Gahanna commission rejects Sheetz proposal for second time

GAHANNA, Ohio (WCMH) -- For the second time, a proposal to build a Sheetz in Gahanna has been shot down.

Skilken Gold Real Estate Development pitched a Sheetz gas station and convenience store at 230 Granville St., the site of the closed restaurant Coaches, showing the 4,959-square-foot building would be located at the back of the 4.63-acre lot with no drive-thru. It would be the smallest Sheetz store in central Ohio, according to a Sheetz representative who spoke at a Wednesday planning commission meeting.

Following a public comment period where most of the residents who spoke were against the development, the seven-member Gahanna Planning Commission voted unanimously to reject the proposal, particularly the conditional use application from Sheetz, with board members stating the project does not fit the city's zoning regulations for that area.

In a staff review conducted before the meeting, the commission recommended disapproval of the company's three design proposals, saying the proposals are not consistent with recommendations from the city’s land use plan, which emphasizes walkability and pedestrians being “a focal point of design.” The review pointed out that the Sheetz project is an automobile-oriented development.

The proposed plan did call for a sidewalk to be installed from Granville Street to Shull Park.

Another issue cited in the review is that the gas pumps and parking for the Sheetz would be street-facing, not located in the rear of the building as called for in the land use plan.

Former Gahanna Mayor Jim McGregor said previously on social media that while he hopes Gahanna will have a Sheetz one day, the proposed location is not appropriate. 

“Shull Park bustles with children coming to and leaving athletic games,” McGregor said in a Facebook post. “Bicycles, foot traffic and cars hurry about the grounds. Present adjacent business activities are busy at lunch and after work, but generally quiescent at other times. A fuel station draws a constant turbulence of traffic. This is incompatible with the safety of the children.”

Last year, Skilken Gold attempted to bring a Sheetz to Gahanna on a plot between Johnstown Road and Morse Road. In March 2023, the city’s planning commission rejected three design proposals for the building.

Residents who have spoken out against the project cited FBI statistics about how convenience stores and gas stations are high on the list of likely locations for violent crime and concerns about traffic.

Sheetz opened its first central Ohio store in 2021 and has since expanded to 14 more central Ohio locations, according to its website.