Despite vocal opposition expressed in a meeting held by teleconference, the City-County Planning Commission of Warren County approved in an 8-3 vote Thursday the plans of Ohio-based Speedway LLC to expand its convenience store and gas station at 1220 Broadway Ave.

Speedway’s plan to build an expanded store and gas station on the property has been in the works since 2018, when it purchased the adjoining Danny Barron’s Auto Sales property at 1218 Broadway for $380,000.

The company has purchased a neighboring 0.34-acre residential lot at 1117 Covington St. and spent $21,800 having a house on the property demolished.

The application presented by Speedway included combining the 1218 and 1220 Broadway lots and the Covington lot into one 1.45-acre lot and rezoning it from general business and residential to highway business.

Speedway’s development plan calls for razing the existing structures and building a 4,600-square-foot convenience store and a 4,700-square-foot fueling canopy over seven double-sided fuel dispensers.

The new Speedway would have 22 parking spaces. The Covington Street lot would be used primarily for parking and as a fence and landscape buffer between the store and the adjoining residential area.

Residents along Covington and other nearby streets didn’t welcome the plan presented by Rob Sweet, a planner for the Cincinnati-based consulting firm McBride Dale Clarion.

“The existing store is old and outdated,” Sweet said. “There’s not enough parking. We’ll have updated lighting and one entrance each off Broadway and Covington. We feel that this will be much more aesthetically pleasing.”

Neighbors like Gary Verst, who lives on Nutwood Street, weren’t buying it.

“I think this sets a dangerous precedent,” said Verst, who joined the Zoom meeting along with other local residents. “The house that was there (on Covington) was demolished because they couldn’t sell it because it was next to a commercial development.”

Margaret Stein, who lives on Covington, expressed similar concerns.

“We all bought property on this street because of its character,” Stein said. “It’s one of the most beautiful streets in Bowling Green. This (Speedway) really does not match up with the character of our community.”

Another Covington Street resident, Joanne Ryan, chimed in: “My issue is quality of life. This (development) completely devalues the neighbors next to it.”

Despite such pleas, a motion by commission member Greg Gay to approve the rezoning garnered “yes” votes from Tim Graham, Rick Starks, India Unseld, Mary Vitale, Christiaan Volkert, Dean Warren, Velma Runner and Gay.

Commissioners Debbie Richey, Mary Belle Ballance and Shannon Blackburn voted “no.” Commissioner Sandy Clark was absent.

Sweet did agree to one concession, withdrawing a waiver request that would have allowed a 165-square-foot sign on the property, exceeding the 150-square-foot maximum in highway business zones.

The rezoning will go to the Bowling Green City Commission for final approval.

Like the Speedway development, a rezoning on the rural Fuqua Road that would create an additional single-family residence drew opposition Thursday and a bit of confusion as three votes were needed before it was approved.

The application by Stuart Posey and property owner Daniel Shoemaker calls for rezoning 4.52 acres at 2724 Fuqua Road from agriculture to rural residential and residential estate in order to divide the property along the narrow road into two single-family residential tracts.

An existing residence will remain on a 3.4-acre tract to be zoned rural residential, and an additional lot is proposed on a 1.1-acre portion to be rezoned residential estate.

Although only one new house of at least 1,500 square feet would be created under the development plan, neighboring residents joined the Zoom meeting to voice their opposition and nearly kill the development.

“That area is becoming more and more populated, and with that comes more traffic,” said Ellen Vinson, who lives at 2901 Fuqua Road. “I have some serious concerns about any more houses coming to the area.

“There have been two fatalities on that road. We don’t need more traffic. We want our farming community left alone.”

Anita Charlton of 2425 Fuqua Road had similar thoughts, saying: “We have too many developments and too much traffic on that road. The road isn’t wide enough, and this is going to cause more problems.”

Despite the opposition, Gay made a motion to approve the rezoning. He was joined by Warren, Runner, Volkert and Graham in voting “yes,” but Ballance, Blackburn, Richey, Starks, Unseld and Vitale all voted “no,” meaning the motion failed 6-5.

After Planning Commission Attorney Hamp Moore explained that a motion to deny was needed in order to make a recommendation to Warren Fiscal Court, Shoemaker made the case that the rezoning wouldn’t result in a significant increase in traffic.

“We’re talking about one house,” he said.

Richey’s motion to deny also failed 6-5 because Unseld switched from opposing the application to favoring it.

Gay immediately made another motion to approve the rezoning and, with Unseld voting with the original five proponents, it passed 6-5.

Unseld did not respond Friday to phone messages asking about her vote change.

The rezoning will go to fiscal court for final approval.

Also Thursday, the planning commission voted 11-0 to approve the request of Billy Miller and Walter York to rezone 0.25 acres at 421 Scott Way from multi-family residential to general business in order to allow a commercial use in the existing building on the property.

Miller explained that his plan is to use the commercial kitchen on the property to operate a catering business.

The rezoning will go to the Bowling Green City Commission for final approval.

A final agenda item, a rezoning of 1.83 acres at 318 Old Lovers Lane from agriculture to single-family residential requested by Casey Simpson of CMC Properties, was withdrawn because attorney Chris Davenport was unable to attend the meeting.