal Airport.  The lowest bid came from Round Top HVAC for $75,980.  Development Services Director Stephanie Doland said the city has Routine Airport Maintenance Program (RAMP) funds available from TxDOT Aviation to cover the cost. 

Click here to view the agenda packet for Thursday's meeting.