Planning commission recommends Kwik Trip site plan with conditions on sign, landscaping and access

The South Weber City Planning Commission voted to recommend the city council approve a conditional use permit and commercial site plan for a Kwik Trip convenience store and fuel site at roughly 7716 South 2700 East, subject to conditions intended to limit safety, noise and light impacts on nearby residents.

Staff told the commission the applicant had revised drawings and supporting materials and that the project met code requirements for a CUP and site plan, but asked commissioners for direction on two key design items: the pole sign location and fence type. Braxton Key, a Kwik Trip representative, said the company was willing to shrink and lower signage and to add landscaping, and clarified, "That is not our proposal. That is the city's, future traffic plan proposal," referring to the roundabout and median included in the city's Transportation Master Plan.

The commission’s recommended conditions call for: (1) placing the pole (pole) sign at the southern option shown in the packet behind service-area enclosures (the option the commission labeled as least visible to residences); (2) removing the proposed monument sign on 2700 East; (3) improving the landscape buffer on the south entrance with additional trees focused closest to residential properties; (4) designating the southern site access as entrance-only; and (5) providing final engineering and stormwater reports prior to the city council hearing (targeted for the council’s March meeting). Speaker 7 formally moved the recommendation and the motion was seconded and approved by the commission.

Key technical details discussed at the meeting: the applicant reduced a previously proposed taller pole sign to a 60-foot-tall structure; the pole sign face was reported in the hearing as 386.9–387 square feet; the diesel canopy top is 25 feet 6 inches; the developer’s landscape plan shows roughly half the site in landscaping (applicant stated about 50%), with a commitment to add additional trees in screening locations where pipeline easements allow. Staff and the design team said much of the right-of-way and long-range solution (a possible roundabout and five-lane cross section) come from the city’s Transportation Master Plan and that full implementation would be phased because of funding constraints.

Public commenters pushed for stronger safety measures. Paul Sturm said many earlier questions from the planning commission and citizens remained unanswered and warned, "I predict that with the proposed crosswalk locations, there will be a serious injury or a fatality within two years." Other residents asked the commission to limit tall or illuminated signs facing homes and to require trees and masonry screening along the eastern boundary.

The applicant’s design team (Galloway) said the southern entrance had been made wide enough to facilitate truck turnarounds and proposed signage and operational controls to separate truck and customer circulation. The applicant also said it does not propose truck-stop amenities such as showers, laundry or long-term parking and called the proposal a fuel stop rather than a truck-stop facility.

Next steps: the planning commission’s recommendation, with the conditions listed above, will go to the South Weber City Council for final action. Staff said final engineering and stormwater quality reports must be submitted before the council hearing and that the CUP has an automatic expiration provision under city code if development does not commence within the statutory timeframe (the commission noted the code’s typical 18-month expiration for a CUP).