Town's Only Gas Station Moves Forward

The Bethany Planning and Zoning Commission approved last week the location for a 3,600-square-foot gas station at the corner of Route 63 and Sargent Drive.

The commission approved the location for Wallingford resident Mukesh Patel’s recent proposal to construct the convenience store and six-pump gas station on a piece of land measuring 1.72 acres.

The location approval is only one part of a four-step application process. The site plans for ultimately measured insufficient and were denied due to failure to meet setback requirements on the building’s canopy as well as for insufficient detail on architectural renderings. In addition, the proposed drive through and order board did not meet approval. Obtaining clearance to construct a drive-through will be the most difficult aspect of Patel’s project.

Each approval in the four-step process is contingent on the approval of the one before it. Without a special exception permit, for example, it is not possible to obtain site plan approval.

Patel’s gas station will be the only such amenity in Bethany. The decision to include a gas station in the rural community was met with both animosity as well as support. While some say the town needs a station to supply fuel, there are many who don’t want anything to do with the strain it will put on the town—aesthetically and otherwise.

Patel now has the options of petitioning the commission to amend zoning regulations to allow a drive-through or to go to the Zoning Board of Appeals to ask for a variance. Once the Zoning Board grants a variance or the Commission approves the plan, Patel can come back and apply at the next appeals meeting on August 8.