- A new Circle K gas station is slated to go on the corner of Welaunee Boulevard and Dempsey Mayo Road.
- Around a dozen neighbors came out to the Tallahassee City Commission meeting August 21st to raise concerns.
- Watch the video to hear why they are worried:
BROADCAST TRANSCRIPT:
Neighbors concerns are growing about a new development set to go in the canopy neighborhood.
Some neighbors I spoke with told me they are worried about a gas station planned here.
They argued it's too close for comfort.
"You have the light, you have the noise at all hours of the day, you can't escape it," neighbor Lauren Schuler said.
The mom said she fears a new gas station will bring at the corner of Welaunee Boulevard and Dempsey Mayo Road.
Her home: less than 100 feet from a new Circle K proposed in to the area.
"My daughter is going to be playing in our backyard and she's just going to be sitting in those fumes," Schuler said. "She's going to be breathing in those fumes."
Down the road, her neighbor Steve Durie also has worries.
He said he was told when he bought his home the property would be turned into a town center, not a spot for a gas station.
"There's going to be potential crime, environmental concerns, light pollution, noise pollution, the list goes on," Durie said.
Those two, along with about ten others, came to the city commission meeting August 21 to voice their concerns.
City leaders said the land was rezoned in 2021, making the gas station an accepted development in the area.
Leaders appointed Commissioner Curtis Richardson to be a liaison between the developer, Circle K and the neighbors.
While they said they can't do anything directly as a commission, Richardson said they take those worries seriously.
"I live in a neighborhood myself. I understand their concerns whole-heartedly," Richardson said.
He said they are trying to arrange conversation between all involved and hopes to...
"...relocate the gas station or agree to not put it there," Richardson said.
Sunday and Monday I called Justin Ghazvini with Premier Commercial Group, the developer behind the project.
I sent a message to Circle K's corporate team as well.
As of Monday evening, I had not heard back from either.
Both Durie and Schuler said they will continue to push to keep the gas station out of their backyards.
"We don't need a gas station here," Durie said. "What we do need is a community."
"I will literally do anything it takes to make sure this doesn't happen," Schuler said.
City leaders said they want to eventually gather the neighbors and developer for a meeting to talk about the gas station.
It's not clear if and when that will happen.
