Fueled up: Public opposition mounts over gas station project
A new gas station, T&C General Store, is planned for the corner of N.C. 107 and South River Road, where the old Jack the Dipper used to sit, right on the Tuckasegee River.
While a project of this nature is permitted in the zoning district, the public has expressed concern over environmental, aesthetic and traffic safety concerns, especially in the wake of flooding from Hurricane Helene.
“The construction of a convenience store adjacent to the Tuckasegee River could not come at a more inappropriate time or be placed in a more inappropriate location,” said Miller Watson, owner of a full-service fly shop and WCU graduate.
The plot of land, just over 70,000 square feet, which sits in Sylva’s extraterritorial jurisdiction, is zoned “general business” and is subject to the zoning and development review processes of the Town of Sylva. However, the county’s planning department administers the town’s zoning ordinance through an interlocal agreement between the county and the Town of Sylva.
TopCats River Market, INC., owned by Jackson County resident Cody Lewis, submitted a zoning permit application for the project on Jan. 9, and because convenience stores/gas stations are a permitted use in Sylva’s ETJ, the application was approved on Feb. 1.
“Upon review, the planning department determined that the site plan met all of the required developmental standards, and the zoning permit was issued,” said County Planning Director Mike Poston.
To receive that approval, Lewis also had to submit a site plan, developed by a North Carolina licensed design professional that demonstrates compliance with the development regulations found in the Town’s zoning ordinance, things like setbacks, parking requirements and landscaping buffers.
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The site plan shows details of the proposed project, including tank locations. Lofquist & Associates drawing
“If the applicant submits a site plan that meets those requirements, then staff will issue the zoning permit,” said Poston. “The planning staff monitors the development and will perform a final inspection to confirm compliance with the zoning permit.”
This process does not require any public hearings or necessitate additional approval for obtaining a zoning permit as long as the permit is for a use listed as permitted or permitted with supplemental standards within the zoning ordinance. However, as with all municipalities, there was a required public hearing prior to the approval of Sylva’s current zoning ordinance that established the uses as permitted within the General Business District. But this hasn’t stopped the public from voicing concerns over the safety of the project and complaining about a lack of public input in the decision-making process.
At the April 1 meeting of the Jackson County Commission, 10 people spoke in opposition to the gas station project. A petition titled “Stop the TopCat River Market on NC 107 and S. River Road in Jackson County, NC” had 1,325 signatures as of Tuesday morning.
The Town of Webster, which borders Sylva’s ETJ, signed a resolution to “Oppose Gas Station Developments Along the Tuckasegee River in Jackson County” on April 2 in a unanimous vote.
“Recently the Town has received public comments in opposition to the proposed location of a gas station on the Tuckasegee on Hwy 107 due to environmental, aesthetic and traffic safety concerns,” said Webster Mayor Tracy Rhodes. “I think that the impacts of Helene and the recent flooding along the waterways in Haywood and Buncombe counties have contributed to the community’s concerns. Webster did have flooding, but we were lucky in that the brunt of the storm missed us.”
The resolution, proposed by Webster Commissioner Dale Collins, says that the development of gas stations along riverbanks poses a significant risk to water quality due to the potential for underground storage tank leaks, fuel spills and stormwater runoff contamination.
It also states that the project “presents significant traffic safety concerns,” the approval process has “lacked sufficient public transparency and engagement,” and that “existing zoning and environmental regulations must be strengthened to ensure future developments do not compromise the county’s natural resources, public safety or economic sustainability.”
Not only does the resolution oppose the development of gas stations along rivers in Jackson County, it also seeks stricter zoning and environmental regulations, requests that state and local agencies conduct comprehensive environmental and traffic impact analyses before approving such developments, and calls for greater public involvement and transparency in the development process.
Lewis did conduct a traffic impact analysis for the project, contracting J.M. Teague Engineering and Planning out of Waynesville for the work in August of last year.
“We did engage a traffic engineer who completed a traffic study that was accepted and approved by NCDOT,” said Lewis. “The addition of a traffic light for the new Ingles no more than a half mile north of our site will slow traffic considerably.”
The location of the new gas station has raised concerns from some Jackson County residents. Town of Sylva drawing
Shortly after Lewis obtained the zoning permit, the old Jack the Dipper building was burnt to the ground. It was intentionally set on fire on the morning of Feb. 19 by the Sylva Fire Department who used the fire as a training exercise.
Plans for the new gas station show an impervious area of 24,269 square feet, or about 34.54% of the entire parcel. On a build like this, the maximum impervious area permitted is 70%.
“The fuel is supposedly being mitigated, which is fine,” said Bobby Bennett in public comment at the April 1 Jackson County Commission meeting. “It’s more about the water temperature. Every time we build a parking lot, the water temperature in the rivers go up because you have warm water coming off the pavement that is substantially warmer than the river, so it elevates the temperature.”
Lewis told The Smoky Mountain News that run-off was a primary concern.
“The paved surface of the parking lot and fueling area will sit an average of three feet below the grade of the top of the bank,” said Lewis. “A retaining wall is being installed around the entire perimeter of the paved area to hold back the soil between the paved surface and the top of the bank, which also serves as a hard barrier to prevent encroachment into the trout buffer and prevents any stormwater from flowing towards the river.”
According to Lewis, the paved surface slopes toward N.C. 107 with all stormwater collected by onsite drains. Each of these drains will be equipped with distillate/petroleum filters that prevent any potential fuel mixed with stormwater runoff from entering the drainage system.
