MACS Retail LLC wants three more service pumps and a 3,520-square-foot quick service food store added to the Sully Shopping Center gas station at 5135 Westfields Boulevard in Centreville.
Currently, six pumps are available under the existing lighted canopy, according to Fairfax County Planning Commission documents.
The Planning Commission recommended unanimous approval (9-0) of the modifications at a public hearing Wednesday, Sept. 14. The requested plans would remove a 530-square-foot retail kiosk and parking will be reduced at the station by 32 spaces. The applicant also requested a 390-square-foot storage building.
The gas station is located adjacent to a main entrance to the shopping center off Westfields Boulevard.
“Traffic in that area is incredible,” testified one neighbor before the Planning Commission at the Fairfax County Government Center. “You’re going to increase the traffic in that area? That’s ridiculous.”
“We’re simply enhancing the existing use for our customers. We hope it actually alleviates traffic in the area,” said Sara V. Mariska, who represents MACS Retail.
“The additional fuel dispensers and expanded retail offerings are in response to market demand in the area,” according to Mariska. The quick service food store within the shopping center “will allow customers to combine multiple errands in a single trip.”
Sully District Planning Commissioner Karen Keys-Gamarra read one of the proffers that states, “loading and fuel deliveries shall take place during off-peak hours, and shall not occur from 6-9 a.m. or from 4-9 p.m.”
In 1984, 329 acres was rezoned to permit development of the Sully Station mixed use project. Proffered uses for the property were established in 1986. A zoning request in May 1990 established a gas station within the shopping center and in 2007 the Board of Supervisors approved plans to permit the drive-in bank and to add 12,600 square feet of retail space to the shopping center, according to Mariska’s letter to the Fairfax County department of Planning and Zoning.
The Fairfax County Board of Supervisors is scheduled to hold a hearing on the application on Tuesday, Sept. 20.