Board of Supervisors Regular Second Meeting 2   5/20/2020

We are back live.

Good evening, everyone.

We are coming out of closed meeting.

Yes, I move that the Board of Supervisors certify by a recorded vote that, to the best of each supervisor's knowledge, only public business matters lawfully exempted from the open meeting requirements of the Virginia Freedom of Information Act and identified in the motion authorizing the closed meeting were heard, discussed, or considered in the closed meeting.

The motion was made by Supervisor Lapisto-Kirtley.

Supervisor Palmer I believe made that second.

Ms.

Mr. Galloway?

Yes.

Ms.

Lapisto-Kirtley?

Aye.

Ms.

Mallek?

Yes.

Ms.

McKeel?

Very good.

In board earlier during the portion of the meeting Jody was able to send out the revised language for item 6.1

So hopefully have a chance to review that.

We'll bring that item up for the vote at our matters from the board this evening.

Just alerting you that that email is there and also sent the email with the letter related to the election board.

So if you want to review that throughout the evening as well, that'll be there.

We can potentially make a decision on that as well.

The first is number 12, Virginia Community Development Block Grant.

And Stacy, are you with us this evening?

Good evening.

Siri thinks I'm asking for her help.

Is somebody besides Stacy that I should be calling on or is Stacy available?

I'm working to make contact with Stacy.

She's in the meeting.

This would be a good time board to check that email that Jody sent out with the revised language.

We're taking a few moments here to

I am still working on that.

Give me one more moment.

She says she's here, she's having computer issues.

Not sure about that.

Travis, do we have anyone?

She says she's got it worked out.

All right, I'm Stacey Pethio, housing planner for the county.

And I'm here tonight to provide information about the Virginia Community Development Block Grant Program.

CDBG is a federally funded grant program administered by the Virginia Department of Housing and Community Development.

DHCD provides funding to eligible units of local government for projects that address critical community needs related to housing, infrastructure, and economic development.

The CDBG program requires two local public hearings be conducted before any applications are submitted for funding.

The purpose of this, the first public hearing is to provide general information on eligible activities that may be funded by the CDBG program.

The amount of funding estimated to be available and past county activities undertaken with CDBG funds.

This hearing also provides opportunities for members of the public to comment on this information and identify potential community development and housing needs.

The follow-up public hearing is held in order to consider proposals for CDBG program applications.

As a non-entitlement community Albemarle County is eligible to apply to DHCD for up to approximately one and a half million dollars in CDBG funding.

A non-entitlement community is defined as any city or county with a population less than 200,000 so we have a ways to go before we reach that point.

CDBG funds must be used for projects that benefit low and moderate income persons, prevent slums or blight, or address urgent community needs.

Eligible activities include economic development programs, housing rehabilitation and production, community facilities, and community service facilities.

Over the years, the county has been successful in receiving a number of CDBG grant awards.

The most recent grant was awarded in 2016 to improve 29 owner-occupied homes in the Alberine neighborhood.

Staff is in the process of closing out this project as we speak.

Prior grants have resulted in improved infrastructure for the Oak Hill subdivision and preservation of owner-occupied homes and rental units located in neighborhoods throughout Albemarle County.

And the county is currently working with Habitat for Humanity of Greater Charlottesville on a vibrant communities initiative grant for the Southwood community and that includes one million dollars in CDBG funds,

for the infrastructure associated with 20 affordable homes.

In terms of the amount of funding currently available, DHCD has not yet released estimates for fiscal year 2021.

Those figures should be available later this year, probably towards the end.

Current fiscal year funding equaled $15.3 million for competitive grants and $12.4 million for open submission applications.

and the open submission applications provide funding for project planning and projects that meet urgent community needs.

In April of this year the HCD reprogrammed approximately six million dollars of current year funding to support COVID-19 related projects.

Additionally the coronavirus aid relief and economic security act or the cares act provides approximately 11 million dollars of additional CDBG funds

for Virginia's non-entitlement communities.

DHCD has not yet published guidance on approved uses for these funds.

However, based on an April 1st, 2020 press release from the U.S.

Department of Housing and Urban Development, staff anticipates the CARES Act CDBG funding will be directed towards projects addressing COVID-19 related community needs such as emergency rental assistance to prevent homelessness or foreclosure related assistance for homeowners.

Total amount of these funds for Albemarle County may be eligible for is not yet known.

Albemarle County is currently seeking community input on community needs that may be addressed through a CDBG project and we are soliciting proposals for potential CDBG grant applications for COVID-19 and general CDBG funding.

For any project to be considered by the county for CDBG funding, interested organizations must notify the county no later than 5pm on June 12th.

Proposals should be submitted utilizing the form found in attachment A to this executive summary or via the application form available on the Community Development Department pages of the county's website.

Priority will be given to proposals addressing COVID-19 related community needs and staff is asking that the board approve scheduling the second public hearing for the second regular board meeting in July so that staff can present the

proposals for funding that were received in June and ask you to approve the submission of a CDBG application for any of the proposed projects.

Thank you Stacy.

Supervisor, let's see who's first.

Supervisor McKeel?

I'm good, thanks.

Right, I don't have any questions at this time.

We'll go to the public hearing portion.

Travis, I know you had said nobody was signed up.

Should I ask if there's anybody accessing the meeting by telephone?

Or would they have alerted us to that at this point?

They would have alerted us.

Second.

Right, the motion was made by Supervisor Mallek, seconded by Supervisor Price.

You can call the vote.

Ms.

Yes.

Price?

Aye.

Mr. Galloway?

Yes.

Ms.

LaPisto-Kirtley?

Aye.

Ms.

Mallek?

Yes.

Ms.

McKeel?

All right, very good.

The motion carries.

All right board, the next item is number 13.

This is SP 2019-6 Boyd Tavern.

Tori are you, oh there you are, I see you connecting to audio.

Tori is joining.

So before we move and turn this over to Tori to go through the presentation, we do need to announce that this item will be receiving a second public hearing.

The second public hearing will be due to

some confusion around the information or the mistake and some information that was presented on how specifically members could participate by telecommunication.

in order to make sure that we do the proper piece and hear everybody that wishes to speak to this item.

We will obviously take public hearing this evening.

We will go through the presentation this evening.

Supervisors will be able to ask all of their questions and then we will hold the second public hearing.

Due to the timing, and Greg please correct me if I misstate anything, but due to the timing requirements that second public hearing cannot be before the June

The second meeting in June, it would have to be at the earliest the second meeting in June, or it would have to go to July if there's a conflict there.

The first meeting in June would not allow for the proper legal requirements for advertising for the public hearing.

Do I have that correct, Mr. Cameron?

If there is a conflict with that, then we'll have to find a date in July.

Let's just get it out of the way now.

Gordon, I know that this is going to have to involve you or you're online, I believe.

I see you there.

Good evening.

Good evening.

I understand you have a conflict with your engineer on the 17th.

Yes, sir, that's correct.

We're obviously really disappointed to have this thing delayed any further.

Thank you for that.

I would hope that we can get a lot of the information processed this evening so that the main focus on the 17th will be the public hearing portion and of course it'll be held the same way.

You'll have a chance to speak that evening just as staff will give a review and rebut public comment etc.

So then for everybody who is because this obviously has been receiving quite a bit of an attention, thank you for that and we will get

We will go ahead and set it up for the 17th.

Greg, anything else that we need to do officially for that?

Yeah, you can just state it.

It's going to be separately advertised, but for the public who might be watching him right now, you can go ahead and state that.

I mean, it's not at all, but I don't see how I have a choice, really.

Well, you have a choice for a later date when you feel that you have your full complement of support staff there.

Mr. Sutton, this is an error that generated from the Board of Supervisors office, so I am apologizing as the chair on behalf of the board to you that this error was made, but we do want to do with everything that we're handling under these circumstances to make sure we're doing the proper thing for participation from all those who would like to participate.

I appreciate that.

Thank you for that.

Yes, thank you, Mr. Chairman.

You're a little... Sure.

I believe it's all the way up.

It is a little better.

Sure.

Try moving this closer as well.

Okay, thank you.

Good evening Mr. Chairman and members of the Board of Supervisors.

My name is Tori Kanalopoulos and I am the lead planner for this project.

This is a public hearing for a request for a special use permit for an auto service station, convenience store, and eating establishment not served by public water or a central water system in the C-1 zoning district.

The proposed development is located on State Route 616 or Black Cat Road between Route 250 and Interstate 64.

The site is approximately three miles driving distance from the nearest development area, which is the village of Rivanna.

Keswick Hall is less than a mile across the interstate.

The site is across the street and slightly south of the Meachunk Acres subdivision.

There is an adjacent property to the west that has residential and agricultural uses.

The adjacent properties to the north and south are undeveloped.

The interchange with I-64 at exit 129 is just north of the property.

The picture on the left shows the view of State Route 616 from the approximate proposed entrance of the development.

The picture on the right shows the view of exit 129 Interstate Interchange with State Route 616 and Interstate 64.

The property is currently undeveloped.

There is a wooded area along the front of the property with the rear of the property consisting of a field.

The property is split zone C1 commercial and RA rural area.

Approximately 3.28 acres is zoned C1 and the remaining 9.21 acres is zoned RA.

The C1 commercial zoning district allows auto service stations, convenience stores, and eating establishments, referred to as restaurants in the zoning ordinance, not served by public water or a central water system by special use permit.

The property was rezoned in 1970 from A1 Agricultural to B1 Business.

These zoning district districts no longer exist in the county.

At the time of this rezoning the proposed use was an auto service station.

An additional portion of the property was rezoned to B1 in the same year.

In 1979 an additional portion of the property was rezoned to B1.

Two special use permits were also approved.

These actions allowed for an auction house on the property.

The following year in 1980 a portion of the property being the same portion previously rezoned to B1 and the adjacent property were rezoned to C1 commercial by the county as part of a comprehensive rezoning.

Both properties and others in the immediate area are within the rural area as designated by the comprehensive plan.

The county has not initiated a rezoning since 1980 to rezone any properties that are

outside of the development areas but are zoned with urban zoning designations.

The appropriateness of the C1 commercial zoning designation on the property is not under consideration.

The property was comprehensively rezoned by the county in 1980 and no action has been taken to amend or modify the zoning of the property.

The proposal is for a gas station with a convenience store and eating establishment.

The required community meeting was held on May 22, 2019 as a special meeting for the Village of Rivanna Community Advisory Committee.

The major concerns heard were groundwater availability, traffic and related noise, visual impacts including lighting, and effects to the character of the area.

The site is reliant on well and septic as public utilities are not available to the site.

The applicant submitted a Tier 3 groundwater study with this application.

The key findings of the study state that groundwater availability is favorable and that hydrogeological conditions are favorable to the proposed use.

Both county staff and the Virginia Department of Health reviewed the groundwater study.

Both entities rely on the expertise of licensed professionals for these studies.

There is also a proposed condition to limit this proposal to a maximum water usage of 700 gallons per day by using a water restriction device.

This device has been used for other gas stations in the county.

The device only allows a certain amount of water to flow through each day.

in this case limited to 700 gallons a day.

All zoning and building staff would conduct an onsite inspection to ensure this device was installed properly prior to the issuance of any zoning clearance or building permit.

Virginia Department of Health approval is required for any site plan on any property not served by public water and sewer.

BDH would need to approve permits for the well and septic systems.

No site plan would be approved prior to BDH approval.

There are several conditions related to visual impacts of the proposal.

These include limiting hours of operation with all lights turned off outside of hours of operation, requiring the building architecture and gas canopies to conform to the proposed architectural guidelines submitted by the applicant, a limit of five total fuel pumps with two of those pumps being relegated behind the building, and a three board fence and screening landscape along the frontage of the site.

