Love’s Truck Stop gets go-ahead from New Kent supervisors
To the surprise of New Kent supervisors, a public hearing for a Love’s Truck Stop in New Kent received no opposition during Monday night’s meeting. And with one small condition added to the proposed conditional use permit (CUP), county leaders had no problem approving the application.
New Kent supervisors unanimously approved the construction of the truck stop by the Love’s corporation. The only condition added to the CUP was that the company must obtain a certificate of occupancy within three years.
“We had projects that didn’t have time limits before on them but a few years ago we started to put them in to push construction and business forward,” said District 5 supervisor Ray Davis.
In a recount of previous information presented at earlier meetings with county leaders, developers say the travel stop will be a $12-15 million investment towards the county. Project manager William Gleason said the project would result in 30-40 jobs during the construction phase, followed by hiring 45-50 employees to operate the facility. Gleason highlighted other Love’s facilities that have sparked development including hotels, shopping centers, and restaurants. The company operates 240 stores in 40 states.
An access road is planned to be situated across from the main truck entrance of the existing Pilot truck stop. Turning lanes would lead into the facility and a traffic light is planned for installation at the intersection as part of a layout design and construction plan.
The travel plaza would consist of 73 parking spaces and 14 fuel stations for automobiles. Diesel trucks would have fueling stations on the far western part of the property. Layout for that area includes eight fueling stations and 89 truck parking spaces.
A convenience store spanning just over 7,200 square feet as well as a fast food restaurant covering 3,100 square feet are also part of Love’s master plan, along with a tire repair center. To protect the environment, a 100-foot buffer surrounds most of the property and a 100-foot Resource Protection Area (RPA) has been designated to ensure wetlands in nearby Toe Ink Swamp remain safe in the event of an accidental gasoline spill or leak.
Supervisors weighed in with comments after closure of the public comment period.
“This project is going to help the Route 106 corridor,” said District 1 representative Thomas Evelyn who frequents the road. “This will also get trucks off of Route 106 [that blocks roadways].”
“I have had no complaints about the Love’s Truck Stop,” chimed in District 4 supervisor Ron Stiers. “Where better to have a major truck stop then off of a main interstate at a main intersection in the county.”
District 2 supervisor Tommy Tiller offered insight from the public hearing conducted at the county’s planning commission meeting in November.
“At the November meeting, people weren’t concerned about the truck stop, but more about how it would affect them,” he said. “I think Love’s did a great job addressing their concerns and answering their questions.”
Construction on the truck stop is expected to begin in June 2016, when the company anticipates all of its permits to be in place. The facility is expected to be completed by December 2016.