MANSFIELD — The next step to a potential sprawling Buc-ee’s Travel Center is scheduled Tuesday at a Mansfield Planning Commission meeting.
The commission, which meets at 3:30 p.m. in City Council chambers, will consider applying Mansfield’s B-2 general business district zoning to 110.5512 acres planned for annexation into the city around the I-71/Ohio 39 interchange.
According to the commission’s agenda, 54.13 acres are in Madison Township; 55.3112 acres are owned by the State of Ohio as part of I-71; and 1.11 acres are in Mifflin Township.
Officials have said the travel center itself will require about 35 acres.
The development could mean more than 200 new, full-time jobs in the city at a retail site that would encompass more than 70,000 square feet.
“This is one of those very unique opportunities,” Mansfield Mayor Jodie Perry said. “Obviously, everyone doesn’t love it. But there has been a lot of public support for it. It really provides a unique opportunity for Mansfield.
“It puts Mansfield on a different map, I think, too, beyond just Buc-ee’s for other developments and not even just retail ones,” the mayor said.
“People will know where Buc-ee’s is on I-71.”
(Below is a PDF with the Planning Commission agenda for Tuesday.)
Madison and Mifflin township trustees have approved the annexation, as has the Richland County Board of Commissioners.
Mansfield City Council, which voted March 17 to move the project forward, will likely vote May 19 on final annexation approval, as well as a development plan being mapped out between the city and Buc-ee’s officials.
Under the city’s zoning code, the purpose of a general business district is to “provide for more diversified business establishments which are not generally located adjacent to residential neighborhoods. The General Business District contains shopping areas which are community wide or regional in nature and should be served by State highways or at least four-lane streets.”
The rezoning petition scheduled Tuesday is being put forward by Charles E. Ross, administrator of the Peter G. Ross Jr. estate, which currently owns the land in the townships.
According to his obituary, Peter Gordon Ross Jr., 98, of Mansfield died in 2018. He was a lifelong resident of Mansfield. He was a World War II veteran, serving in the Army Air Corp where he was trained as a gunner on a B-17 bomber.
According to the agenda, public comments will be permitted with a limit of three minutes per speaker.
If City Council approves the annexation May 19, it cannot be approved as an emergency, which means it would take effect 30 days after it’s approved.
If Buc-ee’s officials then purchase the land, construction could begin this summer and is expected to take 15 to 18 months to complete.
The proposed development is opposed by a group of residents near the planned Buc-ee’s. The group, “No Petrol,” has launched a petition at Change.org, which had 1,399 signatures as of Saturday.
“While proponents cite economic growth, the catastrophic risks to our environment, safety, and property rights far outweigh the perceived benefits,” according to the petition.
Richland County Commissioner Tony Vero said March 19 he’s confident a proposed Buc-ee’s Travel Center will meet any needed environmental requirements.
“They have been great to work with. They’re speaking to all the necessary (environmental) agencies and any regulatory agencies,” Vero said.
“I know that’s a concern and certainly a justifiable one. But they’ve been looking at this for some time now. They’re working with all the necessary parties to make sure that there’s minimal impact on the land and will comply with all the necessary regulations,” the commissioner said.
“I was at a meeting where they were making sure that there was nothing that would trigger any federal EPA involvement.”
(Below is an interview with Buc-ee’s founder Arch “Beaver” Aplin III on April 6 when the Texas-based company opened its first Ohio travel center in Huber Heights.)
