Woodstock Rejects RaceTrac Application

WOODSTOCK, GA -- Woodstock leaders unanimously denied a rezoning application that would accommodate the construction of a RaceTrac convenience store with gas sales along Towne Lake Parkway just east of Interstate 575.

Council members voted to deny the company's petition to rezone about 2.43 acres north of Towne Lake Parkway and south of Little John Lane from the downtown residential office category to general commercial usage. RaceTrac also requested a variance to allow for additional parking on the site, which was also unanimously rejected by city leaders.

The council's denial of the application was in line with city staff and the Woodstock Planning Commission's recommendations to reject the project. City Planner Katie Colbourn said staff stipulated the proposal, if approved, would be inconsistent with future use of that area. Additionally, rezoning it to general commercial would open the door to other uses that would not be in line with what the city would want to see along one of the main gateways into its community.

Parks Huff, attorney for the company requesting the change in zoning, said Towne Lake Parkway is an artery for roughly 39,000 vehicles each day, and those motorists need a "clean" place to fuel up on gas and convenience store goodies.

“That is why this is a great location," he added.

Addressing the concerns about whether the RaceTrac would have a negative impact on property values, Huff said the company enlisted the help of a local real estate appraiser. Larry Singleton of Singleton Real Estate LLC, a former Cherokee County commissioner, said he was asked to conduct research on property values of homes that are located in neighborhoods near convenience stores.

Specifically, Singleton said he looked at 20 different RaceTrac and QuikTrip stores in the area and found two of those stores were located adjacent to subdivisions. When he looked into residential sales in those subdivisions, Singleton told city leaders he did not notice a difference in the values of those homes. In fact, Singleton said there was one subdivision on Canton Road in East Cobb where they constructed new homes next to the convenience store.

However, council members and residents who weighed in on the proposal blasted the plans, adding there is already a QuikTrip roughly one mile west of the location and another RaceTrac to the north on Ridgewalk Parkway near Interstate 575.

One resident, Fred Windham, said he has lived in the city for 40 years and there have been a lot of changes in and around Woodstock.

"We believe the majority of have been well thought out and have made our quality of life better," he said, referring to himself and two of his neighbors who approached the podium.

While stating he was not against growth, opening a RaceTrac at that location will negatively impact the quality of life he and his neighbors enjoy. He noted residents in the adjacent Sherwood Forest community would have to contend with thousands of cars and trucks coming in and out of their main residential street.

Allen Dalton, a co-owner of Primrose School of Woodstock, said he has the signatures of more than 100 parents at the school demanding the city reject the application. Dalton added that he's built hundreds of homes and other projects over the years, and has never had a client ask to be located to a convenience store and gas station.

Council members who spoke during Monday's meeting said they were not specifically opposed to RaceTrac, but they did not want to see that type of use located along one of its main entrances into the downtown district.

Council member Rob Usher said city staff members met with RaceTrac officials several months ago when they initially submitted their application and told them the same thing. Since that initial meeting, Usher said the city's position has not changed.

“It’s not the right location, and having to rezone (it) and all is not going to work for me," he added.

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