St. Cloud City Council Votes Down Plan for New Holiday Gas Station

(KNSI) — The St. Cloud City Council voted 6-1 to deny Holiday Stationstores a variance to a Planned Unit Development agreement for a 24-hour gas station and car wash.

The company wanted to buy the District 742 Media Service Center on the western edge of downtown for $1.3 million, raze the building, and construct the convenience store with seven fuel pumps. Councilwoman Karen Larson says the proposal varied from the 2018 vision plan for the catalyst site on Division Street across from the Great River Regional Library, which recommended against using the site for that purpose.

She tells KNSI News local ordinance also prohibits it without carving out several allowances. “But another one of the things that made a difference for me was how many exceptions we needed to make to the land development code to the size restrictions. So it wasn’t just money and it wasn’t just trust in vision. It was also a matter of how many of them do we change or make different in order to accept an attractive offer?,” she asked.

Larson says it was a test of how committed the city was to its revitalization vision. She says, “One of the primary issues for me was trust. Trust in the mayor’s downtown redevelopment plan and that, of course applies to both sides of the river. This was a very difficult decision.”

Community Development Director Matt Glaesman told the council the Holiday offer was easily the best option pitched at this point. Larson says if the city abandoned its vision for a short-term payoff, it would lose the trust of investors it is counting on for more difficult projects. Some of those are on the east side, which Larson represents.

About a dozen neighborhood residents spoke against the proposal. Representatives from Holiday Superstations also answered questions from the councilors.

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