L’Anse is a step closer to getting a new Circle K gas and diesel station.
Acting as the village’s zoning board of appeals last evening, village council members approved a dimensional variance request, which will allow the company to reduce the property line setback distances that would usually be required.
Village manager Bob LaFave said the variance was necessary because of the odd shape of the property, and that the new installation may actually wind up being more compliant with the rules than the existing structures on the land.
Circle K is proposing to build the outlet along US-41 just south of the Broad Street intersection, on property previously used by Kissel Chevrolet and a custom t-shirt business. The facility would replace the Holiday station that was destroyed nearly two years ago, when an intoxicated semi-truck driver fell asleep, and crashed through the pumps and into the store.
Circle K’s parent company, Alimentation Couche-Tard of Canada, purchased the Holiday stores in the upper Midwest in 2017, and has been rebranding them.
Several residents who live immediately behind the site on Oak and Spruce Streets expressed concern about the noise and light pollution the new station could cause. Circle K representative Christian Cabrera, who attended the hearing via phone, agreed that the company would install an eight-foot fence along the property line that borders the homes.
Some trees will also be planted along the line.
Cabrera also offered assurances that a portion of the property, which is currently used for parking and snow storage for the Visit Baraga County information building, will be remain available.
The next step in the process will be submitting the full site plan for approval. Cabrera said he hopes construction can begin next spring. No timetable has been offered for completing the remediation of the former Holiday Station site, which is still cordoned off by a temporary fence.
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