The annual average daily traffic, AADT, of State Route 616 is 8,300 vehicle trips per day.

Transportation planning staff estimates that the majority of trips would be existing pass-by traffic.

The applicant would need to construct turn lanes compliant with VDOT requirements at the site planning stage, which would reduce potential delays on State Route 616.

The zoning of the property C1 Commercial is inconsistent with the comprehensive plan land use recommendation

which directs development into the development areas.

However, as has been previously stated the decision to zone this property C1 commercial has been made and the county has not initiated action since 1980 to change the zoning designation.

Strategy 1A of Chapter 3 in the comp plan growth management reads in part

only approve new development proposals in the rural area that are supported by rural area goals, objectives, and strategies.

The scale and design of this proposal has been analyzed for consistency with the rural area chapter of the comprehensive plan and with the scale and design of similar rural uses including Class B country stores.

The preferred land uses in the rural area are agricultural and forestry uses.

Other uses should be supportive of either agricultural and forestry uses or of existing residents in the rural area.

New structures and uses in the rural area, when permitted, should be of appropriate scale and character for the rural area.

The rural area chapter of the conference of plan includes guidance on interstate interchanges, stating in part that interstate interchanges in the rural area should not be used as tourist destinations or tourist stops along the interstate.

The rural area chapter also includes guidance that supportive uses in the rural area should provide services for existing residents in the immediate area.

If this property were zoned rural area, the applicant could have applied for a special use permit for a country store with fuel sales.

Since the property is in the rural area of the comprehensive plan but is zoned commercially,

Staff used the regulations of country stores in the zoning ordinance as guidance for evaluating the scale and impact of the proposed use.

Additionally, the 2019 zoning text amendment change resulted in all auto service stations, convenience stores, and restaurants not served by public water or a central water system to need a special use permit regardless of water usage.

These uses were determined to have potential impacts that are inconsistent with the rural area designation.

including traffic, extended hours of operation, lighting, building design, and water usage.

Therefore, this special use permit analysis of these uses in the rural area may include analysis of these potential impacts and a recommendation may include reasonable conditions to address any of these impacts.

These are the proposed conditions for the development should the board choose to approve the request.

I have discussed most of them in previous slides such as conditions on lighting, building architecture, and the flow restriction device and I can return to this slide if the board wishes to discuss any of these conditions further.

There is one condition that differs from the applicant's proposal which is on the next slide.

The applicant is proposing that fuel sales be permitted 24 hours per day which would likely necessitate some overnight lighting for the fuel pumps and generate some level of traffic during that period.

The applicant finds that the hours of operation for the store are acceptable but is requesting that fuel sales and some lighting be permitted outside of hours of operation.

Staff's recommended conditions are shown on the slide and limit lighting to the hours of operation.

The ending time of 10pm is consistent with other rural uses and uses adjacent to residential and rural districts.

County code prohibits amplified music.

for farm brewery and farm winery events after 10 p.m.

during weekdays and after 11 p.m.

on weekends.

This is to limit potential negative impacts on nearby and neighboring residential rural properties.

As another example, drive-through windows that are within 100 feet of a residential or rural district must be closed by 10 p.m.

Staff finds that the extended hours of operation are not consistent with these characteristics and recommends no changes to conditions two and four.

Staff is carrying forward the Planning Commission recommendation, which is as follows.

At the February 4th, 2020 Planning Commission public hearing, the Planning Commission voted five to zero to recommend denial of the special use permit application for the following reasons.

The proposed development is not consistent with the comprehensive plan, fuel sales do not appear to be an ancillary use, and there are potential negative impacts to adjacent and nearby properties.

These are the motions for the board's consideration.

I can answer any questions or defer to other staff in attendance.

Thank you, Tori.

Before I move the board to the questions, the supervisor did receive an email about the call-in numbers to participate in the public meeting.

You can go to the Albemarle County homepage, then click on the Board of Supervisors Department page.

There is a link for participating in the virtual meeting.

When you click on that, it'll have the ways to join the webinar as well as the call-in phone numbers in the webinar ID.

One of the phone numbers is 312-626-6799.

That is 312-626-6799.

And the webinar ID is 826-5081.

The webinar ID again is 826-5081-2925.

The next board will go through the order for questions for staff at this time if you have them.

Oh boy um I guess

Very good.

Thank you, Chair Galloway.

Ms.

Kanellopoulos, thank you so much for your presentation.

I appreciate it.

I do have some questions, though, and part of this may just sort of cover the history of the property and the zoning.

Okay, that was 50 years ago, and then 10 years after that, the zoning system changed.

and it was reclassified as to C-1 because that old system had apparently gone away with the zoning ordinance change.

I would appreciate that.

Sure.

To answer your question

First off, the change from C1 when the comprehensive zoning ordinance was modified, that became the closest equivalent to the prior B1 zoning.

So the intent was to maintain the zoning but to use the newer zoning district that most closely related to that prior B-1 zoning.

Now that zoning, comprehensive rezoning took place based on concerns with

our comprehensive plans goals for development in our rural areas particularly we were addressing concerns with eutrophication of our water supplies so there was a recommendation to reduce some of our designated development areas that were in water supply watersheds and definitely create more concentrated hard edge planning so some areas were taken out of

the Comprehensive Plan for Development and this comprehensive zoning that took place in 1980 was implementing that effort.

The properties that were left zoned were ones that either, as I understand from institutional,

knowledge what was passed on to me the decision on what properties maintain that zoning after the comprehensive plan and comprehensive rezoning was based on the fact that there were uses already on the site that were consistent with that zoning or there had been plans approved

for development on those properties.

So that's why we have some of the, as I understand it, some of the legacy zoning properties in the rural areas.

Okay, thank you.

So we have the zoning and then we have the comprehensive plan that came in and the comprehensive plan talks about the rural areas versus the development areas.

Okay, thank you.

And I understand that there are some questions here as to whether this is a gas station that sells food or a country store with ancillary gas sales.

And so, Ms.

Conelopoulos, let's talk about that a little bit.

When I was reading through the papers in preparation for this over the last number of months, one of the things that was addressed was a country store could have, if I recall correctly, up to six nozzles, which would be three pumps.

All right.

But the plan is it's come before us has actually got five pumps, three in the front and two to the back.

Sure, so I will clarify that this is a special use permit for an auto service station gas station in the C1 district.

Country stores are permitted by special use permit in the RA rural area district.

So staff used country stores as a proxy for evaluating the scale of this proposal.

since it isn't a C1 district but is in the rural area designation of the comprehensive plan.

So it is not technically a request in the zoning ordinance for a country store, but a country store was used as a scale proxy for analysis.

There would be a limit to two fuel pumps.

Okay.

I'd like to also talk about another area and that is the water consumption.

And again, as I recall, for at least as sort of a general, if a business is going to use over 400 or 450 estimated gallons per day, that kind of triggers part of the special use process.

Is that correct?

So that is still correct for the other buy right commercial C1 uses.

If they will use less than 400 gallons per acre per day and are not on public water or a central water system then they would be buy right.

Okay, and I appreciate that.

Yeah, it appears that I have lost the video.

I still hear you, Supervisor Prince.

Okay, thank you.

All right, I'm here.

I hope you can still hear me, but my video has gone out.

All right.

If this acreage, and it's 3.82 acres or 3.28 acres?

Yes, that's zone C1, yes.

Well, they would be permitted in the rural area zoned portion of the site, which is approximately 12 acres.

Would have to do the subdivision analysis and look at the private street requirements and all that.

But in theory, without a private street, you could put at least two houses.

And those two houses, if they use the same daily water consumption with that

Okay, I think in the papers that I read it actually would indicate that two three-bedroom houses would be estimated to use about 900 gallons per day.

Now obviously there's there questions that many of our constituents have about whether the 700 gallon per day is accurate

There have been some comments about whether or not we could rely on Tiger Fuel to comply with that requirement.

But I just want to state publicly, I'm not challenging the integrity of Tiger Fuel on their compliance with an offer that they've made as part of this application.

And if they say they'll put a 700 gallon per day restrictor, then I'm going to take them at their word for it.

And if they don't comply with that, then they can be accountable for it.

I'd also like to talk, however, about the question of the ancillary use of fuel cells.

How is that actually figured out?

Sure, and I'm not sure I have a real clear answer for you.

I'm not sure that we have a defined way to identify that ancillary use other than probably the general understanding that there would be more activity in one as opposed to the other, ancillary being a lesser use.

Not that you're candor there.

It does pose some complexities I think in the board's ability to determine what is primary and what is ancillary if we don't have some measure that we use to calculate that.

I also want to talk though about in the comprehensive plan, taking the zoning out of this,

In the comprehensive plan for development, part of the discussion that you had was that it would be supportive of agricultural and rural uses.

Yes, I believe that staff's understanding is that it needs to be supportive either of agricultural and forestry uses or of existing rural area residents.

Okay.

When the staff makes that analysis, do they look at what other businesses are available within a certain radius or distance?

We do not have a specific calculation.

We certainly look at the character of the entire area, but we don't have a specific metric of having X number of this type of business within a certain radius.

Okay.

Okay.

Okay let's talk a little bit about lighting and I understand that different offers have been made by the applicant here.

and part of the topic of discussion still are the desired hours for fuel sales.

If we could assume for a moment that fuel sales will be limited to say 5 a.m to 10 p.m, which I understand is sort of comparable to many of the other businesses in the area, would there be any lights on at that facility after say 10 o'clock

Okay.

I think right now, Chair Galloway, those are the only questions I've got.

I do anticipate I may have some more later.

Actually, I do.

Given what Donna asked, I was going to ask about the pumps versus the nozzles, but you've answered that for Supervisor Price.

But my concern now is that

The number of pumps apparently were evaluated based on what's visible to passerbyers and not by the assumption that more pumps would bring more cars at any one time.

Staff did consider the potential traffic impact but found that since most trips would be passed by, having the additional two pumps would be an acceptable impact.

I'm kind of surprised that the expectation is that people will not get off the interstate to go.

We all know what wonderful sandwiches

these markets have.

And now that we can all go online and figure out where along the interstate we can get the best food, I'm kind of surprised that that finding was that people would not be getting off the interstate to go and get something to eat.

Sure, thank you.

Supervisor Palmer, in response to your question, we do expect a certain number of vehicles would exit the highway and get off there.

It is a sort of a difficult situation to assess just because we're relying on ITE, the traffic engineering

and many other estimates for the numbers of vehicle trips that this would generate and it doesn't fit perfectly in any one category.

And when you look at the trip generation models, it doesn't specify if it's adjacent to a highway or if it's off of a highway.

So we can't say specifically how many vehicles may come from the highway.

We would expect, as we said, somewhere in the vicinity of maybe

50% to even higher, maybe up to 70% would be pass by trips.

So the majority would be vehicles that are already on there.

We also did consider the traffic impacts of additional vehicles coming off the highway.

And but when we thought that it wouldn't

The additional trips coming off the highway would be less likely to happen during the peak hour and those would be spread throughout the day.

And the peak hour, of course, is the time when we were most concerned about the traffic impacts at the intersection.

So we considered it, but

The data is not perfect for trying to figure out how many trips we could estimate would come from the highway to get there.

We would say a portion of that would.

One more question, and I don't think actually this is a particularly important question, but I'm just curious.

How many cars are passing by that are actually getting on 64?

Yes, that's the case if you look at the traffic numbers for the roads around that.

The segment between 64 and 250 has three times the amount of traffic once you get from the levels, once you get outside of that segment.

I guess I just have a question and maybe it's better for the applicant to answer it, but my understanding is that, well I guess there's a concern that I'm hearing that this is going to become a truck stop.

and when it comes to diesel.

