A rezoning request of property at Mount Comfort Road and Shiloh Drive would allow a Kum & Go gasoline station and convenience store to be built.
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Drivers who travel along Mount Comfort Road could soon have a more convenient place to stop for gas and snacks.
Officials with Kum & Go are seeking a rezoning of 1.7 acres of property at Mount Comfort Road and Shiloh Drive, an area that includes part of Trailwood Mobile Homes.
City staff have recommended denial of the request, but Planning Commissioners last month voted in favor of the rezoning.
Proposed rezoning location
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Residents who spoke at the commission meeting were also largely in favor of the proposal, citing the need for a gas station in the area.
City staff said they don’t believe the current proposal will serve as an adequate buffer between I-540 and the Mount Comfort Road corridor, which includes mostly houses. Officials have been quick to dismiss the idea that they don’t want a gas station in the area, though.
Staff said they would welcome the Kum & Go if it were more in line with the community services form-based zoning district. Community services districts encourage walkability by requiring buildings which frame the street instead of having multiple curb cuts like what is seen on College Avenue and Wedington Drive.
Kum & Go officials said they don’t feel comfortable placing fueling stations behind the building where motorists can’t see how full the pumps are.
“It’s just like going to McDonald’s,” said Rob Wadle, project manager for Kum & Go, during a recent City Council meeting. “If I look at a McDonald’s drive-thru and see 10 people in line, I won’t go. But if there’s only two or three people in line, I’ll probably stop.”
Wadle said since Kum & Go caters specifically to vehicles, putting the pumps in the back where drivers cannot see if they’re full or not, is too big of a risk to take.
The decision is now up to the City Council, which tabled the issue last week to allow aldermen Alan Long and Rhonda Adams time to discuss the proposal with residents at a Ward 4 meeting set for Oct. 28.
The council is expected to make a final decision at its next regular meeting on Nov. 5.
Kum & Go currently operates two Fayetteville locations – one at the intersection of College Avenue and Township Street, and another at Martin Luther King Jr. Boulevard and Hill Avenue. A third store is planned at Huntsville and Happy Hollow roads on part of the former Tyson factory property.
