Proposed revisions to Fayetteville’s gas station and sign ordinances were approved April 19. Both approvals came with the same split vote, 3 to 2.
The key feature of the revision to the gas station ordinance, and the one that had council members at odds with each other, was the provision that allows eight double-sided pumps rather than the six pumps previously allowed.
“Six pumps is enough,” said Councilman Walt White. “We’ve had six pumps for the last 20 years. If we increase it you’ll get businesses with a huge piece of asphalt, so I think we should leave it the way it is.”
Councilmen Ed Johnson, Paul Oddo and Mickey Edwards disagreed. White made a motion to keep the number of pumps at six but that motion died for lack of a second. A motion followed that would allow eight pumps and that motion won on a 3-2 vote. White and Councilman Larry Dell voted against the measure.
Johnson and Edwards were elected last fall.
Other features of the revised ordinance that raised no objections included eliminating the prohibition on pay windows and eliminating the restriction on allowable square footage since it has become customary for two or more businesses to operate at gas stations.
Also adopted April 19 were revisions to the city’s sign ordinance. City staff proposed the idea of using separate calculations for wall signs and ground signs.
The vote on the revised sign ordinance came on a 3-2 vote, with Edwards, Johnson and Oddo voting in favor and with Dell and White opposed.
The ground sign proposal approved by the council allows one 35 square-foot sign for each public street frontage while the provision for stores in planned shopping centers would be allowed 45 square feet per sign.
And calculated separately, wall signs on lots with a single building would be permitted a maximum of two signs, one per wall. The calculation would be based on 1.5 square feet per linear foot of building frontage with a maximum of 150 square feet per building.
There are two variations for tenants in planned shopping centers though both would be permitted a maximum of 150 square feet of wall signage.
The two types of signs were previously calculated together. Those calculations included up to 35 square feet for a ground sign with wall signs permitted for 5 percent of the facade square footage. The previous requirement subtracted the facade calculation from the ground sign allowance and, consequently, could result in less square footage permitted on the ground sign.
