The Pottsville Zoning Hearing Board on Thursday gave Sunoco Inc. the green light to replace the A-Plus Mini Market along Route 61 in the city with a new one.
However, the board's decision is contingent upon approvals Sunoco must seek from agencies, including the state Department of Labor & Industry, to complete part of the project, the replacement of the underground fuel tanks on the property at 2 S. Claude A. Lord Blvd.
"We're planning to remove and dispose of those tanks, then replace them," Matthew Pisko of JGD Associates, a consultant for Sunoco from Farmington Hills, Mich., said at a public hearing Thursday at City Hall.
Currently, there are two 12,000-gallon tanks for regular gas and a 12,000-gallon tank for ultra, said Clayton McCane, a Sunoco representative who works in its approval and permits division, Lester, Delaware County.
"They'll all be removed," McCane said.
The plan is to replace them with a 20,000-gallon tank for regular gas, a 12,000-gallon tank for diesel and an 8,000-gallon tank for ultra, McCane said. The plan would allow the station to offer diesel for the first time.
"That gives you a total of 40,000 gallons on site," McCane said.
"So, you can't actually begin until you get approval to dig up these old tanks and take them out," Mary Ann Conway, a zoning hearing board member, said.
"That's correct," Pisko said.
"There won't be any construction permits issued until all the other regulations are satisfied and proof of that is presented to the code enforcement office," City of Pottsville Code Enforcement Officer Donald J. "Donny" Chescavage said.
Sunoco wants to complete the entire project - the establishment of a new convenience store, more gas pumps and more convenient parking - by the end of the year, but a time frame hasn't been established, Pisko said.
The hearing before the Pottsville Zoning Hearing Board was necessary since the new A-Plus building will be further east than the existing structure and closer to Line Alley.
The plan is to demolish the current 2,000-square-foot structure, which is about 60 feet from Line Alley, and build a new A-Plus that's 2,955 square feet in size and put it 6.28 feet away from Line Alley, according to Chescavage and Mark Barket, solicitor for the zoning board.
According to the "rear yard setback requirements" outlined in the City of Pottsville's Zoning Ordinance Chapter 220, Schedule 2, in general a new building must be 20 feet away from a street.
"But if it's near an R-district, it has to go to 30," Chescavage said.
After 25 minutes of asking questions about the project, the zoning board voted unanimously to grant the variance and allow Sunoco to put the new A-Plus building 6.28 feet away from Line Alley.
Present at the hearing were board members Morris Brill, Michael J. Dwyer, Greg Wagner and Conway.
During the hearing, the board members asked questions about the project and Pisko offered insights into the plan.
The Sunoco A-Plus Mini Market at 2 S. Claude A. Lord Blvd. was constructed "about 40 years ago," Jeff Shields, Sunoco's communications manager, Philadelphia, said April 10.
"It's a busy site. And there are a lot of site deficiencies that this plan is going to address," Pisko said.
Parking is an issue, he said, with it only available on the side and in back of the current building.
Wagner made an effort to count the number of spaces available now by studying a map: "In the front of the store now, there really is no parking as I see it. On the side in the southeast corner, you can get four cars there. On the north side of the store, where the pay phones used to be, there's three spaces. They have employee parking in the back for about six or seven cars. And then if you're familiar with the lot they had rental parking in the back for 10 to 12 cars more or less."
"They rent those parking spaces to private customers," Dwyer said.
"Parking is situated in a way that's confusing to customers. People are crossing paths," Pisko said.
The plan will distance the convenience store from the gas pumps and establish a parking lot with 11 spaces at the front of the new store, Pisko said.
The parking spaces Sunoco rented will be gone, since they're in the area where the new store will be established.
"This will make it better for the health, safety and welfare of our customers, patrons and citizens of the city," Pisko said.
There are eight gas pumps on site now. The plan is to put 12 there, Pisko said.
Conway reminded the Sunoco representatives to create some green space.
"We have a shade tree ordinance. And one of the parts of the shade tree ordinance is when you create a parking lot, you have to also do something about adding trees. Now I know you're on the corner of Route 61 and East Norwegian Street. But have you given any thought as to where you're going to put trees?" Conway asked.
Pisko said Sunoco was planning to establish a "rain garden" at the far east side of the property where rain runoff would be used for the property's plant life.
"We can certainly take a look at that," Pisko said.
"And that ordinance states that for every parking places, you have to plant one tree," Chescavage said.
At the end of the hearing, the board saluted Chescavage for his years of service to the city. Thursday was his last day of work. He retired after 15 years on the job.