Diesel Fuel Station OK'd for Broad Street Site

A diesel and heating fuel station will likely come to Broad Street after all.

The city council on Monday night unanimously approved a rezoning request to allow for the station at 611 N. Broad St., just north of Jefferson Street.

The council voted unanimously to reverse a 3-2 decision by the city's planning and zoning commission last month to deny the request. Zoning commissioners cited concerns about fuel leaks and the proximity to the operation to historic buildings.

The applicant, Richard Wilkes, appealed the zoning commission decision.

The station will feature two above-ground fuel storage tanks with a maximum total capacity of 1,000 gallons.

Council member Lara Bradburn said she didn't think it was an appropriate use for the site but settled for confining Wilkes to the narrowest use allowed by law under the commercial zoning. Wilkes told the council the station was just a temporary use until a developer who had proposed a mixed residential and commercial project for the site last year can bring back a revised plan.

In other action, the council approved:

• An ordinance that freezes the city's water and sewer rates for one year and limits future increases to 3 percent of the consumer price index. The ordinance makes official a policy the council approved earlier this month. The move will cost the city some $102,000 this budget year, but council members have said now is the wrong time to raise rates.

• A one-year contract with Cost Recovery Corp. The company will bill insurance companies for emergency services provided by the city's fire and police departments.