So there is I believe there is one diesel pump and the applicant since the Planning Commission public hearing also expanded the area designated as no parking so there is not actually a space or area for a truck to pull over and park a large truck like a tractor trailer there does need to be enough room for a fuel truck to come and deliver fuel however there would also be signage prohibiting tractor trailers and there's additional signage that

But my understanding is that I know in other gas stations, for lack of a better word, there are different types of pumps.

So they're not using the types of pumps that a tractor trailer would want to use because it would take them hours to fill up their tank, wouldn't it?

Right and that's a good point too, thank you.

All right any other follow-up questions for staff right now?

If not, I'm going to go to the applicant.

All right, Gordon, I don't know.

Are you starting us?

Yes, sir.

I'll do the entire presentation.

Can I share my screen now?

Yes, please.

All right.

We can.

All right.

Well, I'd like to start by thanking each and every member of the board for your service to this community.

I know the workload and the extra commitment you all take on is monumental, and I want to sincerely thank you, especially for the pandemic.

I'm grateful for your leadership, and I really appreciate all the time and attention that went into reading all of the emails.

You have received recently in support of this project.

I think they demonstrate how passionate people are about this opportunity.

I promise to keep this brief as I have had the pleasure of getting to meet all of you and tell you a little bit about Tiger Fuel Company.

As a result, I think you all know how proud we are to serve this community and how seriously we take our commitment to this community.

Tiger Fuel Company was established in 1982, we're locally owned and operated, we have 254 employees, and we were recently voted one of the top three places to work in the Charlottesville area.

I want to start my comments tonight by expressing that this special use permit is the best opportunity that the county has to shape this project, period.

If the county and the board pass on this opportunity, there are over 40 other categories of uses like a Dollar General, an AutoZone, a brewery that could come in and develop this property by right.

We have worked diligently with county staff and made many concessions to satisfy their concerns.

We have staff's recommendation for approval.

I just want to say that again.

We have staff's recommendation for approval.

I would also like to take a second to thank county staff and add that they, while appropriately tough, were a real pleasure to work with.

Everybody was very responsive, efficient, and reasonable.

We made a lot of concessions that other companies simply would not make or would not have the freedom to make.

As a small and nimble locally run company, we were able to collaborate and make a lot of adjustments that address the concerns of the neighbors.

Some of the highlights are as follows.

Water restrictor valve that limits water to 700 gallons per day or less than half a gallon per minute, less than half of what a buy-write use would allow,

reduced hours of operation, enhanced landscaping buffers and a three board fencing, reduced number of dispensers, restricted lighting, we added a biofilter as opposed to a detention pond, and these are just to name a few.

I believe strongly, as I know a lot of others do, that this property, this project will be a community asset.

We will create about 24 high paying jobs with benefits.

We will generate over $100,000 in tax revenue annually.

We will have our full deli with just like Bel Air and Mill Creek that Ms.

Palmer alluded to.

We'll support local vendors, which we're very proud of.

We'll support the agricultural nature of the area.

We've got several farmers from the area that are going to be speaking in on our behalf tonight.

and we support multiple environmental initiatives just like the county's climate action plan to include solar panels at this project, EV charging stations, and our reforestation efforts at our pumps.

I'm also really proud to say that in the midst of record unemployment, we are proud to create jobs with a project like this.

If we're approved, we will start hiring people tomorrow.

Well, I guess now June 18th,

as soon as this gets moved forward.

We've worked closely with neighbors in the county on concerns that we've heard.

One that's come up repeatedly is traffic.

We work closely with VDOT and the County Transportation Planner when we started this project three years ago back in February of 2017.

We satisfied all of their rigorous concerns and it's important to note that our store will predominantly capture pass-by trips.

I've heard from neighbors that they are concerned about big trucks coming on our site and I want to stress as is evidenced by the picture on this slide that we absolutely do not want trucks to visit this facility.

They jam up our lot and leave a big mess on our canopies and fueling islands.

We will not be set up to serve them and have worked with county staff to make it almost impossible for them to access our lot.

No parking, no space, no high-speed diesel.

We have also heard that trash is a major concern and we promise to keep our lot much cleaner than the property currently is and we would like to offer to adopt Route 616 between the Interstate and Route 250 as an olive branch.

We've also heard a lot about lighting, that light pollution was a concern.

I'm happy to report that we are using all full cutoff LED fixtures on this property.

And as you can see in this diagram here, on the left is sort of the traditional light that does pollute the night sky.

Everything that we're using is a full cutoff LED light that does not pollute the night sky.

And this is our Bel Air market that utilizes a similar type of lighting and is, you know,

helps avoid that pollution.

Water has been a concern for the county and the neighbors since the beginning of this project.

Fortunately now we have technology that shows us where the water is and where it isn't underground.

Dr. Evans is available to speak to this in more detail after our presentation if you like.

But this geophysical diagram here shows why, in this type of geology, two wells that are not even a couple hundred feet from each other are not likely to affect each other.

The blue areas that you see here are where water is present.

Note that they are separated from each other by zones of yellow, orange, and red, which signify dry rock.

Those water resources that are represented by the blue are areas we would try to access with the well represented by these black lines.

And these resources are largely recharged by surface water.

We have worked with several hydrogeologists who have studied this site at length.

They confirm that our proposed use will not adversely affect the individual water supplies of neighbors.

The geologists are here and available to speak tonight if there are any questions on the science, but it is very clear our proposed usage is less than that of two typical three-bedroom homes.

We are effectively sticking our straw into our own bucket, and because the majority of our use is non-consumptive, most of the water we pull out goes right back into that underground bucket by the drainfield.

Most importantly, our bucket is not connected to our neighbors' individual buckets.

The science is clear.

As expressed by the experts who were hired and did their work as specified by the county's ordinance, hypothetical negative impact on neighboring wells is not a valid basis on which to deny this project.

There were multiple issues that were brought up at the Planning Commission back in February that were misleading.

All of these issues were addressed in great detail in the document we shared with the Board last week, but I briefly wanted to speak to the fact that the three major issues that were presented as grounds for a no vote at the Planning Commission have been discredited.

We are not looking for a rezoning here, nor are we asking to establish a commercial district.

Gasoline sales are not considered ancillary to the convenience store use in a C-1 district, and our groundwater study is in fact consistent with the study that the Timmons group did as part of the Keswick Hall expansion.

I would like now to circle back to my original point that this special use permit process is the county's

the boards and the neighbors best opportunity to shape what goes on this property in perpetuity.

And if the board passes on this opportunity, there are close to 50 different uses that could come in and develop this property by right.

Please don't let that happen.

Please choose to honor the good work that your staff has done to get a recommendation for approval.

I know it is important to you and your constituents to support local business and as a relatively small local business we were able to work effectively with staff and make all of the concessions they asked of us.

If you vote no tonight it is just a matter of time before a Dollar General or an AutoZone is going to pursue developing this property and they will be able to do it without making any of the concessions we worked so hard on with the county.

This slide here shows a rendering of our project and what could come if this opportunity is passed.

Here is a rendering of what our project would look like from Black Cat Road and I think you will agree it is very tasteful and matches the rural character of the area and is appealing from the road.

We have heard from hundreds of folks in support of this project that are desperate to see this project happen.

With a no vote this evening,

or in the future all of the following would disappear.

Reduced hours of operation, 700 gallon per day restriction, three board fencing and enhanced landscaping buffers, tasteful architecture in sync with the rural area, all environmental initiatives, the biofilter, eliminated truck parking, restrictions to lighting,

Please vote yes.

I know this site is in the rural area but it is zoned commercial and that can't be legally changed.

Our company and our family are totally committed to this project.

It is part of our long-term strategy and we have a 40-year ground lease.

This project is something that this community and our local economy desperately need.

Thank you, Mr. Sutton.

Board, I'll go through the order for questions for the applicant, if any.

Thank you very much.

In experience with other similar types of places, I have seen that it is impossible to keep big trucks out when you have to provide a place for big trucks to get in to deliver your fuel.

and that if the property is open overnight, rather than having a gate closed, then trucks will idle there all night long.

And that is just personal experience that I have seen and it's difficult.

So one has to be careful what kinds of promises are made because it's much more challenging to achieve than one might think.

So that is a concern that people can respond to if they choose.

The LED lighting is another thing which unfortunately our ordinances are behind.

There's a similar type station in Crozet where I can be 50 yards away and read the newspaper in the middle of the night by LED lighting, which actually meets our requirements.

So while it doesn't mean that's not putting a burden on you to change our requirements, but it is impactful and something that I hope our board will work on going forward.

So I look forward to hearing more and learning more.

Okay, thank you.

So with the truck concern, there are

Exits that are designed to facilitate trucks and welcome them and provide all the amenities and services that they need and are looking for.

Those just simply won't exist nor will they have the space on this property to access it.

So I appreciate and understand your concern but I'm very confident that that's not going to be an issue for us.

We run nine other locations like this in the area and

can tell you that it hasn't been in our experience in 38 years of operation that we have problems with trucks parking on our properties overnight.

With regards to the lighting, I agree that that lighting can be very directionally potent, but off of the property across the street as it goes upwards,

It's pretty clearly demonstrated with the science that pollution does not exist.

Thank you.

Yes, Mr. Sutton.

Thank you very much for your presentation.

I wanted to know the Planning Commission recommended a 10 or excuse me, 5 a.m.

to 10 p.m.

limit, not only on the store, which you agreed to, but also for the fueling for the pumps.

Yes, ma'am.

We do.

As I've mentioned in my presentation, we've made a lot, a lot of concessions, many of which are very expensive and have significant detrimental economic effects on our project.

It is clear to me however though in conversations that I've had with board members that that's an area of concern and I'd be happy to offer this evening to relinquish that request and stick to the hours of operation for our fueling if that helps move this forward as again is another concession of Olive Branch.

Thank you, Chair Galloway.

Thank you, Chair Galloway.

Mr. Sutton, thank you for your presentation.

And I also want to publicly acknowledge my appreciation for the opportunities that you and I have had over the last number of months to meet and discuss this.

I want to thank county staff as well for the work that they have done.

There are a lot of challenges here.

Candidly I find that what you have offered is a very attractive business.

My concerns relate principally to this type of business in that particular location.

I also want to acknowledge

the great many emails and communications I've received from constituents throughout the area, both those who live immediately near where this proposal is as well as others throughout the county.

You can be justifiably proud of the reputation that you and your company have in the area.

This clearly is not a question of valuing or not valuing Tiger Fuel.

very well respected company.

The difference, one of the big differences I'm concerned with however in comparison with what you're proposing as opposed to some of the other businesses that you gave examples of in your presentation is that people pull off of an interstate looking for gas stations and you and I had a conversation about well people tend to look for more than one gas station

at an exit because the gas prices are probably going to be a little lower than if you have a monopoly of one gas station.

But nonetheless, people pull off of an interstate highway for gas and food.

They don't tend to pull off of an interstate looking for a dollar store or an auto parts store.

That's much more likely to be local residents.

And so I think that there is a serious concern of the volume

Yes, ma'am.

I think there's two main avenues to approach that from and one is very much so what Kevin spoke to earlier in that we are not a destination.

We are not

a brewery or amusement park or some sort of entity that generates trips.

We are designed in our nature and it's even in the name convenience store to be there for people that are already using that thoroughfare and our pass-by trips.

To sort of add on the point that you made earlier about multiple gas stations, I think

One of the best ways to explain it is if I'm traveling down the interstate with my wife and two little girls, there's no way I'm taking an exit that just has one gas station.

I'm looking for a Chick-fil-A, a Starbucks, several hotels, multiple gas stations, and those exist on either side of this exit.

