Staff photo / Ashley Fox Boardman residents Mike Deutschlander, left, and John Markovich each hold signs as neighbor John Chupa raises his hands as motorists honk horns in support of the protest against a proposed gas station at Lockwood Boulevard and Tippecanoe Road in Boardman.

BOARDMAN — A proposed gas station will not be built in a residential area straddling the Boardman and Canfield township border.

In a unanimous decision during a Monday hearing, Boardman Township Trustees Brad Calhoun, Tom Costello and Larry Moliterno agreed to uphold the July decision of the township’s zoning commission to deny a permit to Meijer for a proposed 3,300-square-foot gas station that would be built at Tippecanoe Road and Lockwood Boulevard.

“I appreciate the fact that Meijer has heard some of the residents, went back to the drawing board” to address the project, said Calhoun.

But he said he still has concerns, including that the request would not be consistent with residential zoning surrounding the proposed project.

Costello said the zoning change request is “not compatible” with the township’s growth; it would change the parcels to “more intense use” than what was originally planned.

Moliterno said he has the same concerns regarding the requested zoning change.

Prior to the meeting, community comments during the COVID-19 pandemic were accepted through Aug. 14 and can be viewed through the zoning website.

Ahead of the trustees’ decision, about 30 neighborhood residents showed up near the site on Lockwood Boulevard to share their views peacefully.

Meijer has a store under construction on U.S. Route 224 in Boardman. An additional entrance / exit will be on Lockwood, across from the proposed gas station. The store is 159,000 square feet and will employ about 250 people.

During the July Boardman Township zoning commission meeting, Cris Jones, real estate manager for Meijer, said after listening to residents, the company withdrew its permit earlier this year and resubmitted plans that include a buffer zone.

During the hearing Monday, Jones asked trustees and those listening to look at the entire project, not just the gas station.

“Basically what it comes down to is, nobody wants a gas station in their backyard,” said John Chupa, a resident who helped organize the protest. “This is our sanctuary. This is our home. This is what I have built for the last 15 years.”

Chupa, who was at the protest, said local leaders maintain they will keep neighborhoods intact and make Boardman a great place to call home.

“We’re going to hold their feet to the fire, to stand by their word,” he added.

Chupa has lived 15 years in his house on Tippecanoe with 1 1/2 acres where he said he plays with his young children.

“When I come home from my tours of duty, this is my home. This is my sanctuary. This is where I come for peace and tranquility,” said Chupa, who has been active-duty Army for 23 years.

Chupa likened the noises from construction of the Meijer store to what he hears on bases in Afghanistan.

During the hearing, Pamela Hickox, of 7104 Lockwood, one of the land owners where the proposed station would go, spoke.

If not sold to Meijer, the properties would be sold to another company that isn’t willing to work with the community, she said.

afox@tribtoday.com