Port Moody’s land use committee will recommend whether a proposal to add a fast food fried chicken restaurant to a gas station is a finger-lickin’ good idea.
The owner of the Petro-Canada station at 3102 St. Johns Street wants to add a KFC restaurant on the 32,098 sq. ft. lot between Buller Street and Electronic Avenue.
The application requires the property be rezoned for comprehensive development because its current C4 designation prohibits retail food services.
In a report, development planner Sarah Bercu said the proponent also wants to expand the gas station’s existing convenience store by about 300 sq. ft. and relocate it to the southeast corner of the lot, as well as increase the number of parking spots from 18 to 23 — eight of those are at the gas pumps.
The changes would require the removal of eight trees and two hedges and the existing westbound bus stop in front of the station would have to be relocated slightly east.
Bercu said while the property is within the Moody Centre transit-oriented-development area that recommends greater height and density for residential development, “the proposal to renew the commercial building is seen as an interim development until the property owner is prepared to fully develop the site to the highest and best use.”
Bercu said the proposal will also require a review by Port Moody’s architect and landscape architect consultants. She added modernizing the gas station and expanding its commercial component “is a positive advancement for the site.”
The land use committee next meets on Sept. 8. It is comprised of representatives from Port Moody’s various neighbourhoods who are able to review development applications to comment and offer advice on whether they’re an appropriate use of land prior to council’s consideration.
MARIO BARTEL 