That's what you see at 5th Street, Pantops, and Zions Crossroads.

And so if I'm an interstate traveler that's not on my already local path, I'm not going to take that exit to go to that one-off location that I know nothing about and where there are no other

Amenities available.

And so I think a comparable exit to consider here would be a lot of the exits that are coming east that are west out of Richmond at Haydensville or Gum Springs or Rockville Mannequin, where you'll see, you know, one, a lot of times one, maybe two convenience stores and

Those would be comparable to what we're discussing here.

They don't pull a lot of interstate traffic.

They're not destinations.

Thank you, Mr. Sutton.

I do appreciate your comment.

I think there are some other concerns that local residents have with regard to gas services that are also different

in terms of fumes and volatile organic compounds and some of those other pollutants.

I'm still gonna work my way through some of these things before I can figure where I'm gonna be when it comes time to vote.

But those are all the questions I have right now.

Thank you, Mr. Sutton, and thank you, Chair Galloway.

I have no further questions right now.

Yes, I just want some clarification.

Supervisor LaPisto-Kirtley did ask this, but I'm going to ask it a little different.

You had said in your presentation that staff has recommended this, and the Planning Commission of course turned it down, but staff is recommending it with full cutoff of lights from 10 pm to 5 am.

You just said you were willing to offer that if it makes

if it makes a difference to the board.

Are you talking about, just for clarity, full cutoff?

Yes, ma'am.

What staff recommended, but what staff asked for that we weren't previously willing to totally

accommodate, which was to relinquish the overnight fueling and the lights that would have been necessary to facilitate that.

So I think you and I are on the same page.

And I think just to be clear that that's what staff is recommending.

So if we took their recommendation, it would include that.

My only other comment, and I just got to say this, when I'm traveling down the interstate, hopefully when I not by myself, if I have somebody else in the car, and I want something to eat,

Somebody in that car is on the smartphone trying to figure out what the best place is to eat and how many stars they have or whatever.

And so I don't know how many people actually go with a whole bunch of different places to get off to drive around and pick out a Chick-fil-A versus figuring out where they think the best food is.

And I think that your

establishment will pull people because the food is good.

I think you think that way because you know us.

If you're from Ohio or West Virginia or even Virginia Beach and you're booking it down the road, as much as it bothers me, it's actually a huge marketing challenge.

When people see that Exxon gas sign, that's typically not synonymous with good food and people.

keep on rocking and rolling to where they are more comfortable with a rateable restaurant that they've had experience with in their hometowns.

I will say I've found some really great little restaurants on 81 just by doing that.

We're good.

Yeah, I do.

While we're on this topic, I have a couple of questions and then I have a separate track I'd like to take.

No ma'am, your staff would never let that happen in a million years as much as I would love it.

Thank goodness.

Yeah, no, it'll be a very small monument sign that meets all the sign requirements, which are substantial.

Because I do sometimes look for those signs if I'm trying to find gas on the interstate, so you're not going to have one of those big tall signs, and I get that.

Okay.

My many years of living with a VDOT engineer, I vaguely remember that the signage program that VDOT sponsors, you know while we go down the road and you see food, gas, and it sends people off onto those exit ramps in the direction for what they're looking for.

I remember at one point you had to apply to VDOT to get your logo on those signs.

I don't think it was free.

And the other thing is that there was a very strict criteria that you had to meet.

For example, you had to be open 16 hours a day, you had to be open certain things or they would not even let your logo go on that signage.

So my understanding of those signs, I can tell you they're not free.

They're very expensive.

I would like to be on those signs.

I was unaware of the hour per day requirements, but that very well might be the case.

But we would like to have a presence on that sign.

It sort of gets back to the point I was trying to make a minute ago with Liz Palmer, but I don't think

Excuse me, Mrs. Palmer.

I don't think that when people are looking at those blue signs, if they just see the one option, you're likely to pull that interstate traveler.

Again, it sort of gets back to the pass-by trips, the local folks that know we're there and know who we are.

But we would hope to have a sign there that would advertise our presence.

Yeah, and I don't, don't quote me on the hours.

I just remember that it has to be a good portion, certainly, of the daylight.

I just, I don't remember.

I just remember there were hours because they're just not going to put up allow signage for people to be going off at certain times and then find it closed.

The business is closed.

So let me just ask, and maybe it's not you, I'd like to talk a little bit more about the water situation because we have lots of folks that are concerned about, they are talking about how they have trouble with their wells already, they are not getting, some of them, the

a mouse that they need from their well.

Sure.

I'd like to hand it to Nick Evans to speak to that better than I ever could.

But that was what I was trying to address with the slide on water and the rock formations are such that

They're not all interconnected and the resource that we would be pulling from would be likened to putting our straw, our well, in a bucket that we would also replenish.

I am.

Good evening.

There are some familiar faces here and for people whom I have not met, I'm a geologist.

I've been working for about 30 years or more than 30 years in central Virginia, Albemarle and surrounding areas.

I live on Burnley Station Road in northern Albemarle and I just would mention that my mission has long been to

to use my expertise as best I can to further inform decision making on the part of people such as yourselves who don't necessarily arrive at the table with a great deal of knowledge about sort of an arcane subject such as groundwater.

The best way for me to address your questions, Supervisor McKeel, would be if I could share my screen and we go back to the people that we had.

So let me see if I can successfully launch this.

Okay.

So can everybody see this image at this point?

Okay.

This is fortunately we have technology now that enables us to make an image of what's down beneath the surface.

And so I don't have to sit here and try and tell you all kinds of things with numbers and equations and stuff and big words.

So this is a geophysical image that the vertical scale is 300 feet.

So we're looking at a slice of the earth that goes down 300 feet.

And the horizontal is about 1,000 feet.

So this could be across a neighborhood.

The geology is typical.

This was actually, I made this survey across a swath of land that is in the same geology as Boyd Tavern.

It's not very far away in eastern Albemarle.

And what this shows is first of all that the geology is heterogeneous.

There's not one size fits all.

When you look at this image, the colors, the significance of the colors is that the

The blue tones are where water is present.

The greens, yellows, red, oranges, and reds are increasing levels of electrical resistance, which signifies that the rock is dry or has very little moisture in it.

So it's obvious from this image that you can't just drill a well everywhere and expect to get water.

In fact, dry holes are drilled every day.

But more significant to this discussion, what I've done is put three different representative samples of wells that could have been drilled on this image.

The two on the left are tapping water that is relatively shallow in the ground.

This type of well, and the deeper levels of the wells are not hitting any water at all.

So this probably could be the typical well in eastern Albemarle, actually.

And the yield on something like this is going to be on the order of a gallon or two a minute.

It's recharging.

You can see visually that the water that recharges this well is coming from the surface primarily, percolating down through the soils and ending up in this little cavity here.

and so the same would apply to this pocket of water over here.

And so these are two typical residential wells that would have yields on the order of a gallon or two a minute probably.

The third well shows how much the geology can change when you move from one place to another.

Now this well is tapping a water source that is much deeper and is probably recharging from below.

And so this could be a 20 or a 30 gallon minute well, for example.

So we know from the study that I did, those of you who have read it, that there are a number of different values that show up in the database for well yields that are right within the neighborhood that's close to where this market is proposed.

The yields range from some of them, there are some dry holes that are in the database

some wells that have maybe in a gallon or two and then there's some 50 or 60 gallon minute wells that are within a thousand feet or a couple thousand feet of where the project site is.

So one size doesn't fit all.

Another important facet of this is that these bodies of rock between these pods of water are dry.

Water does not pass through this area.

So what happens in this well does not affect what goes on in this well.

If this landowner homeowner leaves his hose on and runs his well dry, that's his problem.

It's not very unlikely that there's going to be any way that's going to affect his neighbor that's only a couple hundred feet away.

Similarly, if whoever has this big well over here pumps this like crazy, this simply does not communicate with these shallow wells.

So that's a very important concept.

And it's borne out by what we know from experience throughout Albemarle County.

There really are very few situations where it's been demonstrated that an activity on the part of one homeowner on one lot

has a deleterious effect on some neighbor's well.

I mean, that's something that I'm sure those of you in the planning staff that comes up frequently that somebody will say, well, my well went dry and it's because so-and-so was watering his garden too much.

Well, in the times that I've been involved with researching that and looking into it, well, it's usually more of a problem related to the well that went dry and it's his or her recharge drying up.

So these shallow wells, such as these two, are far more vulnerable to having problems being compromised during drought than a deeper well that is tapping water out of deeper levels.

So that's one point.

So a drought, in the bigger picture, is that a drought affects everybody.

So I know that some of the people who made comments at the planning

Commission hearing, we're opining that if the drought comes along and Tiger Fuel drills another well, it's going to dry their well up.

You know, what's going to happen in a drought?

Well, a drought affects everybody, including Tiger Fuel.

You know, if Tiger Fuel gets permitted to do this, then the next challenge is going to be finding a viable well site on that lot.

And hopefully, you know, you can get something that is fairly deep and resilient.

You know, the odds are we might be looking at something like this, which could supply the needs of the proposed use but would be just as vulnerable to challenges during a really dry year as any of the neighboring wells.

But the main point here is that the addition of another well in this scheme of things

does not really affect the existing wells unless that well were drilled right into the same little pocket of water as a well that's already there.

And if you're talking about drilling a well that's a few hundred feet, you know, at least a few hundred feet away, the science just doesn't say that that's very likely.

Now, could we run, we could run this type of survey and slice and dice the whole neighborhood and it would be rather costly.

and logistically challenging, but that type of work would be what would be required in order to really nail this down.

But the best of my knowledge, my scientific evaluation of this is that the water is really likely to be a non-issue here.

Well, it certainly helped answer my question, and I think I've learned a lot about some of the well problems we have in this county.

Okay.

I mean, I'm happy to answer other questions at another time.

Thank you, Mr. Evans.

Supervisor Malek who has raised her hand first.

Supervisor Malek, you got a follow up for Mr. Evans?

There we go, I was trying to remember.

Very good, thank you.

I guess being rural and understanding how when our wells go dry we are absolutely on our own and no one is going to come and help.

I think the unpredictability of this whole issue is what makes people incredibly anxious because you do not show a model of this particular site and without it there's really no way to say whether two wells in a big horizontal pool are going to be the ones we end up with or whether it will be one

going down to a deep aquifer all by itself.

And the term likely or expected to, those kinds of things just make neighbors and me really anxious because we would like to have a little more certainty about what the consequences are than what's going to happen.

But someone did bring up, why were you choosing to have comparable wells 1,000 feet away or a long ways away rather than the ones that went dry right around the corner?

and certainly I remember this area as well as Blenheim being two areas in the 2003-2004 drought that lost lots and lots of wells and people had to wait months and months and months for the new well drillers to get there.

Okay, thank you for the question.

Let's see, the wells that I used in my report, and I don't have the diagram handy to put up here, but I accessed all the wells that were within, I drew a 2,000-foot radius around the site, which is the protocol specified.

Actually, it's more conservative.

It encompasses more wells than specified by the ordinance.

And all the wells that were in the database are on my diagram.

I did not go to the health department and re-research the whole thing.

But I think that to your point, there was a fairly good representation of wells that are within, that are close in, the closest in to the site itself.

And a few of those were zero yielding wells as reported in the database.

And so the implication would be that they went and drilled another well and that does not show up in the database.

What this points to is I don't have the, I don't know whether my, I guess my diagram is still up there.

Yes.

Okay.

I mean, you could, there are plenty of places you could drill in this diagram and not hit any water.

So, you know, that's the, and there are places where you could drill and hit a very, very little pocket that's very close to the surface.

I mean, these are factors, there's a huge degree of variability to it.

