Sheetz' bid to build new store rejected. Why Millcreek officials denied it
Sheetz's request for a zoning variance to build a convenience store at the Edinboro Road entrance to the Millcreek Mall has been denied by the Millcreek Township Zoning Hearing Board.
The Altoona-based chain had planned to build a 6,139-square-foot convenience store with 10 fuel pumps, drive-through lane and car wash at the site of the former Red Lobster restaurant. The store would have been similar to the store built at West 38th and Liberty streets in Erie.
The Edinboro Road property is zoned for Commercial-2 development, which does not include large convenience stores. Sheetz requested a zoning variance to allow the store's construction.
Sheetz representatives contend that the 8,509-square-foot former Red Lobster restaurant, built in 1987, is too large for a modern-day restaurant and that the 1.8-acre property is too small for a strip plaza.
It would be cost prohibitive for a business to build a smaller building on the property, and no other business has expressed interest in redeveloping the property since it was offered for lease in June, Ryan Wotus, a Pittsburgh attorney representing Sheetz, said in requesting the variance.
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The proposed convenience store, Wotus said, would be a good fit for the property and would be "in context with the surrounding neighborhood that exists within this commercial development."
It also would boost tourism by serving guests at nearby hotels and would improve safety in the area with additional lighting and 24-hour operations, said Nikki Cully, representing Chase Hotel Group, which owns and operates the Candlewood Suites hotel neighboring the Red Lobster property.
"Most of our (guests) come from Canada, and we house a lot of nurses as well long-term," Cully said. "A convenience store would be great for them right next door in walking distance."
More than restaurants and strip plazas are permitted in the C-3 district, although the property would accommodate a small plaza like the one anchored by Starbucks near the former Red Lobster property, Millcreek Township attorney Mark Shaw said.
Thirty-one types of businesses are permitted in the C-3 district, and the property has been offered for lease for less than a year, Shaw said.
A large convenience store would be better built in the nearby Mixed Use-2 district along Zimmerly Road west of Interstate 79, said township planning and development director Matt Waldinger. Large convenience stores are permitted in the district.
"Although we are happy to host Sheetz in Millcreek Township and are proud that the first Sheetz in the entire region was built at Asbury Road, we feel there are appropriately zoned locations very close to this (Edinboro Road property) that would not require a variance or require us to change our zoning ordinance just for the sake of convenience," Waldinger said.
Hagen History Center Executive Director Cal Pifer, speaking as a Millcreek resident during the zoning hearing, argued that the entrance to the Millcreek Mall is not an appropriate location for a convenience store.
"This is the gateway to the Millcreek Mall," Pifer said. "Can any of you reasonably say a gas station will be an aesthetic addition to the township.
"This is their standard design. It's for gas stations appropriate for the side of freeways," Pifer said. "It is not appropriate for a major tourist attraction in our community."
The Zoning Hearing Board voted unanimously and without comment to reject the Sheetz variance request.
Contact Valerie Myers at vmyers@timesnews.com.
This article originally appeared on Erie Times-News: Millcreek Zoning Board denies Sheetz variance for Edinboro Road store
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