STEVENS POINT – The Stevens Point Common Council approved conditional use permits to build a new Kwik Trip gas station and car wash near Hoover Road and Portage County HH.
After a closed session where Common Council members conferred with the city attorney about the conditional use permits, the group approved all three permits at the Feb. 16 Common Council meeting.
After several residents spoke at the Common Council meeting, urging members to deny the conditional use permit for Kwik Trip to build a gas station, Common Council members discussed the topic.
Alderperson Ginger Keymer spoke ahead of the vote, sharing many of the same concerns residents shared earlier in the meeting, but she said she believed the only way the city could stop something similar from happening would be to change the rules to prohibit it in the future. She said she would support the conditional use permits in this case, not because she thought it was without risk, but because she thinks the city does not have legal ground to deny the permits.
Alderperson Mary Kneebone spoke against approving the conditional use permits, arguing it would only be a matter of time before a leak contaminates the environment. Kneebone said denying the conditional use permit for Kwik Trip would not be detrimental to future development at the site.
Alderperson Lara Broderick said she had voted against rezoning the property in August and did not feel good about how close the property would be to wellheads. She also said she received letters from residents that said conditions set for Kwik Trip were not specific enough or safe enough, although those letters did not specify which conditions needed more context or what additional information was needed.
Broderick said she reviewed data from the Department of Natural Resources that specified reported leaks and listed what caused them, ranging from overfilling a vehicle’s gas tank that was cleaned with no absorption or contamination, to an overfilled underground tank that leaked. In this case, that type of leak would not be possible with the conditions and specific mechanisms listed for the site. She pointed out the conditions Kwik Trip has agreed to on this property are stricter than any other Kwik Trip location and beyond what is required by the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency.
Broderick said the argument to deny the conditional use permit due to a threat to general welfare and safety doesn’t apply to this instance, as other overlay districts also include the same language protecting welfare and safety where gas stations are permitted by right. She said the city can’t argue that a gas station poses an inherent risk to welfare and safety in order to deny the permits in this case when they are allowed in those districts.
Broderick said she was uncomfortable approving the permits, but she would be voting to approve. She offered to stay after the meeting concluded to talk more with residents about her reasons.
Alderperson Dean Shuda said he didn’t think the city legally had a foot to stand on to deny the conditional use permits, but encouraged Kwik Trip to consider the neighbors’ concerns as the company moved forward.
Alderperson Allison Birr said she also voted against rezoning the property in August, which was the strongest case to not allow a gas station at the property. She said she was not “jazzed” for the Feb. 16 conditional use permit vote.
After discussion, the Common Council voted 8-2 to approve the conditional use permit for Kwik Trip to build a gas station at the site. Alderpersons Kneebone and Sam Lang voted against.
Council also approves permits for car wash and signage
While the group discussed the conditional use permit for Kwik Trip to build a car wash, Joel Lemke, the city’s public utilities director, clarified claims that runoff from the car wash would seep into groundwater. He said runoff from inside the car wash will go to the sewer system, which will be treated at the water treatment facility. Any runoff outside the car wash in the parking lot will run off into on-site retention ponds.
While conditions already require landscaping, Kneebone recommended Kwik Trip add more vegetative buffer on the property to help with pollution and noise in the neighborhood.
After discussion, the Common Council voted 8-2 to approve the conditional use permit for Kwik Trip to build a car wash at the site. Alderpersons Kneebone and Birr voted against.
The Common Council also voted 8-2 to approve the conditional use permit for Kwik Trip to construct off-premise signage. Alderpersons Kneebone and Lang voted against.
How did we get here?
Plans for the project were first discussed at city meetings in August 2025. In August, the landowner requested to rezone more than 18 acres of land from a suburban single-family residence to a “B-4” commercial district. At the time, a Kwik Trip with a car wash, a Pet Supplies Plus store and another retail store were the projects named for the area. City documents also indicated a second phase of the project could include smaller commercial establishments and multi-family housing and/or commercial shops.
During its August meeting and after dozens of neighborhood residents spoke mostly against the project, the Plan Commission voted to deny the rezoning request. The city’s Common Council ultimately voted to approve the rezoning request at its August meeting.
The next discussion surrounding the project was for the three conditional use permits. At its Jan. 5 meeting, the city’s Plan Commission discussed conditional use permits for Kwik Trip to build a gas station, car wash and signs. According to the Administrative Staff Report, city staff recommended approving the permits with 30 conditions Kwik Trip would need to follow to build a gas station, including double walled tanks, leak detection, monitoring, catch basins and more. It also included several conditions for the building of a car wash and signs.
Dozens of residents spoke at the January meeting, again mostly against the project, pointing to the same concerns as they had in August. After more than three and a half hours, the Plan Commission voted to postpone the permit approval vote to its February meeting, requesting changes and amendments to the list of conditions for Kwik Trip to meet.
The Feb. 16 Common Council approval followed the city’s Feb. 2 Plan Commission’s vote to recommend approval of the three conditional use permits to build a new Kwik Trip gas station, car wash and signs. After an addition to the list of conditions for Kwik Trip’s gas station and another three-hour discussion at the Feb. 2 meeting, the commission voted to approve the conditional use permits. That vote then went to the Common Council as a commission recommendation to approve the permits.
Each city meeting included comments from residents who said the city already had too many gas stations and argued that neighborhood didn’t need another. They expressed concerns about potential for groundwater contamination; air, noise and light pollution; and increased traffic in the area. Residents were also concerned about benzine and long-term health and safety in the neighborhood.
Municipality limits to conditional use permit approvals
The state’s 2017 Wisconsin Act 67 directs cities, villages, towns and counties how they can issue or deny conditional use permits.
Adam Kuhn, the city’s associate planner and zoning administrator, shared at the Jan. 5 meeting that conditional use permits can only be denied based on substantial evidence of facts and information. They cannot be denied based upon personal preference or speculation.
“If an applicant for conditional use permit meets or agrees to meet all of the requirements and conditions specified in the city ordinance or imposed by the city zoning board, the city shall grant the conditional use permit,” Kuhn quoted from Act 67 at the Jan. 5 meeting.
Contact Caitlin at cshuda@usatodayco.com or follow her on Twitter @CaitlinShuda.
This article originally appeared on Stevens Point Journal: Stevens Point Council approves permits for Kwik Trip near Hoover Road
Reporting by Caitlin Shuda, Stevens Point Journal / Stevens Point Journal
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