Politics & Government

Proposed GetGo Gas Station Has Some North Canton Residents Fuming

About 35 people attended Wednesday night's North Canton Planning Commission meeting, and many spoke out about their opposition to a GetGo gas station at Washington Square

Resident after resident stood before the North Canton Planning Commission Wednesday night and laid out why a GetGo gas station at Washington Square is a bad idea.

The gas station will be too close to a residential area and will decrease property values as well as the quality of life for residents because of the sights, smells and sounds associated with a gas station, they said.

The gas station is unpleasant looking, it would be susceptible to robberies, there already are two gas stations in the immediate area, and it would increase the danger for those on the walking path, which runs along one side of the proposed station, they said.

And it seemed by the end of the meeting, no amount of fencing, shrubbery or FuelPerks would make Wynstone Circle residents forget they lived just 100 feet or so from a Giant Eagle gas station.

Commission member Tim Morrow said the gas station’s proposed location, along with its proposed hours of operation (5 a.m.-11 p.m.),  is not ideal.

“I’m used to the 30th Street location (in Canton). It’s a zoo at times there,” Morrow said. “You have cars at every which location fighting for pumps because there aren’t enough pumps.”

“And your hours of operation, as far as I’m concerned, that is not going to fit next to a residential area.”

Todd Waldo, senior real estate development manager at Giant Eagle, made the site proposal to the Commission Wednesday night and said the station would have four pumps, a 213-square-foot kiosk with a private restroom and limited sales.

Waldo said customers going to the Giant Eagle store will combine trips and hit the store along with the gas station, accounting for about 50 percent of gas station traffic. The other half will be pass-by traffic.

The station would accumulate a minimal amount of trash and would require no extra Dumpsters on the grounds, he said. The canopy also would include 20-foot-high lights that shine directly onto the pavement below.

The Commission tabled the two items — the conditional use and preliminary site plan review. Commission Chairman Dennis Flechtner said the another meeting will be scheduled once Waldo is ready with a new or modified proposal. He has 60 days to inform the Commission about his next move.

Resident discussion is welcome at the next meeting, which has not been scheduled yet. The Planning Commission typically meets on the first Wednesday of each month.


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