TOWER— City officials had more questions than answers here on a proposal by Superior Fuel to install a 30,000-gallon propane storage tank in a portion of the city currently zoned residential.
Among the questions was whether the application submitted by the company, which appears to seek only a change in use, would be subject to the 60-day time limit for review of conditional use permits established in state law for approval or rejection.
Based on legal guidance, members of the city planning and zoning commission opted to initiate a 60-day extension of the review timeline, since the city’s attorney believes the company will need to obtain a conditional use permit to move forward with their proposal.
Superior Fuel, which purchased Vermilion Wilderness Fuel from Terry Wagoner earlier this year, submitted its land use application to the city on Aug. 25. Their plan would remove several old fuel oil tanks from Wilderness Fuel’s longstanding storage depot, located at the corner of Lake Ave. and Hoodoo Point Rd, and replace them with the new propane tank, which would serve as a central refilling hub for its delivery trucks working in the area. The new tank would be approximately 60 ft. long and 12 ft. wide.
The proposal has raised concerns from neighbors in the adjacent Mill Point development as well as the Vermilion RV Park, located directly across Lake Ave. from the storage facility.
Mill Point Plat residents have had concerns over the fuel storage tanks for years, but those tanks were in place before the residential neighborhood of Mill Point was developed, and the commercial use was “grandfathered in” when the zoning was changed to residential.
“We love our community,” said Mill Point resident Joan Broten, “and we want it to be a safe place to live.” Broten had earlier submitted a petition signed by over two dozen residents of the neighborhood.
Planning and Zoning chair Michael Schultz told the committee that when the existing tanks were “grandfathered in,” the lot became a nonconforming lot.
While a change in ownership would not change that status, the change in use does, he said, based on advice received from the city attorney just prior to Tuesday’s meeting.
“If you are placing a new tank there, this would trigger a conditional use permit or something,” Schultz said. “Then planning and zoning would have to allow or not allow the change in use.”
The company had asked to install a propane tank at least on a temporary basis, but Schultz indicated that probably wouldn’t be allowed, at least without a process. “Basically, they do not have the right to put a temporary tank there without approval from the city,” he said, “but if they were going to use the current tanks, we couldn’t say no.”
Planning and zoning committee member Kevin Norby asked why planning and zoning had not seen Superior Fuel’s application sooner. Committee member Joe Morin said the initial advice the city received seemed to say the city would not have discretion on the issue and that the permit should be approved.
“But then the attorney looked into it further,” Schultz said, noting he had literally just gotten the updated advice minutes before the start of the meeting.
Schultz said the city was not able to locate any zoning permits or paperwork related to previous use by Vermilion Wilderness Fuel.
“We are urging the city to review the zoning and permit status, state standards, and pursue a relocation of this business to a properly zoned area,” said Broten. “This is inconsistent with residential zoning intent.”
There are approximately 20 lots on Mill Point, along with the 32 newly-created RV sites also adjacent to the fuel storage site.
The petition submitted by neighbors cites health and safety concerns, excessive noise, odors and pollution, and the increase in truck traffic, as reasons they’re opposed to the proposal. Neighbors noted that the increase in traffic from the RV Park has already created some safety issues on their road.
Broten told the committee that Mill Point residents paid at least $50,000 in property taxes to the city last year, while the lot that Superior Fuel now owns paid $400.
“We were told when we bought our property,” said Broten, “that when Wagoner sold his business, it would no longer be located there. This was also stated when the RV Park was put in.”
“It is just not a viable option to have a fuel or propane business in that location,” she said.
Alan Kirkpatrick, who owns the lot directly adjacent, asked the committee what the state guidelines were for such large storage tanks in a residential area. He was one of four Mill Point residents who attended the meeting.
Schultz responded that he did not have an answer.
Representatives from Superior Fuel said NFPA code said such tanks needed to be either 30 or 50 ft. from the property line. They said they planned to remove the existing fuel storage tanks, and just place the new propane storage tank on that site.
Kirkpatrick said that tanks over 2,000 gallons in size fall under different rules, and that the state fire marshal regulations state that large storage tanks should not be placed in residential neighborhoods.
In written public comment, Kirkpatrick noted that neighbors would be at high risk of dying in a catastrophic explosion of such a large tank.
“You see these types of tanks in quite rural areas,” he said, “like south of town on Hwy. 135.”
It was noted the city does not have any zoning specifically regarding tank size, which the Superior Fuel representatives said is normal.
Committee member Joe Morin repeatedly tried to shut off public comment, and Schultz noted that this was not a public conversation.
The committee did vote to extend the application period by 60 days. The committee will seek a written opinion from the city attorney, and they will also determine if a conditional use permit would be required, which will trigger additional meetings and public hearings.
Other business
The committee voted to recommend approval of the Village on Vermilion Plat, the development underway at the Marjo Motel site, contingent on approval by St. Louis County and the DNR, which have the final plat available for review. The city council will need to grant final approval.
“This plat is pretty sufficient with plenty of detail,” said zoning administrator Cliff Koski, adding that the group has been easy to work with.
The committee also discussed sending a letter to a property owner(s) who installed a new retaining wall and fence without a permit. Koski said he didn’t think that city zoning had any regulations about retaining walls, but the city does have a fence ordinance and permits are required for some types of fences, and such a fence would be allowed under city zoning with a permit.
“It does seem to be a mutually acceptable project” between the two neighbors, Morin noted.