Kalamazoo’s Zoning Board of Appeals approved a variance waiving a sidewalk requirement along part of Drake Road, tied to a gas station’s redevelopment plans.
The request came from American Gas and Oil, which owns the existing gas station and convenience store at 4710 Stadium Drive, at the corner of Drake Road. The company plans to demolish the current convenience store, gas station, and car wash, and rebuild a new convenience store and gas station on the site, without rebuilding the car wash. As part of that project, the city required a new sidewalk along the property’s Drake Road frontage. The company agreed to build it from Stadium Drive to its driveway entrance, but sought a variance for the northern 30 feet of frontage, citing a steep grade change and a mature tree close to the property line.
Steve Witte, an engineer with Nederveld representing the project, told the board that building a sidewalk on that stretch would likely require a retaining wall and could mean removing the tree. City staff supported the variance, and no members of the public spoke for or against it at the hearing.
Board members raised a safety concern: a sidewalk that dead-ends at the 30-foot gap could lead pedestrians to continue walking in the street once it ends. American Gas and Oil owner Jason Baris, who was not at the meeting, had already emailed the city committing to build the sidewalk on that stretch once the neighboring property to the north builds its own. The board made that commitment a condition of the variance, to be reflected in the meeting minutes.
The Zoning Board of Appeals approved the variance by a 5-0 vote.