And so there are, this is a very tough business that I'm in, in terms of advising people on this.

Because there is no certainty, there are no guarantees until you actually drill the well.

I mean, that's what I always tell people, even when you can do all of this work.

And my best way to describe the geophysics process, which is rather costly, is that it enables you to make a better informed choice as to where to drill.

And it plays out that way.

I mean, I had a driller's license for several years and a drill, and I'd go out and run these things and then drill the holes myself.

And that has informed me greatly as to how this whole process works.

But at the end of the day, I can't give you, I'm not going to sit here and guarantee for you that

There will be no interference with a well that is on the other side of Black Cat Road from this project.

I can say that if there is a wish to do so, if and when a well gets drilled on the Tiger fuel parcel, we can run a test.

We can determine right away, in relatively short order, whether or not there's going to be interference by doing a pumping test.

So there are ways of

of further assuring yourself, oneself, as to what the future holds.

But until the wells are drilled, it's just, you know, I'm doing the best job I can to marshal all the most current data I can pull together within the specifications of the ordinance and advise you.

But there are no guarantees.

So does that help?

Okay, you're quite welcome.

Yes, thank you very much Mr. Evans and really appreciate your information.

Oh, this is something I ran myself.

I mean, I have the equipment and go out and do this myself.

Okay, but in actuality no one is actually drilled down to see whether or not there's an offer for the water perks.

Are you referring to the parcel in question?

Yes.

As far as I know there are no existing wells on the parcel.

We do have a well on the property that's 13 gallons a minute, a very plentiful well.

And do we know if that existing well

I believe it was 2004, there's a gentleman this evening that's going to speak that drilled it.

I was just about to say, Bea, that I think based on the geology and the science and on the region, it's very, very unlikely that that resource is connected to the neighbors.

But I guess that would require additional testing.

I should be clear, too, that that well is on the same property with the same owner, but not on the three acres that we are talking about.

developing.

Okay.

Okay.

So that well was not considered in the Tier 3 report because it didn't show up in the database, and I was not aware of that.

It was even there.

Thank you.

I got a few quick comments or questions that I'll raise.

I do want to just quickly if there are people listening earlier we announced the phone number if you're listening and still having questions about the phone number to dial in for the public hearing is 312-626-6799 and the web ID is 826-50812925

Where was I going here?

Oh, so one of the questions was if you just, Gordon, if a truck was parking overnight on your property, you said you haven't had many issues like that at some of your other properties.

What do you do if that issue does come up?

We'd have to run them off.

I mean, we do have stations that are operating 24-7.

We have surveillance cameras that have access to all the properties.

You know, yeah, if it became an issue, it'd be something that we'd start to actively manage because we certainly don't want to see that happen either.

You know, one point that came up since Miss Mallek asked her question is that the fuel truck that this property is designed to allow to access the property is actually much smaller than your typical tractor trailer truck.

and that fuel truck can barely access the property and make the appropriate radius to drop fuel.

And so that just sort of furthers my confidence that that's not going to be an issue that we have to face.

If it's something that remains a concern from the board, I'd be happy to make any sort of concession to promise that we would

So yeah.

And you did stipulate that if you had just, and I'm a little fuzzy with the interchange with Supervisor Palmer, if you agreed to do just 5am to 10pm, and then you have the full cutoff,

You're talking everything is closed down except for 5 a.m.

to 10 p.m.

No fuel sales, nothing otherwise.

Yes, sir.

Then that should take care of overnight traffic, traffic meeting coming on, lights, parking, etc.

Yes, sir.

You mentioned this, I think I know what this is, but I just want to make, you mentioned the phrase reforestation at the pumps.

Is this the donation that you do to

Yes, sir.

No, it wasn't in the packet, but I'm happy to elaborate.

At our existing stations, we give all of our customers the opportunity to donate a dollar to a reef that offsets the carbon footprint of their fuel purchase.

And if they donate $3, we'll give them a free copy and match the donation.

And that's something we've been

Thank you.

I think right now those are all the questions I have.

I may have some further after we go to the public hearing.

Just making sure that everybody's raised their hand to ask further questions.

So at this time,

We will go ahead to the public hearing.

I know we have had some folks signed up.

And for those who are accessing this meeting with their telephone and who would like to speak towards the 2019-6 Boyd Tavern public hearing, you should enter star nine into your phone at this time.

and that will give our staff the indication that you wish to speak and then we will work through the order of those who are wishing to do so.

Again, that is entering star nine if you are accessing the public hearing by your phone.

And if I've missed any further instructions, I'll ask the clerks to clean it up before we go there.

But at this time, we'll open the public hearing.

I know we have folks signed up.

Travis, am I looking to you or Claudette for announcing the speakers?

Well first, Chair Galloway, would you like me to do the instructions?

Thank you, Chair Galloway.

During public hearings, the board will acknowledge speakers addressing the item listed for public hearing.

Speakers are limited to one appearance of three minutes per public hearing.

The clerk's office will identify each speaker.

I'm keeping as conducted through a timer.

The timer will commence when you begin speaking and this begins your allotted time.

You will be notified when the three minutes are up and you are requested to bring your comments to a close as your microphone will be muted after about five more seconds.

In order to give all speakers equal treatment and courtesy, the board requests that speakers adhere to the following guidelines.

When called to address the board, state your name and magisterial district.

Address the comments directly to the board as a whole.

If you have written statements or other supporting material, you may email them to the clerk to ensure that they are part of the record.

If you represent a group or organization, you may identify the group so that it may be recognized.

If you exceed your allotted time, as indicated, the microphone will be muted after just a few seconds upon completion of the three minutes given to you.

If the speaker does not use all of the allotted time, the unused time may not be shared with another speaker.

Back and forth debate is not permitted, and we would again ask that you simply be courteous to those also speaking this evening.

And with that, Chair Galloway, I will turn it back over to you and to the clerk.

Yes, Mr. Chair, we have 25 speakers signed up for tonight.

I do want to mention that we have three telephone callers who have shown that they would like to speak tonight and they will be speaking at the very end of our list of speakers.

So for those on the phone, I wanted to let you know that I acknowledge you and you will be placed in the queue.

Can you hear me?

Yes sir, Mr. Jones.

Good evening.

Okay, thank you.

Good evening.

My name is Rick Jones and I am in the Rivanna District.

I'm speaking this evening in support of the Boyd Tavern Market.

I won't waste your time repeating all of the benefits that Gordon has presented to you and the confessions that he has made that no other commercial user will make.

I will just speak as a local resident in this rural area.

I've lived in the Boyd Tavern

I now live just a mile and a half from where Tiger Fuel wants to locate their store.

I go by there every day to and from work.

I used to get my mail at the Boyd Tavern Market when it was owned by Charlie Boyle, Bob and Marilyn Boyle's son.

Bob was a well-known attorney and Marilyn ran a horse farm on the other side of the interstate.

The market was a place to meet folks and chat and buy gas.

I used to buy the most delicious homemade pies right down the road from there at White's store.

All of that is gone now.

Shadwell has the Shadwell Market in Vino Veritas Wine Shop in the American Legion Post.

Let the Boyd Tavern Market have a locally owned market in Gas Station 2.

It will never be the boy tavern market or rights, but it is the next best thing.

This property is zoned commercial right off the interstate, which is exactly where a gas station and market should be located.

Your planning staff has approved this project and I urge you to do so as well.

And in closing, I just have to say that there's a point where so many restrictions on a business kills them.

I think there have been four different ventures at the old Boyd Tavern since Charlie Boyd left.

Thank you, sir.

Good evening.

Yes, can y'all hear me?

Yes, sir.

I'm Donnie Foster.

I'm owner of Foster Well Company here in Charlottesville.

I've been drilling wells in Almonte County and the surrounding counties for 35 years.

I have drilled many wells in the Boyd Tavern area.

As a matter of fact, when Gordon was talking a few minutes ago, I drilled a well in 2004

on the adjacent property which is zoned RA that he's trying to build on.

That well is 150 feet deep.

It makes 13 gallons a minute.

That's a great well.

That is 780 gallons of water per hour and 18,720 gallons of water per day.

I have pulled the records on wells that I've drilled within half to three quarters of a mile of that piece of property.

And the average yield on some of those wells is anywhere from six to 27 gallons a minute.

They are good wells.

And I've drilled some wells in there that have been even better than that, but that's the average of what I have done there.

I don't feel as though they're going to have a problem finding water on that piece of property, considering I drilled that well on the adjacent parcel.

A lot of people don't understand a well.

If we were to drill a well 300 feet deep that had 250 feet of static water level in it, which means that's how high the water would come in the well, that would mean that that well would have 375 gallons of storage in that shaft

Plus, if the well's making a gallon a minute, it would still make 1,444 gallons of water in 24 hours.

If that well was making six gallons a minute, it would make 360 gallons of water an hour, 8,640 gallons of water per day.

I'm a firm believer that

I don't see many wells over 35 years of my time in drilling that wells are connected at all.

I don't think this would be a reason that Tiger Fuel should not be able to, you know, proceed with putting a nice facility on this piece of property.

They're a local company.

I've been dealing with Tiger Fuel for 35 years that I've been in business.

And just to give you some type of

An idea, most of the service stations that are being built now are using these low volume commodes.

If you had 700 gallons of water you could use in a day's time, that means you could have 466 people come in and flush a commode that's using 1.28 gallons per flood.

So I'm in favor of this, and I think it would be a great thing to approve this since Tiger Fuel

is a locally owned company and they've been here as long as they have been and they have great service at those facilities.

Thank you very much.

Thank you, sir.

Hopefully you can hear me.

President of the Central Virginia Partnership for Economic Development, located at the UVA Research Park.

First of all, I want to thank you for your service to the county and providing this forum tonight.

It's a very unusual, crazy time.

I appreciate your making it available for all of us to do public comment.

I also want to thank Supervisor Mallek and Supervisor Galloway.

You had a long day.

You were in a meeting with me earlier today and I appreciate your support.

The partnership is a not-for-profit public-private partnership.

We serve as the regional economic development organization for eight counties in the city of Charlottesville.

And we join business, local government, and higher ed to pursue common goals, recognizing that local economic success depends on regional economic success.

County Executive Jeff Richardson serves on our executive committee and board and is a tremendous asset to our group.

He's been a great help to us.

I'm here tonight to share that Tiger Fuels is an excellent regional employer.

They have a presence not only in Albemarle County, but in Charlottesville and the counties of Flubana, Nelson, and Orange, or in five of the partnership's nine localities.

They currently employ 254 people with an overall company average wage,

for hourly employees at almost $20, $19.69 an hour.

They offer top tier benefits including care team, which is primary care just for employees.

And significantly during COVID-19, they have retained all of their employees.

which is really a feat in and of itself.

They're also an employer that helps the county with your project enable strategic plan goals.

Goal one is all about strengthening existing businesses and expansions and goal three is lead the growth of existing primary businesses who import dollars from outside the region.

Tiger Fuels is a strong example of such an employer creating new income and additional spending power in the region's economy.

They also participate in the Climate Action Plan, which you're working on.

to create meaningful change in climate area and sustainability, need partners throughout the community and TIGL fuels is exemplary in this area.

For example, carbon offsets are an option for every gallon of gas sold.

Two of their existing locations have solar canopies that offset 40% of energy used and they participate in the Green Business Energy Alliance through C3.

Part of the mission of Project Enable is to enhance the county's competitive position and result in quality job creation and career employment opportunities.

Helping Tiger Fuels grow fits nicely with that mission.

COVID-19, as we all know, is causing many negative impacts to our community and our businesses.

Tiger Fuels is willing to move forward and contribute new jobs and increase tax revenues to the county, even in this environment.

