Toledo plan commission to hear zoning change request for Sheetz at Monroe and Secor

The Toledo City Plan Commission will consider a proposal to develop one of the last remaining portions of the former campus of the Sisters of Notre Dame provincial headquarters at Secor Road and Monroe Street.

A zoning change request scheduled for hearing Aug. 8 would allow for development of a Sheetz gas station and convenience store at 3837 Secor.

The 3.7-acre site is currently zoned Office Commercial, which prohibits gasoline and fuel sales. The zoning change request is for a special-use permit in a regional commercial district, which allows such sales.

A plan commission staff analysis has recommended the proposal’s rejection for multiple reasons, including inconsistency with the Toledo 20/20 and Forward Toledo plans; conflict with Institutional Campus Future Land Use designation, which reflects the desire to preserve a distinct area in Toledo; and incompatibility with the Neighborhood Mixed-Use Future Land use designation and with adjacent land uses to the south and west.

For decades the site had a convent for the Sisters of Notre Dame and was part of the larger Notre Dame Academy campus.

The sisters decided to sell the property in 2015 to Kroger, which planned to build a $26 million, 123,000-square-foot Kroger Marketplace at the site — a project that drew considerable opposition from members of the public who desired preservation of the property’s landscape, including over 100 trees.

After the plan commission and Toledo City Council denied an initial version of that zoning application citing nonconformance with the Toledo 20/20 Plan and incompatibility with surrounding land uses, Kroger submitted a revised version in 2016 that called for a Planned Unit Development that would bind the developers to their proposed plan and giving council approval power over any significant future site amendments.

While council overrode the plan commission’s recommendation to reject the second application, the Kroger Marketplace store was never built and the site’s zoning reverted to single-family residential.

Since then, the larger site was subdivided into five parcels, three of which have been developed with noncommercial uses the plan commission deemed suitable. A fourth parcel rezoned to office commercial in 2019 as part of a rehabilitation hospital’s development that also was not built is the site of the Sheetz proposal.

The commission’s staff analysis noted the site’s mature trees create a “unique place” considering its context at the prominent Secor/Monroe intersection.

“These trees take decades to grow as large as they are and cannot easily be replaced,” the analysis said, while the Sheetz proposal would remove them in favor of a clean, modern, and utterly common suburban-style development.

“This type of change would be contrary to a number of Forward Toledo’s goals — most prominently those of Create Unique Places, Attractive Place to Live, and Preserve Open Space,” the report said. “The proposal is not consistent with the goals of the Forward Toledo Plan.”

Lorraine Niboro, who was part of the opposition to Kroger, said she would not be as opposed to Sheetz going in, although her preference would be for the site’s multiple trees to be preserved.

“Sheetz is not as bad as Kroger. It’s smaller, and they are pretty well maintained across the country,” said Ms. Niboro, who lives on Lincolnshire Boulevard a short distance away. “My concern is that the land was originally purchased and dedicated for the good of the community. Senior housing is somewhat acceptable, or medical — something that is good for the citizens, not just for economic profit.”

But she said she’d still prefer to see the site’s multiple trees preserved, since the area already has enough asphalt paving “to choke the universe.”

“The trees add to our community look,” Ms. Niboro said. “We already have gas stations on every corner, as well as car washes. I would still prefer it be a little island of nature, even though people have built there. They don’t have to take down all the trees to put something in.”

Harry Ward, who also opposed the Kroger project, said he was “absolutely” opposed to Sheetz going in and intends to send a letter to the plan commission.

“There already are two gas stations at the corner of Monroe and Secor. There is also an auto parts store and car wash nearby,” he said.

He is not opposed to development at the site, but it has to be the right fit, he said.

“The trees are certainly nice. If the right type of thing went in there, I wouldn’t object. Some apartments were developed there.  Even though they tore down some trees, I didn’t object. If they want to build more apartments in the area, or senior housing, I’m not opposed to that. It fits in,” he said.

Adam Martinez, vice chairman of council’s of Toledo’s Zoning and Planning committee, said he opposes the zoning change.

“I looked at the site plan and I am concerned because Sheetz is open 24/7 and there are concerns of light and noise pollution, high traffic volume, and pedestrians going in and out of the neighborhoods,” Mr. Martinez said.

“That site is not ideal for what they want to do. I don’t think that’s a good location for a gas station. There’s probably higher and better uses for that. Sheetz is a good corporate citizen, but it’s a bad location,” he said.

Altoona, Pa.-based Sheetz currently has no stores in the Toledo area, but recently announced plans to build at six suburban locations as part of an expansion into northwest Ohio that also includes a logistics facility near Findlay. The Secor/Monroe site is one of at least two additional sites within the city of Toledo for which it has sought city approval.