The Sacramento County Board of Supervisors approved changes Tuesday that will allow a new Maverick fueling station to be built at the corner of South Watt Avenue and Jackson Highway. The approval comes despite some residents in nearby neighborhoods voicing concerns about the project.According to its website, Maverick has 400 locations across 13 states. The South Watt Avenue and Jackson Highway project includes vehicle fueling stations, truck fueling stations, a canopy, parking spaces, a convenience store and a new RV dump station. The gas station would operate 24 hours a day and seven days a week, documentation from the county states.District 5 Supervisor Pat Hume abstained from an affirmative vote Tuesday, citing residents’ concerns. He said, however, that the vote goes against his personal feelings about the project and felt the developer had worked to accommodate the concerns raised by people who live in the area.The other supervisors also voted in favor of the changes.KCRA 3 reached out to Hume Wednesday for further comment but didn’t hear back.We took questions about traffic implications and other matters related to the project to Todd Smith, the planning director for Sacramento County.Q: Is this project officially moving forward?A: With the vote Tuesday by the Board of Supervisors, the project is approved barring an appeal. The next steps include the applicant submitting construction plans, building permit applications and other development materials.Q: How were neighbors’ concerns taken into consideration throughout the process so far?“We want to make sure that the projects in Sacramento County are responsive to community concerns, not just transportation concerns, that’s a big one on this site,” Smith said.Conditions for approval were added to the project plans to address residents’ worries about traffic, lighting, and safety. Those conditions were in place when the board voted Tuesday.Q: How are traffic concerns being addressed?Residents along Canberra Drive have raised concerns about the traffic implications of the fueling station. Some shared with KCRA 3 that they worried there would be additional traffic spillover from Watt Avenue and the increased potential for large vehicles to use the residential streets— which includes an elementary school— as a shortcut.A: The county worked with Maverick and the Department of Transportation to add concrete traffic dividers at the intersection of Canberra Drive and South Watt Avenue to block trucks from entering Canberra Drive. Signage will also be posted that trucks exiting the fueling facility will either need to go north or sound on Watt.Q: How are lighting concerns being addressed?A: The county included a “Condition of Approval” for the project that requires Maverick to minimize light or spillover glare from being directed toward the neighborhood.Q: Is this a good place for this type of facility to be built?A: “I understand the community’s concerns,” Smith said. “I think the nuance here is that South Watt Avenue is one of the main thoroughfares in Sacramento County, running north to south, and it sees a lot of traffic both standard passenger vehicles and larger trucks, so does Jackson Road.”It is common for large trucks to be passing through this area. Future projects on South Watt Avenue, independent of the Maverick project, seek to improve intersections along Watt Avenue to keep traffic moving effectively and safely.Requests for further comment from Maverick were not answered Wednesday.See more coverage of top California stories here | Download our app | Subscribe to our morning newsletter
The Sacramento County Board of Supervisors approved changes Tuesday that will allow a new Maverick fueling station to be built at the corner of South Watt Avenue and Jackson Highway. The approval comes despite some residents in nearby neighborhoods voicing concerns about the project.
According to its website, Maverick has 400 locations across 13 states. The South Watt Avenue and Jackson Highway project includes vehicle fueling stations, truck fueling stations, a canopy, parking spaces, a convenience store and a new RV dump station.
The gas station would operate 24 hours a day and seven days a week, documentation from the county states.
District 5 Supervisor Pat Hume abstained from an affirmative vote Tuesday, citing residents’ concerns. He said, however, that the vote goes against his personal feelings about the project and felt the developer had worked to accommodate the concerns raised by people who live in the area.
The other supervisors also voted in favor of the changes.
KCRA 3 reached out to Hume Wednesday for further comment but didn’t hear back.
We took questions about traffic implications and other matters related to the project to Todd Smith, the planning director for Sacramento County.
Q: Is this project officially moving forward?
A: With the vote Tuesday by the Board of Supervisors, the project is approved barring an appeal. The next steps include the applicant submitting construction plans, building permit applications and other development materials.
Q: How were neighbors’ concerns taken into consideration throughout the process so far?
“We want to make sure that the projects in Sacramento County are responsive to community concerns, not just transportation concerns, that’s a big one on this site,” Smith said.
Conditions for approval were added to the project plans to address residents’ worries about traffic, lighting, and safety. Those conditions were in place when the board voted Tuesday.
Q: How are traffic concerns being addressed?
Residents along Canberra Drive have raised concerns about the traffic implications of the fueling station. Some shared with KCRA 3 that they worried there would be additional traffic spillover from Watt Avenue and the increased potential for large vehicles to use the residential streets— which includes an elementary school— as a shortcut.
A: The county worked with Maverick and the Department of Transportation to add concrete traffic dividers at the intersection of Canberra Drive and South Watt Avenue to block trucks from entering Canberra Drive. Signage will also be posted that trucks exiting the fueling facility will either need to go north or sound on Watt.
Q: How are lighting concerns being addressed?
A: The county included a “Condition of Approval” for the project that requires Maverick to minimize light or spillover glare from being directed toward the neighborhood.
Q: Is this a good place for this type of facility to be built?
A: “I understand the community’s concerns,” Smith said. “I think the nuance here is that South Watt Avenue is one of the main thoroughfares in Sacramento County, running north to south, and it sees a lot of traffic both standard passenger vehicles and larger trucks, so does Jackson Road.”
It is common for large trucks to be passing through this area. Future projects on South Watt Avenue, independent of the Maverick project, seek to improve intersections along Watt Avenue to keep traffic moving effectively and safely.
Requests for further comment from Maverick were not answered Wednesday.
See more coverage of top California stories here | Download our app | Subscribe to our morning newsletter
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