Thank you.

Good evening, Mr. White.

All right.

All right.

Can you hear me?

Yes, sir.

Okay.

My name is Fraser White.

I am in the Scottsville District.

I'm the president of South Creek Investments, formerly Virginia Oil Company Incorporated, and the owner of the Boyd Tavern property.

I'm here tonight to ask you to vote to approve the special use permit from Boyd Tavern Market.

When I purchased this property over 15 years ago, I paid a premium

because the property was and continues to be zoned commercial.

I've paid taxes for the past 15 years based on the high commercial value that the county places on this property.

As you know, the Albemarle County zoning ordinance was recently changed and now requires a special use permit to build a convenience store and gas station on this property.

You may also know that the zoning tax amendment is being challenged in the Albemarle Circuit Court.

I have been contacted many times over the past by large national regional chain retailers desiring to lease or purchase this property.

This is not what I think would be the best for the community.

It's always been my belief that local companies best serve local needs.

I'm sure that the community would be much better served with a local company such as Tiger Fuel developing this property.

Tiger Field is well known throughout the Albemarle and Charlottesville area.

They operate quality stores with friendly service.

They are community oriented and always stay involved in civic activities.

I believe they will be a good neighbor.

The special permit, special use permit process has allowed the county zoning department and the neighbors a good opportunity to participate in and shape final plans.

Tiger Fuel has made significant concessions and worked with the staff in developing a plan that has staff approval.

Again, I ask you to vote to approve the special use permit.

Tiger Fuel is unable to move ahead with this project

I will have little choice but to reopen discussions with the national and regional chain retailers who have buy-right uses and will not need a special use permit.

Again, I ask you to approve this special use permit.

Thank you for allowing me to speak.

Our next speaker is Matthew Bazignani.

Can you hear me?

Hello?

Good evening, can you hear us?

Yeah, I can hear you.

We can hear you.

Okay, my name is Matthew Bosniani from the Scottsville District.

I'm a physician who lives and works in Albemarle.

I live at Vista Court in Troy, Virginia, which is approximately one mile from the proposed site.

This project will directly affect myself and my neighbors, and I wanted to express my complete opposition to this proposal.

We live in a beautiful little neck of the county that is quite close to Pantops in Charlottesville, which is seven miles to our west, or Zion's Crossroads, which is seven miles to our east.

There we have all the conveniences such as gas stations, fast food, other amenities that this proposal is supposed to be touting as things that need to be placed at exit 129 at Boyd Tavern.

Currently the area is often congested with traffic for those making their way to Charlottesville or other directions on Route 64.

But overall we have a lovely bucolic environment and neighborhood that is precisely my reason for living here.

That is to say, it is away from the hustle and bustle of Charlottesville, Zion's, and other developed areas of Albemarle.

We are insulated from the traffic jams, the noise, the refuse pollution, the light pollution, the car accidents, the gasoline fuels, the roads raging drivers, etc.

here in Troy.

The proposal by Tiger Fuel will upend all of that and for no desirable reason.

We do not need a gas station less than seven miles from Charlottesville.

We don't need fast food less than seven miles from Charlottesville, or zions for that matter.

We certainly do not need the added traffic and pollution or the drain of our water table.

This proposal serves no practical purpose to our community here in Troy

or the surrounding community of Eastern and Southern Albemarle, given our proximity to Pantops and Zions.

As far as I can tell, it only serves the needs of Tiger fuel.

What it will do is increase all the negatives that come with this proposed project including noise, traffic, pollution, environmental impact, water wastage, etc.

I cannot state any more forcefully that I oppose this project.

I'm counting on our county and its elected officials to preserve my community as is and place themselves firmly on the side of your constituents living

in the potentially affected area who oppose this special use permit.

Thank you, sir.

Next speaker is Nancy Smaroff.

Good evening.

Can you hear me?

Okay, I'm Nancy Smaroff.

I live at 4640 Vista Court, Troy, Virginia, Albemarle County.

I am one half mile south of the proposed tavern.

I was not recruited or paid to speak.

Considering the first motto in real estate, location, location, location.

If this building, 4,000 square feet in size were built closer than I-64, it would end up on the eastbound ramp.

After listening to the discussion about the numbers, even if 30% of the people coming off of I-64, which is about 45,000, we're talking about 13,500 more cars in that little spot during the course of a day.

This is not a quaint tavern.

It is an interstate hypermart.

A real comparable to this Tiger Fuel Interstate Hypermark is Sheets at Zion Crossroads.

And we know that Sheets actually uses 4,507.5 gallons of water per day.

Compare that to the actual number, compare that actual number to the nebulous kind of cherry pick numbers provided in Tiger Fuels proposal.

The one important thing that's not being mentioned

and it seems like it's going to be changed.

It's going to be closed from 10 to 5.

What about crime, even if there is no light?

Bad guys are always looking for spots to conduct nefarious acts, such as illegal drug transactions and human trafficking.

This interstate hypermart would be a bad guy's dream spot for all kinds of illegal acts.

It would have trees to hide and create good hiding spots, no police surveillance,

And keep in mind, this location lies halfway between two well-known trafficking interstates, I-81 and I-95.

And if they should drive away without being seen and no place there, three miles east, they leave our jurisdiction.

Water doesn't know political boundaries, and we are well aware of the water issues at Zion Crossroads, just seven miles east.

So at this meeting on May 20, in the year 2020, my hope is for 2020 vision for best practices for land use and water resources in our rural community.

Good evening.

I'm having difficulty unmuting him.

There we go.

Yes.

Mr. Lance, please.

Okay, good evening.

My name is Hayes Lance Jr.

and I live at 4640 District Court, Troy, Scottsville District.

I oppose this boy traveled market

based upon almost two years of research.

And I'm not paid or recruited by anyone to speak tonight.

This proposed boy tavern market is not a rural market, by any stretch of the imagination.

It's an interstate market, pure and simple, with all the documented and associated problems.

I want you to paint a mental picture of this.

A building of steel, glass, and concrete, consisting of 4,000 square feet

located next to an interstate x-ray ramp and being situated on close to an acre and impervious surface of concrete and asphalt along with tin gasoline diesel nozzles.

Even researchers and writers in the seed store industry do not call this a rural market, but instead they call it a mini truck stop.

A traditional convenience store nationally

has a footprint of 2,400, 2,500 square feet.

Sea stores in rural areas across this country are usually 800, 1,200 square feet with no more than two gasoline pumps.

Because of the volume of traffic and the needs of interstate travelers, interstate-based sea stores are a heavy consumer of the water.

This is according to the Virginia Department of Environmental Quality.

and yet Tiger Food estimates an ever-changing 700 gallons per day for this tavern.

No little water according to them and yet they need a 2,500 gallon backup storage tank at this site.

We often talked about groundwater recharge on this and Dr. Evans spoke about it tonight.

It was used to justify building on the site but how can you have recharge on 3.2 acres

when the impervious surface of concrete and asphalt is added.

Some 10 to 15 years ago, this site had up to a dozen wells drilled on it.

These wells turned out to be dry or such low yield, the applicant at that time decided not to build and merely abandon the site.

This can be verified by a number of neighbors.

This scenario sounds quite familiar to this community.

Who really benefits from this boy-cabber market?

It is certainly not just community, where the community will forever be negatively impacted.

And currently we can drive five to seven minutes, either east or west, with I-64 and find ten such hyper marks or seed stores.

Why would we need one more?

and someone who are you tonight and who presented a few facts of support and who lived in those that spoke tonight.

None of them live in the Boyd Tavern community.

I will be writing a rebuttal to what Mr. Foster talked about tonight and Dr. Evans.

We need to understand that the well that was drilled

by Mr. Paulson was drilled in a flat near the limestone formation.

Therefore, we respect the greater yield.

Also, we need to keep in mind that Mr. Evans presented a hypothetical model.

It does not represent this site.

Mr. Lance, if you had additional comments, you can put those in writing and submit them to our clerk.

They will be made part of the record.

Just as a reminder, we will give you a warning that three minutes is up.

We ask you to conclude.

After about five seconds, the mic will be turned off to keep us on time for the allotted time limits.

Good evening.

How's everybody doing?

I appreciate your time tonight.

is William Baldwin or Billy Baldwin.

And again, I am in support of the special use permit for Tiger Fuel.

This is a great locally run local business that has many great outside initiatives here in the community, the reforestation initiative,

I know management also supports quite a few local charitable organizations as well.

And, you know, in talking about commercial use, this is a commercial site with by right use.

And as Mr. White commented on, you know, if we didn't give the support to a local company like TireFuel,

We would be faced with the likelihood of another national chain that he would be in direct contact with.

And many of the concerns others have talked about here may be even worse with those chain stores also not supporting and giving back to our local community.

For somebody who's been around for 30 years, who has a great following, who has great food, who does a wonderful job in molding into the settings that they pick and are allowed to do by the county, by the board, I think they've done a fantastic job.

So it's my sincere hope that you all will support this initiative and this special use permit for TIGR fuel.

Thank you sir.

Good to be here.

I'm Scott Knight from the White Hall District, Chairman Galloway and Supervisors.

Thank you so much for taking my comments.

I appreciate your commitment and service to our community, particularly as we are in this really difficult time.

I'd prepared three minutes of comments tonight, but in light of the rescheduling on June 17th, I'll save the longer version for later.

But I'll simply say tonight that I support the approval of the special use permit.

And as a pastor, I'm impressed with companies that are not simply after the bottom dollar, but actually care about their communities.

And that doesn't describe a lot of businesses, but it does describe Gordon's company.

They go out of their way to be excellent employers, which is huge.

They keep their sites beautiful and clean.

They offer great food.

They listen to the communities in which they're found, and I think Gordon's presentation was a testament to that fact, particularly his offer to adopt Route 616.

They give back to their community in ways that don't benefit them financially, which I don't see in companies like this.

I think I got it now.

Yes, ma'am.

All right, thank you for hosting this tonight.

My name is Grace Jackson.

I live at 1628 Black Cat Road with my husband, dogs, and our one-year-old baby.

We bought our house that sits on two acres of land three years ago.

Coming from the interstate, we're the first house on the right side of the road just through the woods from the proposed gas station.

Just like most of our neighbors, we oppose this project.

And just like our neighbors, we have concerns with the water and wells situation.

But I'd like to bring up a few other concerns that come with this gas station.

First, I'm worried about the road safety.

In the three years that we have lived here, we have lost six mailboxes and 30 feet of wooden fencing due to reckless drivers.

With a gas station, the inevitable increase of traffic, I suspect the road will become more dangerous, leading to more property destruction.

Also, our road is riddled with litter, which would also increase with the gas station.

Picking up litter from our yard is dangerous enough as it is.

Also, living next to a gas station.

I bet none of you live next to a gas station, would want to, or would buy property next to a gas station.

Me neither, but somehow that is who we may end up being neighbors with.

If we choose to leave or sell, we would lose money as the value of our property would likely decrease.

I have yet to hear from anyone who actually lives in this neighborhood that wants this gas station.

I truly believe that this community would not benefit from having the gas station in this location.

Thank you.

Yes, ma'am.

Good evening.

My name is Stephanie Wells Rhodes, and my family lives on Richmond Road right around the corner from this location.

So I do live in the Boyd Tavern area.

I'm born and raised in Charlottesville and been here and seen Charlottesville and Albemarle County grow and change.

for many, many years.

We love living in the Keswick area and the convenience to Charlottesville, but after moving here

Three years ago, we moved to the actual Keswick area.

We soon realized that we were in a dead area.

None of the restaurants deliver here.

There's no convenience stores or gas stations that are right close by.