These drains divert the water into a series of stormwater runoff filters, retention basins and sand filters, ending with a 370-square-foot bioretention basin that filters the water over more than 100 hours before routing it to the existing drainage system next to N.C. 107.
The construction site, as viewed from the river. Hannah McLeod photo
“I hope the public is comforted by the fact that this project is being undertaken by a local small business owner who greatly values the local environment and river system, instead of a nameless, faceless, outside corporation that would never go to these lengths to protect the place my family has called home for nine generations,” said Lewis. “If it wasn’t safe, I would never undertake the project.”
During construction, the site will be ringed by super silt fencing on three sides in an effort to protect the trout buffer, a primary concern among members of the public. No trees in the trout buffer along the river are allowed to be removed unless they impede the installation of the silt fencing.
“Untamed development along trout streams in Jackson County threaten the enjoyment and happiness of residents along those banks,” said Collins in comments to the county commission. “The trout fishing economic impact is tremendous. $1.38 billion are spent in Western North Carolina for trout fishing [annually].”
In June 2016, the North Carolina General Assembly passed a resolution recognizing Jackson County as the “Premier Fishing Destination” in the state.
“Our businesses rely on rivers and watersheds that have been heavily affected by Hurricane Helene and in the midst of cleanup efforts and all that we’re doing to fix our watersheds, this feels like a very challenging approval,” said Watson. “Our hands are full enough without having to battle gas stations being built.”
The county contains 4,600 miles of trout streams and receives an annual stocking of 92,800 trout, which is the most of any county in the state. It also contains the state’s longest contiguous stretch of North Carolina Mountain Heritage Trout Waters and is home of the state record for the largest rainbow trout ever caught.
“For every dollar spent on trout fishing, there was a $1.93 return to the state economy, a return that is now potentially affected by builds just like this gas station,” Watson said during public comment at the Jackson County Commission meeting April 1. “I beg of this commission to consider this moving forward and please understand the detrimental aspects that are in the scope of builds like the Lewis gas station on 107.”
Residents presented concerns about the safety of any project like this following the devastating flooding from Hurricane Helene.
“I was one of the guys that did clean up with EPA on a lot of the water sheds and I’ll tell you, we got super lucky, we missed that storm by maybe 50 miles,” said Wes Buchanan. “We were pulling gas tanks out of those rivers from half a mile away; the gas stations weren’t even close and you’re pulling their tanks out of the rivers.”
The construction site, as viewed from the road. Hannah McLeod photo
“I don’t think we can deny we’ve had a couple of generational floods back-to-back to back in less than maybe 10 years,” Buchanan continued. “I don’t think it’s going to get less frequent, and I think it’s slightly irresponsible to maybe not allow the public to chime in on stuff like this. From a guy that’s cleaned up a lot of these rivers and pulled gas tanks like the ones they’re proposing out of there, we just can’t guarantee that something’s not going to happen.”
The National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration logged a record crest of the Tuckasegee River during Hurricane Helene at 15.97 feet. This is about 10 feet below the site of the gas station, which is on level with N.C. 107. But for members of the public, who have seen more frequent catastrophic flooding in Western North Carolina throughout the 21st Century, their fears aren’t quelled by.
“Let’s remember that initial forecasts suggested that Jackson County might take a direct hit from Helene, and we all breathed a sigh of relief when the storm turned at the last moment,” said Kate McKittrick in public comments on April 1. “Imagine the impact of a direct hit on the business that is under construction. It is important to acknowledge that there will be more storms, and they will be more severe, and we need to plan for that.”
The gas station project includes an underground fuel storage tank to be located beneath the concrete pad where the gas pumps will be situated. According to Lewis, the tank will be strapped to concrete anchors, which is not a requirement, but something he is choosing to do at an additional expense.
“The tank will be underground and covered by approximately 350,000 cubic feet of dirt, plus the concrete pad and canopy, all weighing in excess of 1.5 million pounds,” said Lewis. “That’s why underground tanks are the much safer alternative to above-ground tanks in this application. Above ground tanks are far more susceptible to being carried away in a flood event given the lack of weight holding them down.”
Even still, members of the public have made it clear this is not the type of construction they want to see along their waterways.
“Any fisherman will tell you no one wants to look up from the water and see a gas station looming above one of the most treasured stretches of the Tuck,” said Casey Walawender in comments to the county commission. “Even with all the precautions in the world, a spill or runoff issue this close to the river could have lasting consequences for native plants and wildlife.”
While the public may not have any avenues to stop the gas station project that has been permitted and is following the required guidelines for construction, some members of the public are already looking forward at what can be done to prevent such projects in the future.
“The bigger picture than the predictable controversy over this gas station that’s being built points to the need for stricter ordinances to protect our green space and our waterways specifically,” said Julie Vanleuven. “Our county needs to take a good hard look at planning for growth in the future. I would like you as a commission to prioritize developing a path forward to adequately modernize the county’s planning and permitting ordinances and processes. We need to plan to protect the natural resources that we share that drive our economy.”
Poston said he encourages anyone that is interested in the future development of the county to attend the county’s planning board meetings, scheduled for the second Monday of each month at 6 p.m. at the Department on Aging in Sylva. At the town level, Sylva currently had a vacancy on its planning board as of its March 27 meeting.
