The Farmington City Council approved a rough site plan for a Maverik on Park Lane at their March 2 meeting following a recommendation by city planner Shannon Hansell to “conceptually approve the initial layout, but table consideration of a Schematic Subdivision Plan, to allow time for the applicant and City staff to develop the Maverik application further.” [sic]

The store will stand at the intersection between Park Lane and the upcoming 1100 West. According to David Petersen, City Development Director, the new street layout is still in development and won’t be fully available for four or five months.

The approval was preceded by a public hearing of about 10 minutes, during which a community member simultaneously voiced support for the Maverik and concern about traffic on Park Lane.

Holly Abel said that she and her family like Maverik. However, she said they have already come close to accidents near the proposed site because “there’s so much traffic with the exit of people coming out of the Harmon’s gas station and then trying to cross over left to right.”

Abel also added that in the area, “you have people going really fast coming around from the west headed east or even going toward the west. It’s where people really speed, so that’s my concern that I wanted to raise.”

Petersen addressed Abel’s comments by comparing the site to the intersection of 400 North and US 89 in Bountiful, an area he said is much busier than Park Lane yet has three gas stations with some curb cuts only 40 feet from the intersection.

“What we’ve done, the predominant movement into this when you’re coming from the northeast to the southwest, you’re driving through and that first curb cut is way at the west end of their site. Not immediately within 40 feet of the intersection where the dining court is,” said Petersen. “Probably safe as you can get it.

And to leave the site, the predominant movement will not be directly onto Commerce (1100 West). It will be on a private street that comes to Commerce with a bigger distance away from the left-hand turning movement going up Park Lane. This probably is the optimum circulation one could expect from a gas station.”

During the meeting, Maverik’s representative, Cassie Younger, reviewed the site plan with members of the council. Younger said that the Maverik team took the “unique character on Park Lane” into consideration when designing the site plan, which includes a picnic area and landscaping on the plaza facing Park Lane and room to expand on the initial proposal of 10 fueling pumps.

Younger also said the store’s appearance might mimic stores east of the Maverik site “with those awnings and kind of decorative architectural elements on the back of the store, so it fits in with the surrounding development.”

“That’s going to be a very busy road that acts as a gateway into our business park that we’re working on, and so it’s really important that this Maverik looks like that showpiece as you’re walking in,” Assistant City Manager Brigham Mellor said. “And I think they’re on the right path to helping us achieve that.”

The motion to approve passed with no opposition.