When we need to grab a gallon of milk or gas for the lawnmowers or four-wheelers, we have to go to either Beaver Dam, which doesn't have gas and has hit or miss hours, or back to Shadwell and deal with getting in and out in that corner on Route 22.

We were excited when we heard about Tiger Fuel bringing one of their stores to our area and feel it would be a huge benefit to the community to have an upscale daily slash gas station that is local and family owned in our neighborhood.

Thank you.

Yes, ma'am, we can't hear you.

You do have some serious echo on your side.

Are you got two different meetings running by chance?

Mr. Chair, it appears we've lost her.

Very good.

Mike, are you there?

All right.

Can you hear me now?

Yes, sir.

Great.

Great.

Yeah, my name is Michael Johns.

I live in the Rivanna district, and my wife and I have lived there for 36 years.

We live over on Clark's Track Road.

I've lifted all the pros and cons and concerns of this project with the realization that all of us who live in the Keswick area are extremely concerned about growth, whether it's commercial or residential, and its potential effect on rural character of our area.

However, many of us have also come to realize that growth will come, but hopefully at a pace and manner that is acceptable to those of us who live here.

My biggest concern is that any commercial growth anywhere in Keswick is done in a manner that's not overly intrusive to the residents, fits within the rural character of the area, and provides a service that contributes directly to the Keswick community.

I firmly believe that Tiger Fuel and working with both the community and the board has done everything it can

to address those three specific criteria.

I'm also encouraged that a locally owned and operated company versus a national company is looking to develop this location.

And as we can see around the central Virginia area, Tiger works diligently to build architecturally attractive locations and it maintains each of its locations very well.

Personally, I shudder when I envision national brick and mortar operations locating on this property.

that ultimately will probably become eyesore on our beautiful landscape.

With the current commercial zoning being what it is that nightmare can easily come to fruition.

This special use permit application process is the best option available to our community to help shape this project and to shape the development of that property to fit the Keswick area.

So I do respectfully request that the board vote yes on this project.

Thank you sir.

The next speaker is Paul Dirkus.

Well, go ahead.

Sorry, I'm back.

I'm Paul Dirkus with Snowing and Space Coffee and we're a partner of Tiger Fuel

I've been a business.

I'm echoing my ear.

Not echoing here.

Right.

I'll try again.

Sorry.

When I first met with Gordon to discuss our businesses, it was really refreshing to hear him talk about building up the local community.

rather than just building up and selling their stores to regional and national chains.

Their investment not just in their stores and the jobs they're creating, but supporting other local businesses like us and more importantly reinvesting their time into the community itself is refreshing.

To that end, when I got a last minute invite to Big Brothers Big Sisters event last year, I was pleasantly surprised to see that Gordon had been named Big Brother of the Year in the region.

I hear the concerns of the local constituents on this call, and I understand those concerns.

In response, I would mention that it's not a sheets, a truck stop, or a fast food mart.

I get fresh-made sandwiches at Bel Air Market and fried chicken at the Preston location.

Unless the market is completely changing its business model, they're not going to want to create a hub of interstate commerce for large trucks that will become an annoyance and eyesore and disrupt the local community.

their business is built around building a relationship with the local community and creating a community atmosphere in a place where most people don't expect to find that kind of atmosphere, a gas station or convenience store.

They have clean stores inside and out and the choices they make are mindful of their local customers and local communities.

They'll support local jobs, local community and local vendors.

That's money that's going to stay in the community rather than a dollar store where that money will be vacuumed out to a large conglomerate.

Corden and the Tiger family are just the kind of business we should be doing everything we can to support their local family owned and very, very, very clearly weigh community concerns when making business decisions, which is very hard to come by.

Local businesses across the country have been absolutely devastated the last two months and they're doing everything they can just to survive.

As we see more and more of these local businesses close their doors or unable to open their doors over the next few months, we will grow to regret missing opportunities like this to support local community minded businesses

that want to invest back in the local community and create jobs.

Thank you.

Good evening, sir.

This is David Trecikari.

Hi, yes, thank you guys so much to the board and to Claudette for organizing all this.

I really appreciate it.

And I wanted to say my wife, myself, our two kids are all born and raised in Charlottesville.

We were born at University of Virginia Hospital.

We live in the Crozet district, Miss Malek's district.

at 6615 Saddleback Court, and I just would like to speak in favor of the Boyd Tavern Market.

Just from listening to all the people talk who are experts and professionals that keeps being thrown away, thrown around that it's unfavorable of landscaping, it's favorable

Department of Health, everything's favorable.

Recommendations have been followed.

So I don't understand what everyone is so against.

It seems like all the negative towards it has all been opinion-based, whereas everything fact-based is in support of it.

So I just ask that the board use the facts that have been presented by the professionals and the experts

and that I've just been taking a rough tally and 10 of the speakers or 11 including myself are all for it three are against it and two of the three are in the same household so let that show for what it can um that this is something that the community needs um I know I live in Crozet but um I my wife and I we raised our son in

the area off that X-129 before we move to Crozet and it's something that's definitely favorable to the silent majority in that area.

They would love somewhere to stop and have a good positive place and the other things that people have said about

bad guys in the area just seems to be some kind of fallacy that is just imaginative and it's not something that needs to be used and based on decisions because it's whatever exaggerations that they have are just their fallacy.

So I encourage the board to please, please

make the right call here, please do the right thing and please support your constituents and yeah, vote yes for this, please.

Thank you.

Good evening, Mr. Chairman, members of the board.

My name is Morgan Butler and I'm with the Southern Environmental Law Center and want to thank both the board and staff for the opportunities you've provided for the public to participate tonight.

I know it's been a challenge.

I'd like to start with a personal note and just say that I like the markets as much as the next person and probably even more.

And from a personal as well as a professional standpoint, some of the design features the applicant has indicated they might include here, such as the solar panels and the EV charger, are commendable.

But the call you must make is whether this is the right location for this proposal.

And the county code and the comprehensive plan both make clear that it is not.

The county code lays out four factors the board must consider when evaluating an application for a special use program.

We wish to focus on two.

First, how the proposal would change the character of adjacent parcels, and second, its inconsistency with the comprehensive plan.

It's clear that a primary draw of this location the use is being proposed is its adjacency to the interstate.

To his credit, Mr. Sutton has acknowledged to both the Planning Commission and the Board that he intends to have the business included on the interstate logo signs announcing a gas and food option at this exit.

No matter what steps one might take on the site to reduce some of its impacts, these uses would draw significant new traffic off the interstate to this location, and it's very difficult to see how that wouldn't significantly transform the character of adjacent parcels and the nearby area.

Further, the comprehensive plan is very mindful of avoiding just that type of impact here.

The Rural Interchange Policy, which is one of the big factors in the Planning Commission's unanimous vote against this proposal,

is very clear that rural interchanges should not have uses that service stops for tourists traveling along the interstate.

The policy goes on to state that some uses allowed by special use permit may be appropriate at rural interchanges because they, quote, provide a unique opportunity for agricultural goods to be transported to markets outside of the county.

This certainly envisions uses with a far more substantial connection to agricultural exporting than what is being proposed here.

The comprehensive plan is also very clear that building new structures for restaurant uses is not considered appropriate in a rural area, but that is what would be required here.

And of course, there's the plan's overarching policy of channeling new growth to the development areas as a key strategy for reducing sprawl, conserving natural resources, and allowing the county to provide services more efficiently.

Granting this request would undercut that policy and open the door to similar requests elsewhere in the rural areas.

Yes, there is always the threat that this parcel could be developed by right with another type of commercial use.

But we believe the far greater damage would come if the board votes to approve a use that is clearly inconsistent with the comprehensive plan.

The document that embodies citizens expectations about new development and is meant to serve as the board's guide for decisions like the one at hand.

Thank you.

Good evening, Board of Supervisors.

This is Sean Tubbs with the Piedmont Environmental Council.

I'm going to try to be brief this evening, as there have been many speakers and we're going to have another public hearing later on this summer.

I'd like to echo a lot of the comments that my colleague Morgan Butler just made as well.

This is a straightforward decision.

The comprehensive plan states very clearly that some of our interstate interchanges

are to be rural in nature because that's what the people who live around here want.

You know, you have heard some comments tonight from people, but you've also received a lot of emails from other constituents in the area and other constituents throughout the county who know how important this policy is and how it's led to being the special place that we are.

So we urge you to deny the special use permit on the basis that this is inconsistent with a comprehensive plan.

Doing so is not a commentary on Tiger Fuels, a very good corporate citizen.

I acknowledge their role in the community.

And just from a personal perspective, during this pandemic, the market on Cherry Avenue has been one of the very few places that I feel safe to travel.

Great service, and I'm a very loyal customer.

But the neighbors of this property, who you've heard from tonight, are also members of this community.

And their comments align with the vision that is set forth in the comprehensive plan.

You know, I'm just gonna quote something from the rural areas chapter of the comprehensive plan.

Interstate interchanges in the rural areas should not be used as tourist destinations or tourist stops along Interstate 64.

We disagree with staff's interpretation that this would capture only local traffic.

And of course, that's also what the planning commission found as well.

You know, and I also find it hard to believe that this won't attract traffic from the interstate.

As we've heard from so many tonight, the market and Tiger Fuel is such a good corporate citizen.

It attracts a lot of people, and those who travel regularly to events at the University of Virginia are going to know what this is.

And I think that it's certain we think that this would be a destination for regular travelers.

But just to wrap up, in conclusion, we just recommend, PEC recommends that you vote for denial in June.

Thank you.

Okay.

My name is Dana Tarrant.

I live at 4820 Meachunk Road in Keswick, Virginia.

My road is almost directly across from the proposed site for Tiger Fuels gas station.

I'm not going to say anything negative about Tiger Fuels.

They may be the best company in the world.

I do not know.

I just am going to speak based on the facts that I know of and that I have observed.

In fact, I can't help but recognize that many of the recruited speakers that Tiger Fuel has asked to speak have come from Crozet or people that may not have even traveled this road.

The traffic along 616 Black Cat Road is horrendous.

The last traffic study was done per Mr. Sutton in February of 2017.

We have not had an update on that since all the houses that have been developed right adjacent to Glenmore.

Many times 250 is backed up in the mornings and cars must turn around and go east in order to get on the interstate and go west into Charlottesville to their jobs.

This is, it's a nightmare waiting to happen is what it is because people come around that curve very quickly.

I venture to say there are more, there is more traffic on a daily basis, plus all the traffic coming from the lake uses that road.

And the fact that Mr. Sutton thinks nobody would come off the interstate, then why would he put signage on the interstate?

Why would you announce that there's food and gas at this exit if he doesn't want to draw traffic off of the interstate?

And the fellow that spoke about the bad guys and us being exaggerating and thinking that gas stations weren't going to attract bad clientele

The last time I checked, Virginia was number three on the list of sex trafficking and illicit drug trafficking along interstates.

I personally have picked up needles at the end of my road, so I am not exaggerating.

It makes me very angry when someone that doesn't even live in the area and has maybe never traveled that road can make that kind of an accusation.

The other thing that I'm very concerned about is my well.

Despite the fact that everybody says, oh, the wells are gonna be okay, and they're not gonna draw from the same straw, from the same little pool.

No, but there is history of a cone of depression for miles around areas that draw a lot of water.

And the pipe dream, thinking that 700 gallons is all that's gonna be used today,

What's going to happen when that runs out?

Is there going to be a shut off?

Are they not going to be able to flush toilets anymore or wash hands for their convenience store anymore?

That's unreal to think that they will not be able to be doing that.

Have not been run.

Thank you, ma'am.

Good evening.

Hello.

Good evening, sir.

Can you hear me?

Yes, sir.

Excellent.

Mr. Chairman and members of the board, my name is Greg Wells.

