Orange Township trustees again continue Sheetz plans, citing ongoing traffic concerns – The Columbus Dispatch

Paul Comstock| ThisWeek USA TODAY NETWORK

A zoning hearing on a proposed Sheetz location on the southwest corner of U.S. Route 23 and Orange Road in Orange Township has been continued again.

Trustee Ben Grumbles said after the Sept. 7 trustees meeting that the hearing was postponed to 6 p.m. Sept. 20 because of ongoing traffic concerns, including the proximity of curb cuts to traffic signals and Orange Road.

Sheetz and its representatives apparently are working to address the concerns, Grumbles said.

Questions about how the proposed Sheetz would affect traffic have been a feature of discussion at the trustee meetings since April, when the plan first was discussed.

Additionally, the zoning hearing has been continued several times, starting in April.

In July, a consultant working for the township TMS Engineers Inc. of Twinsburg expressed concerns about data from a traffic study provided by Sheetz with the rezoning application.

TMS called the figures out of date and questioned some of the assumptions used to assess the impact of the gas station, convenience store and car wash on already-busy traffic in the area.

Also during the Sept. 7 meeting, Grumbles recused himself on a vote to continue the Sheetz hearing.

He said after the meeting that he was not comfortable voting on any overlay-related zoning matter until he gets word from legal counsel about a possible conflict of interest, to which he is not a party.

"It does not involve me but (would affect) the township and board" of trustees, he said.

In early August, Sheetz opened its newest central Ohio store in Hilliard.

Central Ohio's first Sheetz opened April 13 at 710 Sunbury Road in Delaware.

Sheetz, established in 1952 and based in Altoona, Pennsylvania, currently operates more than 600 store locations across Maryland, North Carolina, Ohio, Pennsylvania, Virginia and West Virginia.

To learn more, go to sheetziscoming.com.

Video of the Sept. 7 meeting can be seen at youtube.com/watch?v=_qDQfXW_Xqs.

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Orange Township trustees again continue Sheetz plans, citing ongoing traffic concerns - The Columbus Dispatch