But some area organizations and residents say the project is something that would be detrimental to the neighborhood.
The Rev. Julie Reuning-Scherer, who serves as senior pastor of Epiphany Lutheran Church, which was started in 1959, said the church’s mission depends on having a safe place to serve our neighbors.
“The increased traffic of the proposed development next door to our church is, in my view, an accident waiting to happen,” Reuning-Scherer told Centerville City Council during its most recent meeting. “Our property is already a cut-through for many local residents. We currently struggle to slow and redirect traffic away from our parking lot.”
Reuning-Scherer said allowing for a 24-hour establishment with the types of products Sheetz offers right next to a church that offers late night and weekend programs for youth would be “a security risk.”
Kathy Whited, director of communications at the church and a resident of the neighborhood that sits behind the proposed Sheetz development, said she is concerned about an increase in crime, traffic and delivery trucks bringing supplies, as well as possible fuel leaks and pollution from gasoline vapor and car exhaust.
“I live in a quiet neighborhood where people work day jobs and have family time and they sleep at night,” Whited said. “This is not a place for a 24-hour operation.”
Robert Curry said his client, Graceworks Lutheran Services, believe the proposal to construct a 3,700-square-foot building on 3.7 acres of prime Far Hills real estate is “inconsistent” with the surrounding properties and “a wasted opportunity.”
“What this would do, is it would bring in outside vehicles on an in-and-out basis, really trying to draw from I-675, but adding very little to the community and its vitality,” Curry said. “It’s really a redundant use.”
The Rev. Larry Hoffsis, a resident of nearby Bethany Lutheran Village, said he worked as Epiphany Lutheran Church’s pastor for 21 years , after he retired, served as Graceworks Lutheran Services’ mission integration consultant for 17 years
“I know both of these institutions and these locations, and I know how this kind of development on that corner would impede and what really hurt the mission of those two great institutions they’ve been in our community a long time,” Hoffsis said.
Sheetz, which had representatives at the meeting, said it wants to work with the city to address several issues but it did not seek to address concerns raised by the public.
The earliest Sheetz could be back before the Planning Commission would be its March 21 meeting. To be included in that meeting, the company would have to resubmit plans by March 7, city officials said .
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