I'm CEO of ACAC and reside in the Samuel Miller District.

I'm a 40-year resident of Albemarle County and would like to speak to the integrity of Tiger Fuel.

They are and have been a great corporate citizen to this community over the years.

I would like to request that the board approve the special use permit before you.

They treat their employees extremely well and their track record speaks for themselves.

Thank you, sir.

Good evening.

Can you hear me?

Yes, sir.

Thank you.

I truly appreciate the opportunity to speak with you all this evening and respectfully thank the board members for allowing me this time.

My name is Ryan Whitlock and not only am I a member of the community, I'm also the have the honor of serving as Tigers director of human resources.

I felt that my voice was important here this evening because I have a unique view.

I'm actually the one that deals with the issues and situations that you all are presenting here this evening.

as well as advocating for the community and the great company that I work for.

You see, I use that word with very purposefully.

Tiger Fuel is a company that believe at its core that our people are the most important part of our business.

We make it a point to never say working for Tiger Fuel because that's just not true.

When people join our family, they become part of a 38-year tradition of providing what we call Tiger Way Service.

You see, that's what folks who work with us, build careers with us, think Tiger Fuel is all about.

It's providing amazing customer service to the communities that we serve.

We take that responsibility very seriously.

It's no wonder that we have some amazing people results that go along with that.

As an employer, we are proud of the fact that we have had some of the industry's best results and have been named one of Charlottesville's best places to work.

It's no surprise to know that we have an average tenure of almost seven years with many of those averaging 20, 25, even 30 years.

In 2019, we hired over 100 people providing full-time benefits and the area's top wages.

including an internal satisfaction score, what we call ENPS of 67.

In simple terms, that means 73% of our staff who took that survey told us that they would recommend Tiger as a great place to work for a friend or family member.

We are different.

I think that we're a pretty special employer.

I say this not to brag about Tiger, although I could brag about Tiger and the people that we work with all night.

I bring this to your attention because I feel like some of these comments and concerns brought up over the past 12 months are just not accurate.

I've heard this project described as a community invasion.

Ideas that building this market will bring noise, crime, and even this evening, bad guys hiding under trees.

We've allowed the television version of what a convenience store in a bad neighborhood looks like to create a narrative that's just not the case.

I've gotten to know the Sutton family very well.

And in my time with their organization, I can tell you they value this community.

They respect its residents.

They literally grew up across the street.

The reason they stand before us here this evening because they want nothing more than to add a local and may I say delicious gourmet market to your neighborhood, our neighborhood.

I've recently been fortunate enough to move to a new home and I can tell you firsthand transitions like this come with many challenges.

Fear of the unknown, stress from real estate transactions, excitement, you name it.

Shortly after moving into our new home, it was clear that we moved into a community with amazing people, which was a great surprise.

It's rare that you have the opportunity to literally choose your neighbors.

Tonight and in June, with a yes vote, you get to do just that.

Neighbors who listened to your concerns, who made sizable changes to the project because of your feedback, neighbors who give back and who will be here for you when you need them.

Thank you.

Good evening.

My name is Nicole Gano.

I live in the Rivanna district.

However, my husband and I are opening the old Boyd Tavern Market Store.

We transitioned the store and have been remodeling this store since mid last year.

There are concerns about Tiger Fuel in the residential area of Boyd Tavern.

The one is the water concerns and the drain of the wells, which they showed tonight that, you know, a good picture that it probably would not do that.

However, there's still a fear considering the areas of rule.

I want to give you some background just about us.

My husband and I are opening again with the old Boyd's Tavern Market on Route 250.

This is a historical landmark for the community and the Keswick area.

Before becoming the Boyd's Tavern Market, it was the Keswick Post Office that my great aunt used to work at.

This area is very important to me.

I have family all around there.

This is an opportunity for us to make this store something that the last few individuals could not.

We have put a ton of money into the store creating deck for people to sit and eat, enjoy the lake view that's out back, provide picnic tables, etc.

We do have gas pumps, and we will be providing all of the essential needs that the community needs, gas, food, etc.

In closing, I'd like to say that if Tiger Fuel opens a large convenience store in this area, it will congest and overcrowd such a small, limited,

area for this community.

Just a few miles down the road is Zion Crossroads where you can get gas and food and pull off and do everything that needs to be done.

I do believe this residentially populated area with a small two-lane road needs to have, needs to have, does not need to have a large market and our small market will be able to provide them everything that they need.

Hi, this is Kathy Cornette.

I live in the Rio district.

I've been here for 12 years, but I lived in Keswick for 20 some years.

and I think it would be a mistake to allow a mega gas grocery eatery in rural, it would join the integrity of the Black Cat Road area and Black Cat is a small country road.

you're gonna be having a bunch of accidents on that road if you allow this to happen.

I think it's just, it'd be a shame to mess up the neighborhood in that way.

And you know, Zion's Crossroads not that far, town's not that far, and that's all I have to say.

The next speaker has a phone number of 4465.

That's correct.

Blackett Road 4714 Meachunk directly across from where they want to put the service station.

Tell me this, I'm on the right, I'm on the

When you get off 64, they're on the right, I'm on the left.

How did they get to be commercial and I'm not?

Ma'am, we don't respond or interact.

That's a question.

But also, when you get off 64, if you look to the ramp headed on to

East, 64, you will see signs that says, no parking, no parking, no parking, no parking, because that's what we have, trucks that used to park there all the time.

If you look up Black Cat Road on the right hand side,

No parking, no parking, no parking.

But you know where there's a pull-off, where they want to put the service station?

There's trucks, there's cars.

They are all the time.

I have a whole black cat road that's, they just cut the grass.

I have a whole black cat road that I need to get out there and pick up the trash.

Also, what do you think happens with the wreckers

out on the wrecks, accidents, car broke, breaking down on 64.

Where do you think they pull those, the wreckers pull those cars into the driveway here on Black Cat Road and Meachunk and reload the cars because they say it's unsafe to be on 64 to load them up.

So we've had it.

I mean, it's just unbelievable.

So all these people that are in favor of the service station, they really don't live in this area.

Good night.

Good evening, this is Greg Duncan.

I live on McChunk Road, directly east from the subject property, and I'm in the Smithfield District.

This matter comes before you with the unanimous recommendation of denial from the Planning Commission, and for good reason.

The criteria that you are required to consider as a matter of law militates strongly against this application.

For instance, the proposed gas station is inconsistent with the comprehensive plan in both general and specific ways.

As a general matter, growth could begin through areas.

This is not a growth area.

And there could be clear lines of demarcation between growth areas and rural areas.

Putting a modern gas station here would eliminate those lines of demarcation forever.

The comprehensive plan goes on to specifically provide, as Sean mentioned earlier, that interstate exchanges in the rural area could not be used as tourist destinations or tourist stops along Interstate 64.

But that's exactly what the applicant proposed to do.

Clearly this proposed use is inconsistent with the comprehensive plan.

As somewhat of an aside note, I note that in discussing the county's rural interstate exchange policy, the comprehensive plan correctly notes that views from 64 may be the only visitor experience and memory of Albemarle County.

Do we as a county want that last memory to be of a gas station?

I don't.

Equally clear, putting a modern 4,000 square foot

Gas station, in between farms with horses, residences, and historic places, will change the character of our neighborhood.

That is uncontroversial.

Staff tries to somehow justify this proposal as a country store with gas as an accessory use.

That's backward at best.

This is a gas station with a modern convenience store as accessory use.

It'll be the sale of gas that brings traffic off the interstate and into our neighborhood.

Seems to me that from a land use regulation perspective, the precedent of granting this application in violation of the clear provisions of the comprehensive plan would likely rumble through the county like an earthquake for a long time, affecting each and every district.

While I wish Tiger Fuel well, and they know I do, at the end of the day, this is simply the wrong place for this gas station.

We don't need it, and we don't want it.

I ask that you deny the special use permit application.

Thank you very much for your time.

I know this has been a difficult process for everybody.

Thank you, sir.

Yes, sir.

Hi, I just want to thank the board for this opportunity to speak tonight.

I've been a resident of Albemarle County for the last seven years, and I think what's really important with this process is to ensure that we have a diversity of thought here.

I am a single 31 year old female.

I've worked at the university for several years.

have gotten to know a lot of people very personally within the county and the city.

And President Gordon Sutton is also someone that I know personally and I think should be commended for all of the work, the factual research that has taken place and all of the concessions that have been made.

to accommodate the county's concerns.

The majority of these concerns which are based on emotion as opposed to facts in my opinion and I think that there have been a number of people who've been part of this project, the county planner, VDOT, the county staff that has supported this project and in

My opinion, as someone who has worked at the university, who's been part of the Charlottesville community, I think we really need to be focused on strategic development.

We are in the wake of a pandemic.

We are in the midst of an economic crisis, and this opportunity will not only stimulate our economy, but bring additional jobs to the area.

My personal experience at the market at Bel Air, it's one of the first places I went to when I moved from Massachusetts and these people that work there are truly salt of the earth and I would much prefer to have

an establishment like that where these people truly know individuals by name and their personal stories as opposed to any kind of national corporation.

The county has a responsibility here.

The shops at Stonefield, Barracks Road, a lot of those businesses are going to really struggle.

Here is a tangible opportunity for you to say yes to a project that can stimulate our economy and can generate over a hundred thousand dollars in tax revenue

This is something that should be based on facts and I understand that there are emotions here but please think about that as you look at a long-term strategic development and growth opportunities and what is happening in the wake of this pandemic.

Thank you.

Is there anyone else who wishes to speak?

Thank you, Mr. Chairman.

I wanted to start by doing a better job answering Supervisor Malek's question.

She earlier referenced the restoring station, and I just wanted to point out a detail that I think we glazed over earlier, and that is that the lighting requirements that we've agreed to as a part of this special use permit are much more onerous or beneficial in your view.

then the restrictions that the restore and station was required to do.

And that special use permit was focused on water and we agreed with the help of county staff to make extra concessions that have even less light than what you saw there.

So I just wanted to add that as an additional comment.

Supervisor Price, you raised some concerns or questions about fumes and environmental concerns, contaminations, things of that nature.

I just wanted to assure you that with regards to vapors and fumes, the way we drop fuel these days, all of the vapors are recovered from that drop.

It actually helps us drop the fuel faster.

We reconnect the tube from the trailer to the exhale port on the tank and we capture those vapors.

So that is something that used to be an issue in the past that would not be an issue at this location.

We would have full vapor recovery capability.

We also have been doing this for 38 years without any environmental spill or concern.

All of our folks are highly trained with spill kits and the capacity to handle those in the event that they happen.

We also have the biofilter in place that was referenced during my presentation.

that in the event that something were to make it to that system, the media that exists in that system is designed to capture those contaminants and not be a problem for our neighbors.

I have some notes here.

I'm sorry, I'm probably gonna butcher some people's last names, but one of the first speakers, Mr. Smoroff made a pretty

Outrageous assumption about the amount of traffic that we would pull off the interstate that I just want to point out is not based in any sort of fact.

It also came up throughout the course of the conversation that, oh, the Tiger fuel or the Sutton's don't think they're going to pull any traffic off the interstate.

I want to be clear, that's not true.

There's a lot of local traffic that uses that interstate to commute that we will most certainly serve and most certainly want to serve and will most certainly pull to our location on their path to their job, their home, their residence.

The point I wanted to make is that, and this is substantiated by fact,

and by the professionals that are hired to assess these situations is that we are not a destination that would generate those extra trips.

We will most certainly serve some folks off the interstate, but we remain a pass by use.

Mr. Hayes made some comments about the scale of rural stores.

I mean,

Eight hundred to twelve hundred square feet.